Ed and Bonnie Sauder came over from "the verdant hills of central Illinois", and joined up with Kathy for some climbing in the Grindelwald area.

Ed had just finished the Jungfrau marathon, and so was primed and ready for some climbing! Ed and Bonnie pose on the ridge between the Mönch and the Fiescherhorn, where we did a bit of technical review and a wander on our first day.

On the same ridge, with the Fiescherhorns and Grünhorns in the background.

The next day, Kathy and Ed headed up the Mönch. Ed had gazed at the Mönch, Jungfrau and Eiger during formative childhood visits with his Swiss grandfather who had climbed many of these and other peaks. It had sparked a lifelong dream to climb these summits himself. I (Kathy) felt it a great honor to be with him when he was lucky enough to fulfill that dream! The weather, as you can see, was great. It started out pretty windy and cloudy but improved as we went higher.

Ed pausing at about 1/3 of the way up the route.

The summit ridge... Yiyeee! Interesting conditions! I think that a combination of cold snow storms in July, along with a long dry spell in August, somehow set things up to be more exposed than usual. The track was good, but had been eroded by wind to the point where it just stayed up in the air, wasn't beaten into a deeper trench anywhere. The upshot was solid, but very expoxed, ridge-crest travel!

Ed enjoys the views from the summit.

Other parties heading back down from the top.

Back in the Mönchsjoch hut, we have time to check out our photos from the day.

The following day the forecast was ideal, and we headed up to the Jungfrau.

Ed on the summit, after a fast and smooth ascent. The snow conditions were amazing!

Descending the "direct route" back to the Jungfraujoch train station complex. Thank you, Ed and Bonnie!