The north face of the Breithorn, big and Swiss.
Steep slopes are generally a dish best served cold, when the nights are frosty and the snow contracts. You need to keep an extremely close eye on how the snow-pack cooks in the heat of the summer sun.
Crow Erik Bittel and his partner for the day, snowboarder Vasco Coutinho, made the most of the good seasonal conditions to take on the north face of the Breithorn. A prestigious route and a serious descent which requires navigating between seracs and no dawdling. Herewith a short film made by Erik, followed by an interview with its star to find out more about him and his adventure.
Riding the Steep North Face of Breithorn (Triftjigrat route) after an endless winter in Zermatt !
4164 m ; 900 m, 200 m 55°, 300 m 50°, 300 m 40°- 45°; North ; TD+ ; 5.4/ E4 ; 24.06.2016
The west Breithorn it is a very easy 4000 m peak to climb along the south face; it is only 1 ½ hour skinning or walking from the klein Matterhorn. The difficulty of this line is that you ride it by sight, without having a clear look on the way up. This is, I guess, the main reason why it is so rarely skied.
The 0 termique was at 4500m the day before making it hardly skiable. It was thus a 50-50 bet but we decided to have a look at the top.
After a short rappel to test the snow, we decided to go for it. The sustained 55° couloir was in perfect conditions... Arriving at the Triftjiplateau we skied on snow bridges laying between crevasses and seracs before arriving at the 2nd exposed face. Finally we headed back up to the Gandegghütte. Really challenging and technical descent with the perfect partner.
Skier and Gopro view: Erik Bittel
Snowboarder: Vasco FC
Photograph: Juan Aizpuru Photo Mountain
Crow Erik Bittel and his partner for the day, snowboarder Vasco Coutinho, made the most of the good seasonal conditions to take on the north face of the Breithorn. A prestigious route and a serious descent which requires navigating between seracs and no dawdling. Herewith a short film made by Erik, followed by an interview with its star to find out more about him and his adventure.
Riding the Steep North Face of Breithorn (Triftjigrat route) after an endless winter in Zermatt !
4164 m ; 900 m, 200 m 55°, 300 m 50°, 300 m 40°- 45°; North ; TD+ ; 5.4/ E4 ; 24.06.2016
The west Breithorn it is a very easy 4000 m peak to climb along the south face; it is only 1 ½ hour skinning or walking from the klein Matterhorn. The difficulty of this line is that you ride it by sight, without having a clear look on the way up. This is, I guess, the main reason why it is so rarely skied.
The 0 termique was at 4500m the day before making it hardly skiable. It was thus a 50-50 bet but we decided to have a look at the top.
After a short rappel to test the snow, we decided to go for it. The sustained 55° couloir was in perfect conditions... Arriving at the Triftjiplateau we skied on snow bridges laying between crevasses and seracs before arriving at the 2nd exposed face. Finally we headed back up to the Gandegghütte. Really challenging and technical descent with the perfect partner.
Skier and Gopro view: Erik Bittel
Snowboarder: Vasco FC
Photograph: Juan Aizpuru Photo Mountain
