We rope up and Ali leads the initial steep section up onto the glacier itself.  We proceed with caution.  Our knowledge of crevasses is purely theoretical - we have received instruction on crevasse rescue techniques but we are untested. 

To give you, dear reader, some background - a glacier, as you’re probably aware, is a large, slow moving river of ice which is formed from compacted layers of snow.  The lower layers deform under the pressure of the layers above, allowing the glacier as a whole to move slowly downhill like a viscous fluid.  However, the upper layers are more brittle, and often form deep cracks known as crevasses as they move.

If I was to fall into a crevasse then Ali would have to stop my fall.  Failing to do so would have dire consequences for us both as we are roped together.  She has a nagging doubt as to whether she would be strong enough, should the worst happen.

Here is what Fred Mummery had to say about such situations over a hundred years ago:

“The main strength of the objection to two men climbing alone is, perhaps, to be found in the common belief that if one man falls into a crevasse, his companion will be unable to pull him out.  With regard to this extremely unpleasant supposition, it may be pointed out that there is no particular reason for him to fall in.  Why any one should wish to dangle on the rope, in a dark and chilly chasm, is one of those profound and inscrutable mysteries which may be regarded as past all finding out.   It is, of course, a quite unnecessary incident.”

It could be noted that, despite his many climbs in the Alps and elsewhere, Fred never did fall in a crevasse during his lifetime - he was killed by an avalanche on Nanga Parbat a year later. 

The problem is that crevasses are not always visible on the surface.  They may be completely covered, but not necessarily filled, by fresh snowfall or drifts.  This creates the illusion of an unbroken surface while hiding the opening under a layer of unknown thickness, possibly only centimetres thick. 

And so it is, that Ali and I proceed cautiously across the glacier.  We are looking intently for any tell-tale depressions that might indicate hidden crevasses.

A sense of Alpine scale - Ali and Lay crossing the Luette glacier (below left of centre - click to enlarge, then click Full Size).  Photo courtesy of Stephen Whiting

Rob is not just making polite conversation - as a professional guide he gathers as much information as possible in order to make informed decisions.  Despite our admission that we are just novices, he is still keen for our first hand report on conditions higher up today.  My spirits are lifted when he isn’t surprised at our lack of progress versus guidebook time today.

The Dix hut has a shower.  A bit of a luxury for an Alpine hut I must say – trouble is that it is outside.  Three sides of the ‘cubicle’ afford the occupant limited modesty as they are made from old wooden shipping pallets.  The fourth side is open to the mountains – and just had, in my opinion, to be experienced.

Now I like a cold shower more than most, in fact I can’t stand really hot showers – Ali, on the other hand, seems to positively thrive in showers so hot that it would make a lobster scream.   She was having none of this.  Okay so I can see that it is fed directly from melt water off the Luette glacier and there is no hot tap to mix it with – but seriously, how cold can it be?   After 30 seconds my limbs went numb.

Over dinner we discuss our plan for tomorrow – we quickly abandon the idea of an attempt at the much more serious summit of Pigne d’Arolla given the conditions.  Instead we opt to tackle La Luette again by a more direct route.  With the change in plans, the ever helpful Pierre offers to telephone the Vignettes hut, on our behalf, to cancel our booking there.

One thing we had learnt today is the awesome scale of the Alpine arena when compared to the UK hills – the Col de Cheilon looks close enough to touch from the Dix, but is in reality over 2km away.

I eagerly state “La Luette!” in response to his enquiry as to our route for the day.  Pierre pauses, presumably weighing the suggested proposal against his vast experience, local knowledge and the current weather conditions.   “Okay, so you want to die today?” his laconic retort.

My protest falls on deaf ears and he sends me, deflated, back to bed but at least there is a ray of hope – “the weather may improve later this morning and Luette is not so far”, he says.  Our initial plan was to summit La Luette today and then traverse the Pigne d’Arolla tomorrow on my birthday.  Now things look doubtful.

We finally set off at 10:00 am, very late for an Alpine start, but at least the weather has cleared as Pierre had predicted.  Our guidebook gives us cause to hope that Luette is still possible:

The normal route is a short excursion from the Dix hut and would make a good and uncomplicated first outing for Alpine novices.  As it is possible to reach the summit in mid-summer without having to set foot on much serious snow, fitter parties based in Arolla could easily manage a round trip from the valley in a day.

Ali leads off and we follow a track in the snow towards the Col de Cheilon for a little over a kilometre before cutting up right over mixed scree and snow slopes towards the southern edge of the Luette glacier.  The going is tough – The top layer of snow hasn’t frozen over night and in places we are post-holing up to our thighs and the wind is picking up strength again. 

As we approach steeper ground we stop to rope up.  The wind is fierce now, and in an instant I am lifted bodily off my feet by a gust, spun in mid air and thrown down on some rocks – my crampons slashing my expensive over trousers in the process.

We press onwards and upwards, and shortly before reaching the glacier we start to zig zag up to the crest of the south east ridge of La Luette.  At around 3,300m we stop for lunch and perch on a large boulder below a loose scree slope.

