The quest resumes with a bang: a one-shot on the Weisshorn

The last 4000er I climbed was 269 days ago: the Kanzelgrat on the Zinalrothorn in a day. After long months that kept me away from high altitude for quite a while, it was time to restart the machine and see what state the engine was in.

With the end of the quest in sight, it seemed a good time to benchmark the current state of our famous rope team with Anthony. Pretty quickly, my eyes turn to the Weisshorn, which I haven't climbed yet. On paper the situation is unclear: physically, we're not acclimatised at all and have both been out in the mountains very little lately, and logistically it's still early in the season, and although it's very dry for June, the huts in the area aren't open yet. Another factor against us is that on Saturday I was in Strasbourg for a wedding. But after a fine sequence of train connections, I manage to reach Randa on Saturday evening with the last train.

We start the approach in the dark, allow ourselves two short hours of extremely cosy napping in the delightfully soft bedding of the Weisshornhütte, then head off at sunrise onto the Schaligletscher. From there, a long, beautiful ascent takes us to the famous Frühstückplatz, the well-known Lochmatterturm, then the long rocky and then snowy ridge leading to the summit of the Weisshorn, the second-highest summit lying entirely on Swiss territory.

From Randa, that makes a fine outing of +3100 m of elevation gain, and now we have to focus on getting back down to the valley safely, with as many difficulties on the way down as on the way up. We're back at the hut at 4 p.m., brains fried by the altitude, the lack of sleep and the concentration required during those long hours astride the E ridge of this monument of the Alps!

Thanks Antho for this superb day – the players are now ready for the finish of this Grand Slam begun almost 5 years ago.