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Continued from part 1
The Sattelhorn ridge 2011Drawing from the climbing guideNorthern part of the ridge showing route 261 from somewhere across the valley this is taken from a perspective well to the North of the above drawing so that the Oberrothorn is behind point 3244 on the R: the Bösentrift is centre L, and Point 3247 in the centre If you drive or take the daily morning bus up to Taschalp a steep path rises to Sattel (2686m) a good viewpoint with a cross. The path continues to Tuftern above Zermatt but has been officially closed recently due to stonefall from the ridge above
The Matterhorn from Sattel with the Ober Gabelhorn and Wellenkuppe RFrom beside the cross - looking across the Mattertal to the Schallihorn, Weisshorn (in cloud) and the Brunegghorn behindLooking NE across the Mellichtal to the Dom, Taschhorn and Alphubel On one occasion in 2011 I scrambled up above Sattel to point 2935 and on to the 3144m Sattelspitz (without a camera): there was a short grade II section made particularly awkward by the presence of small debris on all the ledges , but after that it was easy going to the top and on to the 3248m Bösentrift..
However the next obstacle on the ridge - point 3247 was not so easily overcome. Graded III+ in the guide it took the form of a smooth featureless crest with big drops on either side. The guide also remarks that it it is difficult to protect and although I might have tried it in rockboots I was certainly not going to today.
Climbing guide drawing of the ridge from the North side: point 3247 is the little spike immediately L of the BösentriftZoomed view of point 3247 from this side. It looks possible to descend the gully on the R, and traverse diagonally back to rejoin the ridge beyond the obstacle - but definitely NOT something to solo So I was obliged to descend route 261 which consists in its upper part of a mixture of steep scree and slabs. Unfortunately the slabs again were covered in small debris and as this was no place to have a fall I had to proceed quite slowly. Once I reached the grass it was easy, and beyond the traverse I was on familiar ground. But it was a long tiring (and thirsty) day as there appears be almost no water on this section of the mountain.
On another occasion later in 2011 I ascended route 259 - a steep slope of grass and scree - to a col - the 3121m Chummenchlene and continued L to point 3244.(3264 on some maps) There were no difficulties but the rock was exceedingly loose. Here are the photos.
Bösentrift, Point 3244, Chummenchlene and the Oberrothorn from the Rittengrat - showing route 259Views from the ChummenchleneAllalinhorn - far L, Rimpfischhorn and Strahlhorn and Adlerhorn The Dom, Taschhorn and Alphubel ( Allalinhorn at the far R)Looking up towards point 3244 - the Weisshorn behindThe ridge to the Oberrothorn from a little bit higher: Monte Rosa behind: the small triangular rock peak to the L is the 3315m FluehornLooking North along the ridge from point 3244 to point 3247. In the distance - far L is the Bietschhorn North of the Rhone valleyDetail - showing the intractable nature of point 3247 I have never explored the ridge from the Chummenchlene to the Oberrothorn, but I don't think there are any real difficulties
Sparrenflue 2013If you look up the Mellichtal from Ottovan (Taschalp) the large "lump" on the R is the 2981m Sparrenflue. It is less of a hill in its own right - more a shoulder - but I decided it was worth an ascent
The Sparrenflue from above OttovanLooking across from near the Taschhutte - a tiny path leads up a steep rib R of the stream into a grassy ampitheatre - Route 260 The Sparrenhorn is then off to the L (Route 258): there are routes up to the Chummenchlene and the Oberrothorn, but I supect they are winter routes as the upper slopes are a mass of bouldersThe rocks in the grassy area were heavily glaciated but there were remarkably few loose boulders
the nearest I think I've come to a boulder free Alp
. The grass was covered in patches of Moss campion
Moss campion -Silene acaulisThe grassy valley Higher up - a stream running through grassland - this could be the Lake District Looking up to the Oberrothorn - the Sparrenflue summit is up to the LLooking across to the gully leading up to the ChummenchleneViews from the summitThe Bösentrift and the Sattelspitz: point 3247 in the centreThe OberrothornThe TaschhornThe FluehornL.... I moved across to get a better view of it:.....R ... Zoomed - I had the Fluehorn in my sights at this pointI descended the same way
Looking down the Mellichtal and across to the BrunegghornThe Fluehorn 2013The 3315m Fluehorn is my favourite "small" mountain in the Mattertal - perhaps because it took me five attempts before I reached the summit
. The classic approach is along the Schwartzgrat - the continuation of the Sattel ridge beyond the Oberrothorn, but it invoves quite a lot of scrambling - in particular a very exposed II+ pitch near the start. i went to have a look, but while I would have happily soloed it a few years earlier, I felt those days were probably over.
The imposing start to the Schwartzgrat - I chickened out I next tried a route from below the Unterrothorn, but it was a mass of boulders and after 3 hours I had got nowhere.I retreated to Fluealp.
In Britain our boulder fields have had ca. 10,000 years - since the last ice age - to settle down and become quite amenable. . Not In the Alps!. Boulders of all shapes and sizes and different rock types can be thrown together in huge unstable heaps which take an age to negotiate. The Fluehorn is surrounded by them
I next tried an approach from the other side walking up the Mellichtal beyond the Sparrenfluh and climbing up a gully filled with shrubs - and boulders of course
. (Route 244 on the guide ) and eventually reached a flat area called the Bösenplatte
The ridge 244 is graded as Facile - so there should be no problems. The routes 245 either side are clearly winter routes The Fluehorn Centre L and slopes leading to the Oberrothorn from the Bösenplatte Zoomed view of the Fluehorn - nice ridge but so many boulders to cross to get to it I decided it was going to take an age from here to reach the top - and then what?
So back to the South side: I walked up the big track from Fluealp towards Pfulve and turned off up a smaller one that led to a grassy hollow where the hut's water supply was located. Above me a steep grassy slope - mainly earth like route 259 above - led up and where it met cliffs I was able to traverse a shallow gully and continue over a horrendous - but mercifully short
boulderfield to the 3225m Fluehorelicke
View back West from the col. The Oberrothorn dominates - Down to the R it is just scree all the way to the BösenplatteThe 90m route to the Summit involved some slabs and again I was running late so I recrossed the boulderfield and found that the boulders thinned and I could go straight down quite easily. After a while I headed L into a shallow depression that led me back to the Hut's water source. a way had been found
***
A few days later I retraced my descent route to the "licke" and climbed easily up the slabs to the delightfully sharp summit - an excellent viewpoint
Views from the summit roughly clockwiseBack along the Schwartzgrat : Matterhorn, Dent d'Herens, Dent Blanche, Ober Gabelhorn and WellenkupeFurther R - the whole of the SchwartzgratFurther R Still Schallihorn, Weishorn and BrunegghornTaschorn and AlphubelAllallinhorn, Rimpfischhorn, Strahlhorn and AdlerhornMonte Rosaand The Lyskam. Zoomed The Lyskam Castor and PolluxCastor ,Pollux, Breithorn and Klein Matterhorn***
I had hoped to return and take some more photos lower down the route, but it didn't happen however this zoomed view from the Stockhorn shows it all quite well
O Oberrothorn
S Crux section of the Schwartzgrat
F Fluehorn
R my first attempt from this side - fairly obvious why it was a failure
W. The Fluealp water source. The two grassy routes straight up and off to the L can be seen