The Nadelgrat is one of the classic ridge traverses in the Alps (grade AD-). Unfortunately it was too late in the summer to include Durrenhorn as well, because of dangerously little snow in the coloir to Durrenjoch.

Dom was my first 4000 meter peak in 2007. It's the highest mountain entirely within Switzerland and the gain of elevation is 3200 meters, thus one of the most demanding ascents in the Alps.

Gran Paradiso and Gran Combin were the two next 4000m peaks on my to-do-list this summer, thus I headed for the St.Bernard pass on the border between Switzerland and Italy. I found a very nice campsite in the village of Bourg St. Pierre, a few kilometres below the pass, which was going to be my “basecamp” for some few days. Gran Paradiso in Italy is a 2100m ascent from the valley floor, and normally climbed in two days (F+). But I wanted to do this climb in one long day, mainly to avoid the overcrowded Emanuele hut, secondly to test my endurance in high altitude.

I was pretty tired after the Nadelhorn ascent. One day of sightseeing in Zermatt and one day of trekking in the lower mountains of Zinal, however, gave me loads of energy to continue the race of climbing 4000-meter peaks. The challenging Weisshorn (AD) was out of scope because of too much ice and snow on the ridge, so I aimed for the neighbouring Bishorn (F+) instead.

The day after I climbed Weissmies, I worked my arduous way up to Mischabel Hut more than 1500 meters above Saas Fee, to climb Nadelhorn. The Mischabel range is known for its harsh weather, especially the high winds on the ridge. When I arrived the hut, I heard that many climbers failed to reach the summit because of furious winds. I hoped the weather would improve on my summit day, and it did...

This was my third summer in the Alps in four years. As usual my plan was to ascend as many 4000 meters as possible. The first peak on my "to-do-list" was Weissmies, so I headed for the Saas Valley in Switzerland. I was very pleased to see that the weather was much better here than in Austria a few days before, when I had to cancel my Grossglockner climb. The sun always shines in Valais....

Matterhorn was my main target for this summer. I had been dreaming of this mountain since the first time I saw it from Zermatt in the year of 2000. Standing like a huge pyramid high above the village, it's hard to imagine how this climb can be rated AD only. But 3 years later I found out on the Hörnli Ridge.....

Zermatt is one of my favorite places in Europe. When I returned in the summer of 2003, I had already decided that Zinalrothorn was going to be one of my climbs. It's maybe not as high and famous as Matterhorn and Weisshorn, but the spectacular summit spire makes it much more exciting than the two other summits.

I had been dreaming of this mountain for at least a year or so. In the summer of 2000 I went to Zermatt to start the preparation and acclimatizing. The first week I ascended a couple of 4000 meters peaks (Breithorn and Rimpfischorn), and then I headed for Chamonix to fulfil my dream.....