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    Alps Trilogy

    Alps Trilogy

    per person

    This is the Grand Tour of the High Alps.


    This is the Grand Tour of the High Alps. Combine Mont Blanc, the Matterhorn, and the Eiger into a 12-day tour de force!

    This trip is reservable as a custom itinerary at customized pricing.  Please contact the SMG office to inquire.

    Sunrise on the Mont Blanc.

    Sunrise on the Mont Blanc.

    To complete the Alps Trilogy is a rare and impressive feat.

    For experienced, fit, and skilled mountaineers looking for a great first reconnaissance to the Alps, this is the very best. The classic Alps Trilogy starts in Chamonix, France, the alpine climbing epicenter of the world. Chamonix has limitless options for climbing and acclimatizing. Our time there culminates with an ascent of Mont Blanc. The next stop crosses cultural barriers into the German-speaking Wallis region of Switzerland and bases in Zermatt. Climb timeless classics on the Monte Rosa massif and finish the stay with an ascent of the Matterhorn. The trip finishes in the Bernese Oberland Region of Switzerland with a climb of the iconic Eiger.

    Have no illusions: to complete the Alps Trilogy is a rare and impressive feat. All of the variables of weather, conditions, logistics, and your endurance of course have to come together to summit these 3 peaks in 12 days. We’ll take care of the logistcs, you take care of your training, and we’ll let nature help us out with the rest. The trick is to be flexible with your itinerary. Regardless, this is regularly described by SMG guests as “the best 12 days of climbing” of their lives. Whether or not you manage to summit all 3 of these mountains, we average 8-9  awesome climbs in the 12 days. Our slogan for the SMG Alps Trilogy: “9 out of 3 ain’t bad!”

