I am just down from a successful three days in the peaks above Saas Grund. On Sunday we walked into the Almageller Hut before traversing the Dri Horlini (3206m, AD). This is an excellent route on perfect rock. On the side of the Dri Horlini a large number of rock routes have been bolted. A full topo for the mountain can be purchased in the hut.
Yesterday we traversed the Weissmies (4017m) from the Almageller Hut to the Hohsaas Hut. I had not climbed this route before having normally climbed the Weissmies up and down from the Hohsaas Hut. However, I intend on going back and doing the route again as it is excellent due to a good variety of terrain. There is a nice rock ridge, snow arêtes and a steep glacial descent. The route was in perfect condition. It is worth noting though, that the descent is threatened by serac fall.
Today we climbed the Lagginhorn (4010m) from the Hohsaas Hut. Conditions have changed from my blog posting on Saturday. On Saturday I wore crampons above 3600m. Today they were needed above 3750m due to a reduction in the quantity of snow. As the quantity of snow decreases more ice will appear on the upper slopes and careful crampon technique will be required.
