Description

A popular objective for ski tourers in Spring, the Ebnefluh is also a fine mountain for low grade alpinists to aim for in Summer.

There are no technical sections on the ascent but it does take you through some huge, glaciated terrain and as such you'll need to equipped with the full array of alpine skills - thorough knowledge of glacial travel and route finding, and crevasse rescue skills in case somebody inadvertently locates a hole. Start from the Hollandia Hut and head north up the Ebnefluhfirn Glacier.

The angle as you climb the glacier is remarkably consistent, meaning that you can just concentrate on enjoying your surroundings without worrying too much about the intricacies of the terrain you've covering. As you climb across the top bowl of the Ebnefluhfirn Glacier you begin to swing around north-east and then, once level with the summit Ebnefluh, due east.

Gain the mountain's blunt north-west ridge and follow this easily onto the summit.

It is hard to know where to start when describing the view but suffice to say that it is utterly spectacular.

The Aletschhorn dominates the panorama to the south, and the Fiescherhorns and Finsteraarhorn look magnificent over to the east.

You'll be able to pick out countless other famous Swiss 4000ers in the distance too.

Some of the peaks around the Ebnefluh are incredibly intimidating so it's thrilling even to look at them. After playing "spot the 4000ers" for a while, descend back to the Hollandia Hut via the ascent route and settle in for another night in the high mountains.