Ali and I discuss options – it is clear that we are well behind guidebook time, perhaps understandably given the conditions, but none the less we are behind.  We shouldn’t push our luck on our first Alpine excursion – continuing on and having an “epic” on our first outing would be bad form indeed – we decide to turn around now before the weather deteriorates still further.

Ali leads off - I have but a moment to absorb the amazing Alpine view, in a vain effort to etch it permanently in my memory, before the rope comes taught and we are descending fast.  The words of that great Victorian mountaineer, Leslie Stephen, seem as true this day as when he wrote them in 1871:

“The mountains represent the indomitable force of nature to which we are forced to adapt ourselves, they speak to man of his little-ness and his ephemeral existence.”

The Dix has room for 150 people.  Given it’s location on the classic Chamonix - Zermatt  haute route it is one of the most popular mountain huts in the Valais.  For the past six years it has been staffed by Pierre-Antoine and Béatrice Sierro who gave us a warm and friendly welcome.  The Dix features in the highly recommended Alpine Essentials DVD released by the BMC. 

We negotiated a small discount with Pierre on production of a valid standard BMC membership card.  Larger discounts of up to 50% are available on production of a Reciprocal Rights card.  For those living in the UK, who plan to stay more than just a few nights in Alpine huts, it may be worthwhile joining the Austrian Alpine Club (UK)

To the UK purist the network of alpine mountain huts may, at first glance, be somewhat of a blot on the landscape.  It is true that some huts (not the Dix) are indeed large and built for function rather than architectural aesthetics.  Frankly they are big and ugly. 

However, they serve an essential service to the Alpinist as they allow:

• time to be spent in the range close to the proposed routes and without the burden of a heavy rucksack.
• several routes to be attempted before returning to the valley.
• the mountain equivalent of long distance paths, such as the Haute Route to be spread over a number of days by travelling from hut to hut.
• early morning starts - in the Alps one needs to summit early in the morning to avoid the afternoon snow melt.
• altitude acclimatisation - sleeping at altitude can significantly improve success rates on 4000+m peaks.

At any rate, even the largest and ugliest hut seems to disappear in the sheer scale of the alpine vista. 

All the supplies (and waste) has to be transported by helicopter

At the far side of the Pas de Chèvres is a dramatic drop down a steep rock face which is negotiated by descending 30m (100 feet) down two metal ladders bolted to the rock.  No easy task when wearing stiff soled four season boots.

Ali goes first but feels understandably nervous about the unprotected sideways step between the top shorter ladder and its much longer lower neighbour.  A fall here would be fatal - no doubt about it.  She climbs back up to the col and we rope up.  With the rope for protection she sets off confidently as I belay her from above.

Then it is my turn.  Okay so I could pass the rope through the top rung of the ladder as I descend and Ali could belay me from the bottom.  For that we would need about 80m of rope - we have 50m - so there is no option but for me to descend unprotected.  I have a little chat with myself - something like this:

“Okay Lay, deep breath.  Its just a ladder.  Its bombproof.  Hundreds of people have been up and down it.  Its not going to come loose when your on it. All you have to do is move your hands, move your feet and repeat.  Take your time, be careful and ignore the exposure. Easy … just like falling off a ladder…”

Well I made it down to the bottom safe enough, but I was surprised to notice my hands aching - I had really been gripping those rungs.

Enjoy the video.

The imposing north face of Mont Collon (3,637m) dominates the head of the Arolla valley 

From the Kurhaus, the path continues upwards with woodland giving way to steep grassy slopes to some ruined chalets at 2,330m.

Pigne d’Arolla (3,796m)

From here we head west up the valley, past the ski tows, to be greeted by fantastic views across the Cheilon glacier to the Dix hut from the Pas de Chèvres.

We checked into the Hôtel du Pigne d’Arolla for one night.

• 50 litre rucksac
• 50 m rope (9.1mm, dry treated, dynamic - obviously)
• 4 season boots and crampons
• ice axe
• climbing helmet
• climbing harness
• layered clothing system
• gaiters
• warm hat, neck guard / buff
• Gortex outer gloves and liner gloves
• waterproof jacket and overtrousers

We, like the Cat from Red Dwarf love shiny things so we each took:

• belay device
• HMS karabiner (1)
• screwgate karabiners (4)
• snaplink karabiners (2)
• ice screw
• pulley
• prusik loops (3)
• slings (3)

Other useful gear

• altimeter
• headtorch
• glacier glasses
• flask
• Sigg and Nalgene bottles
• whistle
• map, compass and guidebook
• GPS
• survival bag
• first aid kit
• trekking poles
• silk sleeping bag liner (no need for a sleeping bag)
• pen knife
• towel
• wash kit
• sun hat, sun cream, lip protection
• Compeed, zinc oxide tape
• tea bags, hot chocolate (just buy boiling water at the huts)
• toilet paper
• camera
• Snowcard insurance

The new venue will be Arolla in the Swiss Valais and we hope to summit La Luette (3,548m) and Pigne d’Arolla (3,796m).  Both peaks have routes that are graded ‘F’ for facile (easy) - well we shall see!

We will take advantage of a couple of mountain huts for overnight accommodation.