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Uspešen vzon v pogorju Monte Rosa, Breithorn, Castor, 1.11.99 (Anže ČOKL)

VSE SPODAJ OPISANO JE V ANGLEŠČINI. VEČ INFORMACIJ LAHKO POIŠČETE NA MOJI SPLETNI STRANI: slik in še pridejo-prihajajo.
Saturday, 30th October 1999:
Matej Kovacic and I (both AAO Ljubljana) went to Cervinia-Italy with my family, who went skiing there. When we came there it was raining, it was foggy and it did not look good. We knew that if it was raining in the valley it was definitely snowing 3000 metres higher. Later in the night, weather improved a bit and few stars could be seen among the clouds. That was optimistic.
Sunday, 31th October 1999:
Breithorn, 4165 m, is most probably one of the easiest 4000 metre peak in the Alps, mostly because of small height difference if you go from Switzerland. We decided to summit it, so we went to Breithorn. We arrived to Plateau Rosa (Italy-Swiss border) via cable car at around 10:30 am. Therefore, we had quite some time so we slowly prepared and started ascending with our “heavy-load” packs (each weighed around 25 kgs) at around 11:15 am. We chose to go up Breithorn via normal route, that is south face, but it was pretty icy at this time of the year. We left our packs down, so that we could ascend more easily. We reached the summit at ca. 14:00. It was windy on the ridge, but not too cold. The sun was warming us up. We skied down with all our pleasure. But the descent is always too short, especially if done with skis!. Our initial plan was to continue to Rossi Volante Bivuac via R804, but it seems to me, that we missed the route. Our route ended with 60=B0 steep snow & ice couloir and full of crevasses at it’s very end, so we had to turn around and go back to the plateau under the Breithorn’s south face. We than descended towards Pollux and Castor. Dawn was coming in quickly so we stopped and started digging out a shelf for our tent, when suddenly, Matej’s leg fell into a crevasse. We moved few metres down, dug another shelf and put up the tent. Our health was perfect, though we both suffered minor headaches. The night was a bit windy, but ice-cold. The sky was full of stars. All the condensation immediately froze to the walls and our fingers went numb immediately, so we guessed that it was at least 15=B0C below zero. Also the breath from our mouth froze onto the edges of our sleeping bags within minutes.
Monday, 1st November 1999:
We woke up at around 6:00; Matej started melting the snow. We first drank kind of energy drink together, later, each prepared a litre of his own drink to have during the day. When Matej was making second bowl three ski-mountaineers came by. They were headed towards Pollux. Later I prepared my drink and by the time I was finished, and when we packed everything, including our tent, it was almost 9:00 am. But we figured that we had plenty of time left, so we started moving with normal pace. We came under the impressive west face of Pollux, which we wanted climb the following day. But this day, we were headed to Castor (4226m). We left our gear under the South-West ridge of Pollux. We put a prussik around a granite rock and screwed in a ice-screw. We clipped all the excessive gear on the “belay” and took only the most important equipment so that we could proceed to the summit as quickly and as light as possible. We were doing fine, but at around 3900m, the west face became steeper and so… icier. We discovered that we will not be able to use our touring skis for ascending further, so we stopped atop of a crevasse. I still can not believe that we stopped right on a snow bridge, but it looked firm and definitely safer that standing on ice with your skis and skins on them (note that there is couple hundred metres below you and in the end there are crevasses, seracs etc.). We attached our crampons and continued a strenuous ascent, with skis and poles in each hand, over 35=B0 steep snow and ice slope. We reached first “plateau” in the first third of the face where I left my skis. We only had one rucksack, so Matej decided to take his skis to the top. The slope started to become steeper and by the end it was around 45=B0-60=B0 steep. We did not follow the normal route, which follows the left side of the face, but went far right. We figured it would be more interesting if it were steeper and far more challenging for Matej, who skied down from the summit. Summit of Castor is fabulous.

The weather, which we all know comes from the west, looked pretty bad. And it was gradually becoming worse. So we decided that it has no sense to stay under the west face of Pollux which we wanted to climb the following day, because in case of fog and snow (most probably white-out) the route following home (to Plateau Rosa) would be very, very hard. We packed our gear and headed west. It was a long and tiring ski-mountaineering trip back. Earlier in the day, we did at least around 600 height metres and another 600 followed. We set up quite quick pace and we were at Plateau Rosa at around 6:00 pm. We asked a “garbage-boy” where could we sleep for free and he did not know exactly. He asked his superior and he told us that we could put up a tent anywhere. We played fools and then he said open the big red doors. We opened them and slept like angels in a waiting room (where skiers march through when they go skiing).
Tuesday, 2nd November 1999:
We woke up at 6:30 am. We only cooked something to drink, packed our gear which was practically all over the place, stepped outside and laid down to wait for my parents to show up. They came at around 10:40 am, and then Matej and I returned to the valley of Cervinia. My socks were too aggressive (the stitching) for my shinbones, so they hurt the skin and I could not go skiing anymore, but Matey did. I am now sitting in the appartment., writing this report, drinking hot chocolate and looking through the window at the beautiful Matterhorn's summit, which can occasionally be seen through the gaps between the clouds. The scenery is fascinating.

anze.cokl@guest.arnes.si

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