Explore Pennine Alps, Italy/Switzerland: Breithorn

Overview

Distance: 5.7 km

Average Duration: 5-6 hrs

Difficulty Level: Intermediate

Total Elevation Gain: 685 m

Start/Finish: Cervinia-Cervinia

The meeting point for me was the cable car station “FUNIVIA BREUIL-CERVINIA – PLAN MAISON”

At an altitude of 4,165 meters Breithorn is a great challenge for someone looking to achieve their first 4000m peak. Breithorn is located within the Monte Rosa massif. This hike starts in Italy, by the time you ascend you’re in Switzerland. The peak itself lies in the pennine alps on the swiss italian border. Breithorn is one of the highest peaks in the pennine alps.

Planning

• Getting There: I flew from Gatwick to Milan, then rented a car and drove to Cervinia.

• Season: I completed this in June but anytime from May-October is considered a good time.

• Permits & Fees: There are fees for the cable car, but I didn’t experience any other fees or permits.

• Water: I took 1 litre of water, and had consumed 1 litre of electrolytes before attending. There is a small building at the top where you can purchase water.

• Food: I ate before leaving but took some high energy snacks along with me. There is a small building at the top that has a light food menu along with coffee and water provisions.

Accommodation

I stayed in a hotel in Hotel Europa in Cervinia. It’s well located a short walk to the Cable car.

There’s a great deal of options available from Air BnB’s to Hostels and Hotels.

The Hike

Firstly, I’d like to acknowledge this hike had two challenges that aren’t common but did occur. Number one we were aware a landslide had occurred days before we arrived, it was reported to have damaged property, and our accommodation was moved accordingly. Number 2 we experienced a car crash when we arrived in the town, no major injuries but I had some damage to my right hand and whiplash.

After we’d settled into our hotel, we agreed I’d go alone on the hike the following day. We made arrangements to ensure the guide was aware. We used Explore-Share for this booking. Giovanni was our dedicated guide and was very understanding about the situation. He messaged me on WhatsApp to confirm meeting times and locations for the following morning.

I woke up in the morning and perform some common-sense checks to check my suitability for the hike. I made my way to the cable car station which is a very short walk (under 10 minutes) from Hotel Europa. When I arrived, Giovanni was there and introduced himself. I explained the accident the previous day and the injuries and we discussed options. I was able to hold a pole and ice axe and could grip if necessary. Giovanni had brough along an ice axe, and harness for me.

There was some delay with the cable cars but after a short ait we began our journey. The scenery is beautiful with views of the Alps getting better as you ascend. There are several cable car stations to navigate, and this does take around 45 minutes from Cervinia to Plateau Rosa where the hike begins. During the ascent on the cable car Giovanni briefed me more about the hazards such as the crevasse, where we’d be using ropes, he also explained he is part of the mountain rescue team and is well trained to deal with any issues.

There’s a small building offering food, drinks and most importantly toilets. We stopped here and fitted crampons and the harness. Giovanni then led me through a subtle gradient that is part of a ski path. The path wasn’t busy because it was summertime.

This in crampons felt harder than it should have

As we continued my feet began to hurt. I know you’re meant to wear new boots in but stupidly I hadn’t had time to do this very well. I don’t often suffer from blisters and assumed I’d be okay.

About 15 -20 minutes into this hike, I began to feel quite unfit. I was getting hot and quite breathless. Mentioned this to Giovanni and he said we were making good time and advised to try to find a comfortable pace. This is good advice.

We continued until we reached the crevasse. It is a very large and fairly flat, here we ensured the rope binding us was tighter and we walked closer together. Although it isn’t very common this area does have weak points and people have fallen here. Keeping the roe tight reduces the risk of both people falling in, the idea is simply that one can prevent the other from falling and hopefully pull them up. The tighter the rope the smaller the fall.

We made our way over the crevasse; I was surprised by the amount of people hiking considering the cable car wasn’t busy. I assume they’d entered by different means. This part of the hike wasn’t particularly challenging but keeping close to a partner isn’t something I’m familiar with.

A view over the glacier

Eventually we passed the crevasse and continued on a small incline. My feet were beginning to hurt badly, and I could feel blisters forming. I had to slow down due to being out of breath. I didn’t realise at the time, but I believe this was due to the altitude, with oxygen levels being lower you have to work harder. I had been substantially higher than this in the past without any issues, but I had more time to acclimatise then.

The final incline is quite steep and took quite a lot out of me physically. I was happy to see many others stopping regularly, that made me feel less useless. I would describe my fitness level as medium, I didn’t complete any training prior to this trip.

The end was in sight, a short walk along the ridge provided some stunning views. The feeling of success is a lovely feeling, and looking out and seeing the mighty Matterhorn and a variety of other peaks of the Alps is a treat. There was quite a lot of cloud, so my photos don’t do it justice. Giovanni took some better-quality photos and sent them to me later via WhatsApp. We stayed at the peak for a little while taking it in.

Unfortunate clouds moving in but I did see the peaks in the distance including a close up of the Matterhorn, photo to the right is the cloud moving in

Eventually we made our way down, it’s best not to hang around too long because there is an increased risk of falling through the crevasse as the days goes on due to ice melting. As we descended, I did have to speak to Giovanni as I found the pace was quite quick for me given the situation with my feet, He did appear to listen but at times the distance necessary on the rope did make me feel like a dog being pulled along on a lead.

At one point I demanded to stop, and simply did so. We’d passed several others and were passed the crevasse at this point. Although it was cold I was only wearing a long-sleeved t shirt and a thin hoody due to being fatigued. After five minutes I was happy to continue.

We made our way back to the cable car and enjoyed the ride back with the feeling of accomplishment. This wasn’t the highest I’d been, in fact on paper the incline doesn’t appear to be demanding at all. It was challenging, I did make mistakes, my heels did look and feel awful, but I summited a 4,000m peak under tricky circumstances and I left proud of myself. I also learnt that Compede is possibly the greatest creation in the world 😊

Notes

I’d recommend getting insurance for this trip. It’s never particularly expensive, I think mine was around £20 for the day. Hiking at high altitude usually comes under snow sports.