| OUTLINE
ITINERARY
DAY 1 -
Fly to Zurich
Fly
to Zurich and transfer to Lauterbrunnen by train (see schedule
under our Transfers section in the next column). Meet in the
bar at the Hotel Sternen at 6.30pm to collect hire equipment.
Briefing with mountain guides.
DAY 2 - to the Konkordia Hut
Take the train from Lauterbrennen to the Eigerstation. Then
from the rail tunnel we head out into the vast expanse of
the Jungfraufirn and make an easy climb to the Lauihorn (3969m).
Then there is a 1000 metre ski down to the Konkordia refuge.
DAY 3 - Gross Grunhorn
We attempt our first 4000m peak from the Konkordia. We can
leave most of our gear at the hut and so climb with just a
day sack to the Gross Grunhorn- (4043m) before skiing steep
slopes back to the Konkordia hut.
DAY
4 - to the Monchjoch hut
We move on to the Monchjoch hut via the Truberg (3867m). This
is the highest hut on the trip and is owned by the Grindelwald
mountain guides.
DAY
5 - the Feischerhorn, 4048m
We move further east to the Finsteraarhornhutte via the Gross
Feischerhorn (4048m) and the magnificent Ewigscheefeld glacier.
Reaching the peak is optional as we can ski via a lower pass
if we want.
DAY
6 - Finsteraarhron
This day takes us to the highest point of the tour with an
ascent of the highest peak in the Bernese Oberland - the Finsteraarhorn
at 4273m. We leave un-needed gear at the hut as we will return
there at the end of the day. The views from the summit are
spectacular.
DAY
7 - Galmihorn
We head out of the mountains via the Galmihorn and then walk
out to the village of Munster. On the way we take the opportunity
to bag one last peak - the Volder Galmihorn (3517m) before
following the Galmigletscher out to the valley. Then we catch
the evening train from Munster back to Lauterbrunnen.
DAY
8 - Travel home
Return travel to the UK by train from Lauterbrunnen to Zurich
and onward flights.
Please
Note: This itinerary may be altered if conditions, weather
forecasts or the overall fitness of the group are judged to
put the safety of the group at risk. Pyrenean Mountain Tour
Guides reserve the right to make changes to the itinerary
without notice. These changes will be explained to the group
as and when they occur.
EQUIPMENT
AND CLOTHING NEEDED FOR THIS TREK
We
recommend that people joining this trek are equipped with
the following:
Technical
equipment
Ski Touring Skis with Touring Bindings
Ski Poles
Skins (with good glue!)
Ski Crampons
Ski Strap (for tying top of the skis together when carrying
on rucksack)
Avalanche Transceiver
Ice Axe
Crampons
Climbing Harness
Figure of 8
1 metre sling
Two screw gate karibiners
Clothing
suggestions
Thermal underwear- 1 set as a base layer
Fleece
Waterproof jacket
Waterproof overtrousers
Warm hat
Warm gloves
Warm walking socks
Sun hat or peaked cap
Sunglasses/Goggles
Other
useful items
40-60 litre rucksack (needs side straps so that you can carry
skis)
Head torch and batteries
Sun block for face and lips
Personal First Aid kit (plasters,compede, paracetamol)
Water
bottle or Platypus
Penknife
Optional
items
Change of clothing to include: underwear,tracksuit bottoms/
long-johns,dry shirt, spare socks.
Camera and film
Paperback novel
Maps
Ear plugs(there is always one snorer)
Snack bars/dried fruit/chocolate
Sheet sleeping bag (if you like them)
Ski
Touring Equipment Hire
Pyrenean Mountain Tours offer
a full equipment hire pack. You can hire everything you need
for this tour or individual items at the costs shown in the
table below. We are unable to provide equipment "last
minute" so you need to book what you need well in advance.
| Items |
Description |
Costs |
| Ski
Touring Pack |
includes:
skis, skins, ski crampons, poles, ski touring boots |
£110 |
| With
Own Boots |
includes:
all of the above but no boots |
£80 |
| Avalanche
Transceiver |
|
£30 |
| Snow
Shovel |
|
£15 |
| Climbing
Harness |
with
sling and karibiner |
£22 |
| Boot
Crampons |
to fit ski touring boots |
£22 |
| Ice
Axe |
|
£22 |
Please
remember to carry as little gear as possible. A heavy rucksack
will make the trip hard work and less fun.
|
Ski trips and more throughout Europe and beyond
Don’t let our name fool you: as well as Pyrenees
trips, we can take you to the Alps, South Tyrol, Dolomites,
Tatra Mountains and even further. In France, Spain,
Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Norway, Poland, Slovenia…even
Mongolia.
Downhill skiing, alpine skiing, off piste, telemark
skiing, ski tours, ski touring snowshoeing, trekking,
mountaineering, expedition training, motorcycle tours,
expedition training, walking, activity holidays, canyoning,
mountain biking, white water rafting, road touring,
cultural tours and study – chances are we have
just what you’re looking for. We can also arrange
all accommodation, from a hotel or B&B to a self-catering
apartment or gite.
Can’t see what you’re after? We’d
be happy to arrange a bespoke trip for you.
