How hard are they, really?
This is a difficult question to answer, as one climber's
"hard" is another climber's "easy".
Climbing in the Alps is generally much more exposed
than much of the climbing in the US. Things are steep and even very
easy climbs can sport big drops below your feet. Expect a lot of air
around you.
Many routes involve a great deal of vertical gain
and loss. Calculate this figure and determine on what kind of terrain
is the change made; easy, hard, varied? The Matterhorn, for example,
climbs and descends over 4000 feet of steep scrambly rock. You had better
be comfortable at facing out or it will not be a reasonable objective.
Monte Rosa by the normal route includes a 6000 foot
climb from the hut to the summit, with the hardest part at the very
end, and at a summit elevation of 15,200 feet. It is considered only
a PD in the rating system above. Climbing Monte Rosa from the Margherita
overall takes more days, and is technically more difficult, but physically
is less demanding than the normal route.
On the other hand, easy access through lifts and
cog railways, have made many otherwise major routes an easy day. An
ascent of the Petite Aiguille Verte is a good example of this. A cable
car gets you high on the peak, leaving only the last, and best part
of the climb above you. You can enjoy a great technical and very exposed
alpine climb in only a few hours. The Cosmiques Arête on the Aiguille
du Midi is another example - classic high mountain alpine mixed climbing
readily accessible from the cable car to the summit of the peak!
If you are not experienced with the climbing in the
Alps the best approach is to come with an expectation to learn what
it is like. Try to avoid setting your heart on any particular summit
or route. Be flexible until you have a good feeling of what the climbing
is like there. In our opinion, it is, in many ways, the best in the
world. I'm sure you will come to agree once you have tasted its pleasures.
Where the good climbing is......
Really, there is good climbing of all types to be
found throughout the Alps. But as a general guideline, consider the
following......
For an introduction to what the Alps has to offer
consider the Chamonix area. There are a greater variety of climbs here
than perhaps anywhere else. There are lots of fantastic routes made
easily accessible through lifts.
For big 4000 meter peaks try the area around Zermatt
and Saas. Big mountains, often with big approaches. More of the peaks
here have more moderate routes up them than in the Chamonix area, where
summits tend to be more pointed. But there certainly are a number of
mountains with the classic sharp summit - Matterhorn, Weisshorn, and
Zinal Rothorn, for example. There are a number of easy 4000 meter peaks
in this area (Wallis), including the Breithorn, the Allalinhorn and
the Alphubel. Also, by hut hopping on the on the Italian side, you can
climb a host of big summits in one 4 or 5 day outing, including, Breithorn,
Castor, Pollux, Liskamm, Parrotspitze, Ludwigshohe, Signalkuppe and
Zumsteinspitze, 4000 meter summits all.
The Berner Oberland offers the classic Trilogy of
the Mönch, Jungfrau and Eiger (though the Eiger is considerably
harder than the other two). Also, the Oberland is a great place to wander
endlessly from hut to hut, ticking off the bigger summits as you go.
Piz Bernina and the surrounding peaks of Piz Palu,
Morteratsch and Roseg, are a little gem of a massif, and some of the
best cliimbing we have done in the Alps has been here, particualrly
the Biancograt on the Bernina and the traverse of Piz Palu. The Engadine,
with its most well-known town, St Moritz, is also a great place of hiking
and families.
For alpine rock climbs, the Chamonix area again has
a great selection, though the Val Bregaglia near Saint Moritz is also
excellent with such classic climbs as the North Ridge of the Piz Badile.
The Grimsel Pass area is great for rock climbing on long clean granite
slabs. And the Dolomites are justly famous for steep and very long rock
routes.
When to go.......
Predicting the weather is bound to get you in trouble,
but what the heck....
Generally the season for climbing in the Alps runs
from about the beginning of July, through about mid-September. But every
year is different and the weather is a fickle master. For easier routes
and lower elevation rock climbing the season can be much longer.
For better ice and snow climbing conditions lean
toward the early side of the season, say the entire month of July. Mont
Blanc is normally good by then as are the big peaks of the Zermatt area
(with the notable exception of the Matterhorn).
If you want to do technical rock routes on the higher
summits you might want to wait until more snow has melted. Normally
the very hard high elevation rock routes are done in August, as are
many of the classic mixed ridge routes.
The Matterhorn is normally climbable from about mid-July
to early or mid-September, though some years poor weather and snow on
the route can keep it out of condition longer, and shut it down for
the season by the end of August. In the summer of 1999 the best weather
and climbing conditions occured in July and September, with August being
a bit of a wash-out.
The mountains tend to be most crowded in August,
especially in France, when everyone takes their holiday. But there are
always places where few people can be found if you are willing to hike
a little further or visit summits you have never heard of.
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Cosley & Houston Alpine Guides, All Rights Reserved
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to a climb. We also indicate whether it is technically very difficult
(as in steep!) with a 
symbol. If it includes a lot of less difficult terrain it gets a 
symbol. These symbols can apply to rock or ice. If there is significant
snow or ice climbing we also give it a 
ice ax symbol.