Ascent of Pigna d'Arolla

Classic Haute Route: Day 9. An early start (4:30am) to reach the high point of our route, the Pigne d'Arolla (3796m) by 10am. A short glacial descent down the col led us to the impressively perching Vignettes Hut (3160m) which sits on a crag above a sheer cliff.

We woke at 4:30 to find teh hut guardian had slept in. Luckily after extensive investigation of the hut a very embarassed guardian heated some water for us! The day turned out fantastic with the cloud staying below the ridge enabling some wonderful high alpine walking. This is a grade "facile" alpine climb - the lowest - and this photo is the steepest part - the "Serepentine ridge. I quite like the defocused effect with teh emergent sun to give a real sense of angle and effort.