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....

The day after I ascended Ringstindane, I was very lucky to have one more beautiful skiing day in Hurrungane (Jotunheimen). It's very rare that the sun shines from a cloudless sky several days in a row in these western mountains of Norway.

Beautiful weather, perfect skiing conditions and three remarkable summits to be ascended in the western part of Norway. This weekend turned out be be one of my finest skiing adventures in the mountainrange of Jotunheimen....

After 2-3 weeks of higher altitudes in the Alps, I had a lot of energy to consume in the less high mountains in Norway. Me and my brother decided to traverse the 3 summits of Torfinnstindane on his 30th birthday. We also brought some liquids to celebrate later in the evening.....

Zugspitze means "train peak" in German, and several cable cars and underground trains take millions of tourists to the summit, which features a restaurant, bar, observation tower and several souvenir shops. Because of the crowds I was not tempted to visit the mountain at all, but due to the fact that Zugspitze is the highest peak in Germany, I decided to go for it, even though the only purpose would be to increase my tiny collection of country highpoints from 3 to 4.

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.

The first time I visited Gaustatoppen in 1998, it was cloudy and almost no visibility. But when I went back in the winter of 2003, the sun was shining from a cold and cloudless sky. First then I realized what a beautiful peak this is.