The heatwave in the Alps has ended, and the snowline is slowly descending, heralding the arrival of autumn. Over in Chamonix, snowfalls are forecast down to 2400m today (link). In the gap between the heat and the snow, we’ve had many groups taking advantage of the stable weather to make some impressive ascents.

One that meant a lot to us, was to witness 77 year old Rod completing a week of technical ascents, including the Breithorn Traverse (see photo above). This would be remarkable in its own right, but Rod is a regular client, and he told us in January that he’d been knocked off his road bike by a careless driver, and had broken his hip and pelvis. While this news might stop many a 20 year old, not so for this guy, who made a stubborn and hard fought recovery, from wheelchair to swimming pool treadmill, to the Alps. If ever you are feeling like the training is hard, Rods efforts puts it all in context. See photos of his Breithorn Traverse; click here.

Today we’ve got six teams attempting the Matterhorn, before the snowfalls, and this is our last group on the peak to climb on its 150th anniversary year. Others are on Mont Blanc, the Aiguille d’Entreves (see photo above), and Gran Paradiso. It’s a busy end to the season, and the autumnal weather is just holding off long enough for these final ascents.

We’ve already released dates for the 2016 summer season, for all our climbing trips, and the dates are detailed at this page; click here. On this page, click on any course title to view the itinerary and details for that trip.