Rothorngrat, from the Cabane du Mountet — July 4, 2026
There’s a particular quiet at altitude that’s unique- so still you hear only the buzzing in your ears. Glacial movement, cracking and crumbling around the Cabane du Mountet sets off the quiet — it’s a mix of solitude and comfort, a warm hut perched above a glacier with nothing but rock and ice and sky around it. Waking early before sunrise, hiking with a headlamp, meandering up a mountain trail, looking for cairns that may lead right, maybe not… Crampons on the glacier.
We used e-bikes to reach the bridge over the Zinal stream, saving time on a long day that ran 14 hours car-to-summit-to-car. The approach up the valley is long and beautiful, with plenty of boulder-hopping — a real hike in its own right.
The alpine start rewarded us with the Dent Blanche catching the first light and going pink within minutes. From the glacier we picked up the Epaule of Rothorn. There’s more rock climbing now that the glacial face on the Epaule has melted. What a joy to travel along such a solid ridgeline. The Rasoir lends itself to a real airy situation. The final Bosse has some excellent moves, happily well protected. I used a short 30 meter rope which was perfect. New rappel rings spaced 15 meters apart high on the mountain facilitated our descent. The rock is superb — solid and clean, without the rockfall worry that’s crept into so many routes in these warming summers. Five hours glacier to summit, ten hours hut to hut.
Climbing a ridge like this with someone you know well is its own reward — moving together, reading each other, staying in constant communication as fatigue builds late in the day. That partnership is as much a part of the route as the rock itself, and it’s why days like this stay with me.
