Duke of Edinburgh Award Gold Expedition – High Adventure in the Swiss Alps

August 10th 2006… now an infamous day ingrained in the minds of many weary travellers, the day when airport security was forever tightened. The day last year the airports shut to handle a potential airport terrorist threat… the day last year when a Hereford Cathedral School Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award group got caught up with national events at Luton Airport and learnt that ‘flight cancelled’ meant no flight, no alternatives and no expedition – that year. The window of opportunity had closed.

In many ways travelling back to Hereford in the evening of the 10th August last year was heart breaking – trying to co-ordinate a week away mid summer with a highly competitive, sporting active and committed body of students had been, to say the least, difficult. Knowing that this could possibly be the last time this group of friends would be together, as family demands meant that some were moving on, a decision was made then, in the minibus, to rebook the flights, keep the account open and return a year later. With members of the group travelling independently, arriving from four different countries, two different continents, a year later this commitment was met. A testimony to the unbroken friendship created over the previous years’ expeditions at Silver and Bronze levels; a true testimony to the underlying sprit of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme.

A year’s expectation altered the group’s perception of the challenge. Maybe it was the year’s extra maturity; members of the group had undertaken travelling abroad in the intervening year and had travelled with students from different schools to complete practice journeys and residential projects. What ever, this was now an expedition group with attitude – the alpine peaks were there to be enjoyed.

Expedition routes in the Swiss Alps are weather dependent, more so than in the United Kingdom as one has to take into account the likelihood of thunder storms and associated pattern of lightening strikes, snow cover and slope stability, landslides and path closures - this year all ever present and real hazards. The reward, if planned with care, is a four day high level traverse across a range of differing mountain environments with some of the most spectacular views and vistas imaginable.

The expedition started with a long traverse along the north side of the Chamonix Valley, along a tortuous route that slipped in and out of the Aiguilles Rouges at just below 3000 metres, drifting in and out of the heavy clouds that slowly dissipated during the course of the day. There is no comparison within the United Kingdom, unless completing a Cuillin traverse on the Isle of Skye in winter, to the intricacies of route finding across these open boulder fields, permanent snow patches and the maze of fingers of rock; the most infamous being the ‘index’ rock climb. The high mountain lakes – Lac Cornu and Lac Noir - still frozen in places added to the wilderness of the area where rocky buttresses shielded hidden cwms, and all around were deep inaccessible valleys. Coping well with the initial accent and enjoying the improving visibility, the group managed this section well, tiring in the afternoon with the long decent to the Col des Montets.

The second day saw the group’s first real alpine summit – the Aiguille des Posettes – a demanding 800 metre pull up the forever narrowing arête of the Crete des Frettes to a summit advantage point that held an uninterrupted 360-degree view, ranging from the snowy peaks, glaciers and rocky mountains back along the Chamonix valley to the ever green Swiss alpine meadows to the east. Late afternoon saw the increasingly confident group cross into Switzerland at the Col de Balme before descending into the dark recesses of the Trient valley. It was here that they made an important decision – instead of the planned ‘easy’ third day of the aptly named ‘Bovine’ route the group, taking advice about a deteriorating weather forecast for the subsequent days, made the bold decision to tackle the high alpine pass of the Fenetre d’Arpette a day early – this meant an early alpine start.

This col – Fenetre d’Arpette – is a narrow breach in the rocky backwall of the encircling  cwm of the Trient glacier; reached only, from the west, by a back breaking, lung demanding 1500 metre climb up a continuously shifting scree and boulder slope… along with the added complication of the impact of altitude on respiration rates. The way was deceptively undemanding at first, with a path that angled across the hillside tracing its way across the top of the tree studded moraine left by the ever retreating Trient Glacier. At Vesevey, a low ruin of a traditional transhumance mountain hut, the path steepened and soon after a series of zigzags the Trient glacier was left below and climbing / scrambling over the jumble of rocks and boulders the group gained the Fenetre late afternoon. The Fenetre is a classic mountain pass. On the west side the Trient glacier, spilling from the ice plateau of the Pointe d’Orny is ever present, in the east there are vast sweeps of scree slopes, indistinct paths across snow patches. Taking care over the first initial steep, semi-vertical, slopes of the upper wall, the group descended slowly east towards Champex. Exhausted from the climb, bearing the effects of high altitude and increasingly being affected from chronic dehydration this decent was hard. Snow patches were crossed, some descended semi-out of control – members of the group enjoying the cool relief of the snow on sore muscles. Night fall saw the predicted change in weather with an unstable air mass moving across the northern Alps along with associated thunderstorms.

Their final day was ‘traditional’ Duke of Edinburgh weather… well with the added bonuses of alpine storms. The weather justified their route change as the final day started with persistent rain, low cloud and the odd rumble of thunder along with the nerve shattering flashes of lightening across the plateaux. Walking sticks not so visible this day - the group completed their expedition by traversing the Bovine route from Champex to Trient, crossing swollen mountain streams, climbing through cloud along with a herd of cows… disorientated and wet the finish a welcome relief.

What of the future… mountain leaders – potentially; in a day where youngsters are so often vilified for their selfish life style;  these are model students, keen to share their experience and pass on to others the enjoyment of challenge – a credit to all.  A group shaped by mutual experience over at least six expeditions starting in Year 10 with a walk along the Malvern’s…

(Move mouse over photographs for rollover image - Bronze to Gold)