Today Kenny and I climbed another long multi-pitch route in Grinderwald.  I cant remember what it was called but it was very very good.  More granite slabs with a fantastic Yosemite crack/offwidth/groove crux pitch!

In the top 10 rock route I've ever done!  Absolutley brilliant.  This Eldorado classic is a must do.  It is lightly bolted so a trad rack is needed for this 14 pitch route. It felt like E1/2 which just kept coming.  Every pitch was good, the sun was shining with a light breeze, it was like a fairytale.  What a day!

Today was another 3am start and we battled into the winds to get to the bottom of this 500m snow-ice route.  It is sustained at about 55 degrees all the way to the top.  After crossing the Bergshund we just kept the rope on and ploughed up to the top reaching the summit at 6am in very high winds.  The plan was to the press on along the ridge to Nadelhorn but as we were getting blown around we decided we should just down-climb the whole route...... so we did.  It was quite fun down climbing the route and was surprisingly quick.  We took only one axe each which was fine but with two axes you can really race up this (D) route.  Once back in the hut we packed up our kit, headed down to Saas Fee for some coke then drove over to the Grimsel Pass for some rock climbing.

What a brilliant day we had on this.  So yesterday we walked up to the Mischabel SAC Hut and had a good relaxing evening, even went for a wee wonder up the hill to see where we were going in the morning.  We set off at 3am this morning and headed over the Windjoch and onto Ulrichshorn (3925m), then climbed up the Dirrujoch Coilour which was horrendous as it wasn't complete and the snow was very poor.  We escaped onto the rocks on the right but still wasn't fun as it was super loose and slabby.  We then went on and summited Hobaryhorn (4219m), Stecknadelhn (4241m) and finally Nadelhorn (4327m) to complete one of the classic ridge traverses in the Alps, the Nadelgrat (AD-).  A great day out!

Today showed some unsettled weather in the mountains so Kenny and I opted for a day with a light rucksack and hands covered in chalk.  We headed into Grindlewald and climbed the 450m 13 pitch route of Sagittarius (6b) in Gelmerfluh.  It is a fantastic route with plenty of bolts to aim for.  Immaculate granite slabs keep the concentration levels high and had some fantastic pitches on which would be much better if there were no bolts and a small trad rack was carried.  An ace route, well worth seeking out.  From the top we made 6 abseils off fantastic ab stations and a quick wander back to the van.  What a day!

Yesterday Kenny and I spotted the South Ridge (AD) to the summit of the Lagginhorn (4010m) and it looked great fun.  So today we got the first lift up and went for it.  We didn't want to hang around to much so again we made good progress and got up in quite a quick time.  This ridge felt easier than the North Ridge of Weissmies but still lots to keep you occupied.  Maybe if your wanting to do these two ridges then start with the Lagginhorn.  The best way to do the two ridges would be to do them in a day.  Get an early start though!

So after a good long drive from Fort William, Kenny and I arrived at Saas Grund in Switzerland yesterday.  Today we get the first lift up and climbed the North Ridge of the Weissmies (AD+).  We made super progress but feeling the altitude as we approached the 4000m mark.  The round trip from the lift took us 7 hours, alot shorter than we expected.  The ridge was great fun, plenty of interest and some really funky sections of climbing, a must do if in the area.

Today was my final day at work before I had out to the Alps for 3 weeks.  What a way to finish a great summer season by doing the Inn Pinn in super high winds and very cloudy conditions.  Malc and I had a group of 6 to take up the Pinn who wanted to climb it as a birthday treat.  We were meant to be a group of 8 but the high winds destroyed some tents which resulted in some of the group not getting much sleep.  We battled up high and the wind eased just enough for us to make a few ascents.  Everyone went up the East ridges and then we got a couple up the short side as we had plenty of time to spare.  A great day finished of with some good scree running to get back down.  So I'm of to the Alps for 3 weeks and I don't intend in going on a computer other than to check the weather and answer emails.  Hope the weather is as good out in the Alps as it has been here in Scotland!