    • Included
      alpine climbing
      Alps climbing
      Alps trilogy
      Berner Oberland
      Bernese Oberland
      Chamonix
      climbing
      Eiger
      France
      Grindelwald
      Jungfrau
      Matterhorn
      Monch
      Mont Blanc
      Switzerland
      Zermatt
    • Not Included
      14ers
      3D chute
      3rd pillar
      3rd Pillar Dana
      AIARE
      AIARE 1
      AIARE 2
      Alaska
      Alaska skiing
      alpine
      alpine rock climbing
      Alps
      Alps running
      Alps skiing
      American Mountain Guides Association
      AMGA
      avalanche awareness
      avalanche course
      backcountry
      backcountry 101
      backcountry ski
      Backcountry Skiing
      backcountry snowboard
      backpacking
      Bear Creek Spire
      Bishop
      Bishop Skyline
      Blacksmith Peak
      Bloody Mountain
      Breakthrough
      Bridgeport
      California
      California fourteeners
      camping
      Cardinal Pinnacle
      Carson Peak
      Celestial Aretes
      Chamonix climbing
      Charlotte Dome
      chef
      classic rock climb
      classic Sierra rock
      climb
      climbing camp
      climbing skills
      climbing Swiss Alps
      Clyde Minaret
      Convict Creek
      cook
      courses
      courses instruction
      crampon
      Crest tour
      Crystal Crag
      custom
      custom private ski
      Dana Plateau
      destinations
      Devil's Slide
      Dolomites
      Dolomites climbing
      Double Eagle Resort
      Dream Bowl
      East Buttress
      East Face
      Eastern Sierra climbing
      Eastern Sierra skiing
      Eastern Sierra Winter
      Evolution Loop
      exam
      fastpacking
      Fishhook Arete
      Four Seasons
      Glass Creek
      guide course
      Haute Route
      heli assisted
      heli skiing
      Hemlock Ridge
      High Sierra
      High Sierra skiing
      high tour
      hiking
      Horse Creek
      horses
      Horsetail Falls
      Hut to Hut
      ice 101
      ice axe
      ice climbing
      ice climbing course
      Incredible Hulk
      instruction
      intermediate level
      international
      introductory
      introductory ice climbing course
      Italy
      John Muir Trail
      John Muir Wilderness
      June Lake
      June Mountain
      Kautz Glacier
      kids
      kids climbing programs
      Las Vegas
      lee vining
      Lee Vining area
      lee vining canyon
      level 1
      level 1 refresher
      level 2
      light and fast
      lightweight
      Lone Pine
      Lone Pine Peak
      Lovers Leap
      Mammoth Lakes
      Mammoth Lakes to Yosemite
      Mammoth Mountain
      Mammoth to June
      Mammoth to Yosemite
      Matterhorn Peak
      McGee Creek
      Merriam Peak
      mixed climbing
      Mont Blanc run
      Mount Conness
      Mount Dana
      Mount Emerson
      Mount Gabb
      Mount Humphreys
      Mount Mills
      Mount Rainier
      mountain running
      mountaineering
      Mountaineers Route
      Mt Conness
      Mt. Dana
      Mt. Emerson
      Mt. Humphreys
      Mt. Russell
      Mt. Sill
      Mt. Tom
      Mt. Whitney
      Mt. Winchell
      mules
      multiday
      negatives
      Nevada
      North Palisade
      North Peak
      north ridge
      onion valley to mt. whitney
      Ortler
      Owens River Gorge
      pack outfit
      pack support
      packers
      palisades
      Palisades Glacier Camp
      peak descents
      Peter Croft
      Pine Creek
      Polemonium Peak
      porters
      Positive Vibrations
      private
      private custom
      professional development
      Red and White Mountain
      Red Dihedral
      red rock
      Red Slate Mountain
      rescue skills
      Ritter Range
      rock
      rock 201
      rock climbing
      Rock Creek
      Rock Creek to Mammoth
      Sabre Ridge
      San Joaquin Ridge
      Sawtooths
      self arrest
      self belay
      self rescue
      Sequoia National Park
      sherpas
      Sierra
      Sierra 5.10
      sierra alpine
      Sierra Mountain Guides
      Sierra Nevada
      Sierra skiing
      single pitch instructor
      ski
      ski guiding
      ski mountaineering
      ski tour
      ski touring
      skiing
      snow
      snow skills
      snowboard
      SPI
      splitboard
      sport
      sport climbing
      Starlight Peak
      supported
      Tahoe
      Temple Crag
      third pillar
      Thompson Pass
      Thunderbolt Peak
      Tioga
      trad climbing
      trail running
      traverse
      Tuolumne
      Twin Lakes
      Ultra Trail Mont Blanc
      ultralight
      Valdez
      Via Ferrata
      white line
      wilderness trip
      winter
      Yosemite
      yosemite national park
      Yosemite ski
      Yost Meadow
      Zermatt Valley
    TRIP ITINERARY: Alps Trilogy: Mont Blanc, Matterhorn, Eiger * This itinerary is flexible to accomodate weather, conditions, and ability levels
    Day 0 5pm meet in Chamonix at our hotel in town for an apertif. This evening we will discuss our agenda, look at the maps, and do a quick gear check. Chamonix is a great place for shopping if you need specific gear that you have difficulty finding in the states. Anyone who is not struggling too much with jet lag is invited to join us for dinner at one of our favorite local restaurants.
    Day 1 Climb in Chamonix. Depending on weather and conditions we will have an outing using one of the many lifts that allow us access to the high peaks. There are countless options for climbing to choose from. We will focus on having a quality climb while reviewing the skills that we will be using for the upcoming climbs, such as crampon & ice axe technique, snow, ice, rock, and mixed climbing, glacier travel and other roped climbing techniques. We will return to Chamonix for the evening.
    Day 2 Chamonix climbing. More acclimatization and training. Return to Chamonix.
    Day 3 Chamonix climbing from the Aiguille du Midi tram. Spend the night in the Cosmiques Hut.
    Day 4 Early morning start to attempt Mont Blanc (4810m/15,781’) via the Trois Sommets Traverse. This is an amazing route that goes over the shoulders of both Mont Blanc du Tacul and Mont Maudit en route to the summit of Mont Blanc. It is a long and physically demanding route that usually involves a short section of technical snow and ice climbing. Depending on conditions we may “reverse the traverse” and return to the Cosmiques Hut. We may also decide to continue traversing down the more crowded Gouter route to spend the night at the Tete Rousse Hut. (It is possible if things go very well that either option would put us in Chamonix that evening.)
    Day 5 Descend to Chamonix. Enjoy the town. Possible afternoon rock climbing for the energetic. Evening in Chamonix.
    Day 6 Travel by train in the morning to Zermatt to arrive mid-day. Optional rock climbing or via feratta (“iron path”) adventure in the afternoon. Evening in Zermatt.
    Day 7 Half-traverse of the Breithorn (4164m/13,658’). This is one of our favorite day climbs in the area which summits a high alpine peak via a knife-edge, technical, mixed, ridge traverse. This is excellent training for the Matterhorn. Return to Zermatt for the evening.
    Day 8 Relax and prepare for the Matterhorn in the morning. Arrive at the Hornlihutte in the afternoon. We will spend a couple hours to recon the lower mountain which we will have to climb in the dark the next day.
    Day 9 Climb the Matterhorn (4478m, 14,693’) via the Hornli Ridge. This is a very demanding technical climb that requires great fitness and climbing efficiency. The most difficult sections have fixed lines to expedite the ascent. This climb will take us 7-10 hours to complete roundtrip and takes about the same amount of time to ascend as to descend. We will descend to Zermatt for the evening and to celebrate our trip so far.
    Day 10 Travel by train from Zermatt to Grindelwald. Relax, explore town, optional afternoon rock climbing.
    Day 11 Take the incredible Jungfraujoch Railway which tunnels through the depths of the Eiger past the Eigerwand and stops at the Eismeer where we get off. Here the adventure begins! We go through a tunnel to the East face and exit onto the glacier. After a couple technical rock pitches and lots of exposed scrambling, we arrive at the Mittellegihutte, perched atop the Eiger’s North Ridge.
    Day 12 Climb the Eiger (3970m/13,025’) via the Mittellegi Ridge, traversing the South ridge to the Eigerjoch col. We travel the glaciers around to the Monchsjoch col then easily down to the Jungfraujoch where the train will take us back to Grindelwald. Celebrations and the end of the trip.