To marry a guy who has close family in Europe. This means every once in a while, we get to go visit them and play in the Alps! Our first trip over there happened just this past summer as a graduation trip for Dan. We spent the first bit visiting his family in the Netherlands and Germany, and then the last half was spent visiting family in Switzerland and running and playing in the mountains and cities there. Dan's family in Switzerland live in the city of Basel, which is very north, at the border of Germany and France. While it was so lovely there, and we really enjoyed exploring the city and the hills of Basel (see pic to the left!), we were excited to get out and just get eyes on the Alps. After spending time with family, we packed our backpack, booked our hostel, and hopped on a train down to Zermatt.

We had decided not to bring a tent, or sleep system, and depend on using our sleeping liners, Swiss huts, and the beds there for our sleep system. In Zermatt, we stayed at the Jugendherberge Zermatt (youth hostel). While we were, I suppose, considered young when we were there, to our knowledge there is no age restriction to stay here. It was a super hostel, with a complimentary breakfast bar, and the best part for us - it had lockers for you to keep your crap in while you went out climbing for a couple days. That was one piece of the puzzle that we hadn't figured out before we got there, and we were quite happy to find that our hostel had that option. In Zermatt, food was EXPENSIVE. Everything was I suppose, however we found this place that we absolutely loved called the North Wall bar. It was not quite as expensive, not quite as ostentatious as the rest of Zermatt felt, and we felt comfortable there. After a couple weeks of travelling, and being in cultures that, let's admit it - are way less casual than the pacific northwest - it was really nice to feel relaxed somewhere. The North Wall bar had that for us.

Started with a hike up to the Täschhütte, which included a steep trek up past Täschalp (where some take a taxi to) up to the hut, which was positioned calmly on a hillside at 2,700 m (8,800 ft). Starting in Täsch that morning, at 1,450 m (4,800 ft), it made our travelling legs happy to be able to stretch out and climb! We were made even happier by being able to get to the hut, sit and drink a beer with stunning views like the picture to the right shows. Our plan was to do the climb up Alphubel the following day, and with the approach only taking about 4 hours, we were able to spend the rest of the day at the hut going over maps, making plans, and eating and drinking good food. At the hut, we decided to pay for both room and board, which meant that we got breakfast and dinner with our room, and any extra food or drinks we had to pay for. Breakfast was served each morning around 3am, for climbers, or 6am for hikers, and at night you would simply tell the hut warden which time you were going to be up for.

While during the hike up we were happy and rearing to go, I had started feeling like I was coming down with a bad head-cold. We discussed our plans after dinner, but with my head pounding and sinuses feeling inflamed, I did not feel ready to tackle the 1,500 m (5,000 ft) climb up to Alphubel, where the summit stood at 4,206 m (13,704 ft). We decided it was best for us to opt to ditch this attempt in an effort to have a good go at Dufourspitze. The warden came around, and we told them that we were going to be up for the 6am breakfast, and went to bed.

After our rest day in Zermatt, where I recovered well from my head-cold, and Daniel hiked for a long time to get some turns in, since he was doing TAY (turns all year). We took off up the Gornergrat to start walking from Rotenboden. There are two approach options to get up to the Monte Rosa Hut - the "Old Route" and the "Panoramatrail". Both are listed around 4 hours to complete, with the Panoramatrail listed as being a tad bit longer, and the Old Route listed as "not recommended". In researching this climb, it wasn't clear if the route had been washed out, simply eroded too much, or if something else had changed to the trail, but we had enough time in the day to happily decide on the Panoramatrail and we did really enjoy that route. With it being about 5.5 miles and 1,600 ft gain, it took us a leisurely 3 hours. Both approaches do include glacier travel, and crampons are required. Although the glacier route is well marked, (see the pole in the picture below), and the trail is marked with painted blue flags, you should still be aware of your navigation and keep your wits around the large, large crevasses during the approach.

The "home" icon marks Basel, where we stayed with family, and the "mountain" icon marks Zermatt. Almost as far north and south as you can get!