The weather has turned for our last day in the Alps but we managed to nip up Bella Tolla in conditions that would be considered pleasant at home. A great week with lots of ace walking and laughs, thanks very much all

  Another stunner here in the Swiss Alps with perfect weather for walking. We climbed Le Touno from Cabane Bella Tolla which gave another big day out and more fantastic views.

  We switched round to the Val d’Anniviers yesterday and walked up to the Cabane Bella Tolla. It’s always a beautiful place for a sunset.

 Another beautiful day with the Swiss 3000 team. We climbed the Wisshorn from Zermatt today with stunning views and a fresh dusting of snow on the higher summits. Ace! 

 I’m out in Switzerland this week running our annual trekking week. We’ve kicked off in Zermatt this time with hiking summits as our objective. Mirriam, Bob, Lizzie, Di, Paul, Julia, Steve and Vicky have joined us and I’ve got Bryn along to give me a hand and young Joe observing the week as he works towards his IML. We headed up the  Oberrothorn today which sits at a little over 3400m and gives views across 38 of the 4000m peaks. It was a big day so we were glad it wasn’t too hot and the views across to the Matterhorn were there to distract us! 

 I’ve been teaching leading on sport climbs today with Emma and her son Lewis. We kicked off with me leading and climbed 8 routes before lunch. We then progressed onto simu leading with the security of a top rope before moving on to taking the sharp end. It was warm and dry on the coast too! 

 When we first learn how to use a rope to make the harder scrambles safer, it can all feel a bit slow and clunky. With practice we can build efficiency and we can learn a variety of techniques that we can match to the terrain. We learn to read the ground we have covered, the ground we are on and the ground ahead of us and be adaptable in the skills we use to manage the hazard. Over time we can begin to flow and so the rope is no longer a hindrance but is a thread that connects us to our partner as we share an adventure. This was the theme of our day as Gareth and Steve lead us up the East Ridge of Y Garn in some slightly damp conditions - a novelty of late!  https://www.expeditionguide.com/advanced-scrambling-learn-to-lead-course/

 Using a rope to make scrambling safer is the theme of the next few days with Gareth and Steve. They’ve both done a fair bit of scrambling, mountaineering and climbing and want to be safe and efficient on grade 2 and 3 routes. We spent the day looking at the techniques we use for keeping these routes safe and climbed Idwal Buttress into Idwal Staircase and the Cneifion Arête.