Pyrenean
Mountain Tours
2 Rectory
Cottages, Rectory Lane, Wolverton,Hants,
RG26 5RS, UK
tel and fax: (0044)(0)1635 297209, web: www.pyrenees.co.uk
(Pyrenean
Mountain Tours is a trading name of European Mountain
Holidays Ltd.)
|
|
| .....background
preparation |
| Maps
and Guidebooks
Your
guide will carry all the maps that the group needs
but you may want your own to plan and / or record
your journey on. The best map to get an overview
of the tour is:
“Jungfau”, 1/50,000,
Published by Office Federal de Topographie
Series Ski Route Map SSF
ISBN ofdtsff264
All published by the Ufficio Federale
di Topografia, in Switzerland.
For
a specific ski touring book read Bill
O' Connor's Alpine Ski Mountaineering, Volume
2, Central and Eastern Alps. Or if you
can find a copy his original ski touring textbook
read Ski Mountaineering. Both
are excellent.
You
can order maps and books online at: www.mapsworldwide.co.uk,
www.amazon.com,
or buy them at Stanford books in London.
Fitness and Skiing Standard
Downhill:You need to be a competent
and steady skier, experienced in all kinds of
snow conditions, preferably able to do parallel
turns in powder snow, and linked stem turns in
more difficult snow at a good touring speed. Snow
ploughs are not sufficient.
Uphill: You need to be fit enough
to climb uphill on skins for up to 5 hours at
high altitude and you must be competent with crampons
and ice axe. There are some steep climbs to reach
the best peaks. You should also be able to do
safe kick turns on steep slopes. This tour is
not suitable as a first time hut to hut ski tour.
Mountaineering: There are some
climbs using ice axe and crampons to reach some
summits and there is some intricate glacier travel.
General Notes: This tour is at
high altitude and this will affect your performance
if you are not fit.
Group
Size: 1 group of 7 people
DAF Scale:D2:A2:F3
Questions
about this tour ? Email Simon
for help.
Mountain Guides and
Leaders
Your tour will be led by one of our
qualified French or Swiss UIAGM guides.
|
|
| .....travel
details & costs |
|
Departure
Dates & Flight Details
We recommend
that you use the following flights:
Depart 3rd May, 2008
Fly to Zurich to meet train schedule (see below).
Go
to www.easyjet.com to book your flights.
What
your Holiday Will Cost
£820
per person
Is
this your first ski tour ?
This year we are trialing
a new discount scheme for people trying ski touring
for the first time. If you book an Introduction
to Ski Touring course and a ski tour in the
same year we will reduce your overall bill by
£100.
Toured
with us Before ?
If
you have been ski touring with us twice or more
before you are entitled to a £40
discount. Please
remind us when you book!
The Diary Discount
We
know that lots of you keep diaries of your ski
tours and we want to publish some of them ! Our
aim is to have a link on each of our ski touring
itinerary pages to a previous years diary of the
trip. If we publish yours we'll pay you £15
(in the form of a discount on a PMT trip of course)
for your trouble.
Transfer
Arrangements
The tour group will be meeting in the small town
of Lauterbrunnen. The simplest way to get there
is to use the efficeint Swiss rail system direct
from Zurich airport. If you have arrived on the
Easyjet schedule, as suggested above, the following
rail schedules will work well:
Zurich to Lauterbrunnen
1). Catch the 11.39 from Airport to Bern (arrives
at 13.14)
2). Catch the 13.26 from platform 7 to Interlaken
(arrives at 14.20)
3). Catch the 14.35 from platform 2a. to Lauterbrunnen
(arrives 14.55)
(12th May) Lauterbrunnen
Back to Zurich
1). Catch the 11.05 from Lauterbrunnen to Interlaken
(arrives 11.25)
2). Catch the 11.40 from platfrom 5 direct to
Zurich (arrives 14.16)
You should buy a return ticket for the whole journey
(Zurich to Lauterbrunnen) at the ticket kiosk
at Zurich airport.
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| .....more
details |
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Accommodation
Quick List
Day one:
Hotel Sternen
Day two: Konkordia
hut
Day three: Konkordia
hut
Day four: Monchjoch
hu
Day five: Finsteraarhorn
hut
Day six: Finsteraarhorn
hut
Day seven: Hotel
Sternen
.
Please note: accommodation changes may have to
be made if weather conditions or other unforeseen circumstances
make it necessary. We try to ensure that hotel rooms
are twin bedded with en suite facilities but this is
not always possible. If you pay a single supplement
but do not receive a single room , then your money will
be refunded on your return to the UK.
Included
in the Price
-2 nights half board
at hotel
-5
nights full board accommodation in mountain huts
-mountain guiding fees and expenses
Not
Included in the Price
-International air
travel to Switzerland
-Hiring of equipment from the equipment list specified
for this trip
- Drinks and snacks at huts and hotels
- packed lunch for day 1
- ski lifts, buses or taxis needed
Spending
Money
Please
bring all money in local currency (Swiss Francs and
a few Euros), as there will be no opportunity to go
to a bank en route. There is little opportunity to spend
much on this trip other than on a few beers at the huts. |
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