I will be in Europe this spring/summer (mid June to mid July), ostensibly to get married, but also to have a kick-ass honeymoon/climbing roadtrip around Europe. I've been trying to do some research on routes in the alps, but as the title of the post says, I am lazy. In addition, I've been trying to plan a wedding in Europe from California, so I've been a bit busy...

A little about us: We have experience climbing alpine rock in the Sierra Nevada (California) up to about 5.9-5.10 YDS, as well as glacier travel experience and general outdoor savvy...We move pretty fast together and have a decent weather eye between us.

what we're looking for: long, moderate, classic routes. We know we might be a little early in the season, but we're looking for some first hand info from people who know both European and Sierra routes so we can gauge our preparedness. Ideally, we'd like to do the Zmutt ridge on the Matterhorn and spend some time around Mont Blanc.

I would very much appreciate any and all suggestions for climbing areas and/or routes.

cheers,
-Mike

Hey Oaklander,

below is a list of some routes I have climbed and particulary enjoyed, maybe something will appeal to you! There are of course many more but this is just my personal experience.

Urner Alps, central Switzerland:
* Gletschhorn South Ridge: classic ridge route in the area. Very few bolts, up to UIAA IV/V, approx 3 hours climbing time. Very enjoyable and in places exposed route on good granite situated above a glacier with impressive views all-round!

* South-ridge on the Salbitschijen: one of THE classic ridge routes of it's grade! Up to french 5c, bolts at belay and crux moves, 5 - 7 hours guidebook time. Very exposed, truly classic pitches, highly enjoyable, fine granite and a very sharp summit pinnacle for dessert, awesome. Salbit sports many other fine routes as well such as the well known West ridge (F6b, up to 12hrs), the east ridge and climbs on subsidary peaks.

Bergell, South-Eastern Switzerland near Italian border:
* NE Ridge of the Spazzacaldeira with the Fiamma summit needle. Very enjoyable alpine rock climbing, approx 5 hours total with an amazing summit needle (F5c) as an exhilirating finish.

Chamonix, France:
* Petite Aiguille Verte, normal route. Very fine mixed climbing, PD-. Highly enjoyable and very accesible. Great if you don't have huge amounts of time to spare.

Just some inspiration
Some other classics which are on my wishlist:
*Cassin route on the Piz Badile in Bergell (1 of the 6 classic Alpine north faces but a serious challenge, 22 pitches up to F6A with only bolted belays).
*Galengrat on the Galenstock in the Urner Alps, V, AD, great looking mountain at the source of the rhone river.
*Rothorn ridge on the Zinal Rothorn in Wallis, Switzerland. Very fine long AD climb.
*Grande Jorasses traverse; 2 days traversing this classic mountain, a very long D.

ahhh the possibilities are endless!!!!

Bart

In the Mont Blanc area:

Gervasutti Pillar, Mont Blanc du Tacul - really easy approach via Aig du Midi cable car, classic climbing in the 5.9-5.10 range, easy descent by normal route.

South Face, Rebuffat Route, Aiguille du Midi - ridiculous easy approach, mega-classic, route finishes at cable car station.

East Face, Aiguille du Moine - 3 hour approach to Couvercle Hut, 1 hour approach to the route, classic climbing at 5.9.

East Face, Renaudie Direct, Dent du Requin - similar to Aiguille du Moine but slightly easier.

I could think of many, many more. There are tons of really accessible rock climbs in the Chamonix Aiguilles (Papillons Arete on Aiguille du Peigne, Aiguille de l'M, Charmoz-Grepon Traverse, etc). Pick up a copy of Mont Blanc - The 100 Finest Routes, by Gaston Rebuffat. They're all classics and they're in order of increasing difficulty (approximately).

Oh, ya gotta do Piz Badile!

Yes, Moni is right: Piz Badile NE ridge is one of the greatest climbs in the Alps!

Unless it is a low snow year, you will probably be too early in the season to do most of the long classic rock routes in the Berner Oberland or Pennine Alps. Almost certainly too early for the Zmutt.

Badile is considerably lower and certainly worth considering:

http://www.summitpost.org/mountain/rock ... adile.html

However, if you truly are lazy, the "long classic" routes in the Alps are not what you are looking for.

If you want really short approaches to fabulous rock climbing, you should consider the Dolomites.

South and east facing routes should be OK at that time. In Chamonix, the S Ridge of the Petites Jorasses and the Gervasutti Pillar are two classics with favorable orientation. Routes on the Grand Capucin and other Tacul satellites should also be good at that time. The Zmutt is a NW ridge, but could very well be in condition. The route is quite fickle since it involves both snow and rock and may only be in good condition for 2 weeks in a given season. However, it's usually been towards the earlier part of the season in recent years due to the very hot temps of mid-summer. Another problem with the Zmutt is that you have to descend by the Hornli, which can be difficult if you haven't done it before and if you are too late on the summit to follow other parties down. I would do the Hornli first to familiarize yourself with the descent.