Jun/070
Shrinking Balls
My great friend Phil and I have taken trips together since we were kids. At school we surfed together, after school we've travelled, skied and hung out in bling spots all over the world, but for a while our sporting interests diverged a little. Phil spent a lot of time in South America mountaineering while I spent those years scuba diving.
With moving to Chamonix and the climbing/ski touring I'm doing we've decided it's time to do something together again. This summer we're going to try to achieve something Phil has had on his list for many years. The Matterhorn.
Climbing the Matterhorn is hard. It's high, it's cold, it's long, it's steep. It's a challenge. There are several possible routes up it, the main 2 choices being the Hornli Ridge and the Italian Ridge. The Italian is more difficult and more committing, but on the plus side, shorter and less crowded. It's the Italian Ridge we're thinking of doing.
The idea has been firming up since I saw Phil in Suffolk a few weeks ago. The last couple of emails we've exchanged have changed in tone from gung ho -'how hard can it be?' to 'right, let's actually do this'. A significant difference and one which has made me feel the first tang of fear.
We'll be doing some training. Neither of us are very experienced with this type of climbing (called Alpinism). There's all kind of technique to learn about; crampons, rope-work, self arrest. These are best NOT done for the first time half way up the Matterhorn. In addition there's fitness and acclimatization. My experience with altitude has taught me I don't react well to the thin air, so I'll be spending some time at the top of the Aiguille du Midi prior to to the climb. And it's probably a damn good time for me to stop smoking cigarettes too.
