Ascent to Ortler (3905m asl)

There are seven of us and we have two psychologists on the team. This is not the intention, they simply make a living from it. There are also three Ajtians and we also have a top manager and a French researcher. This expedition decided to defeat Ortler. Some of its members did not know each other before, it is actually a kind of socializing outcome of part of the party and preparation for overcoming the peaks of others and more difficult. The plan is given. The weather seems promising to ideal. So on Thursday after work, we leave Prague with two cars, the topics of conversation will obviously not just happen to us. We have a bed halfway in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, no overnight driving, no overnight parking, we decided to take it very culturally.

The ascent to the cottage is very easy, about 600 meters above sea level, along the road winding up the hill, we diversify it by swimming in a lake just below the cottage. We are staying and we are going to practice to see the boarding, some other 200 altitude meters, so that we do not get lost there in the dark in the morning. Dinner at the cottage is a real four-course gluttony, we prepare backpacks after it and lie down around ten o'clock. So far, it looks like a successful trip for retirees.

Relax and meet the evening before the climb. The cottage is able to accommodate 70 guests, sleeps classically on bunk beds in large rooms. Ordering accommodation with half board means that you get a huge dinner (appetizer, salad, steak and dessert) and a simple, practical breakfast, it will cost you 50 Euros. The water in the cottage is not drinkable.

We get up at half past three, at four we are already standing in front of the cottage with the headlights on, packed up, having breakfast and going hungry. It's unbelievably hot, we don't even wear jackets, after a while we are sweaty even in a T-shirt. We climb briskly to the rubble. We are already divided, there are five of us, Karel and Pauline stayed behind us, they were planning a slower pace at home. It is not advisable to lose your way in the rubble, otherwise you will start to go down and throw stones at the ones below you. We are overtaken by two old leopards without helmets (we will exchange them with them about three more times during the journey). Above the rubble follows a glacial field, we come there two groups, they call themselves cats. We do the same and enter the ice tied up. We are wearing jackets, with increasing altitude it started to blow nicely. After a while, the ascent to the rocks and the first climbing begins. We are one trio and one pair and we proceed with the help of continuous securing. Sometimes it is necessary to skid, borháky are only sporadically, climbing is quite easy, especially for the more experienced, only one place corresponds to IV.UIAA. When climbing, however, it is necessary to take into account a certain exposure and falling stones. It is also good to be careful what you stick to. Surprisingly, before the ninth we see the top cross and at exactly nine we are with it. Congratulations and fooling around at the cross. On the other hand, a guide with two clients comes normally, the lady is quite ready, but she smiles, we give them a camera or a mobile phone to immortalize us and one of the psychologists starts cheering happily.

About half an altitude below the top, a little after six in the morning, before entering the snow field, peeks out from under the hills and clouds …

We have about 300 altitude meters left to the top. We have a lift (4th) behind us, it is a place barely a few meters long in terms of protection, there is a borhák at the bottom, a loop in the middle in the joint and a chain at the top. Above will be another snow field with a slope of about 40 °, which requires you to put the cats back on and take out the ice ax.

At nine o'clock in the morning we are upstairs, clouds are chasing us and we are lucky to be alone at the top for some time.

On the normal we descend, there are cracks like a pig (unfortunately you can't say otherwise), over some they even loaded metal ladders (it squeaks nicely in those cats …). We go tied all five on one rope and wonder how long it will last all sorts of snow bridges leading through cracks. After about an hour we arrive at the Lombardi bivouac, from where it is necessary to abseil, it is less than twenty meters and there are more places for abseiling. Even the rest of the normal way is not completely easy. Climbing passages for three and also several places with chains, where one can fall a few dozen, sometimes hundreds of meters. An ice ax fell on the triple ridge (helmet in Allalinhorn, ice ax here, I'll probably leave something in every mountain …). Payer Hütte appears in front of us, it's around two in the afternoon and there are still jokes that we're still descending to Tabarettahütte with the famous ferrata of difficulty E. Jokes and conversations remained throughout the afternoon while we stayed at Payer Hütte, which we had ordered to sleep, loaded in the sun in front of the cottage we drink frothy juice. The remaining two members of the expedition also arrived for dinner, they received minor physical and mental wounds, but they are talking. It is said that they met Czechs who were going to spend the night in that bivouac. No wonder, it's supposed to be pretty disgusting tomorrow and it probably won't be possible to manage the climb otherwise.

Even a normal route is quite challenging alpine tourism. There are a large number of large cracks. In the lower rocky part on the Tabarreta ridge, the path is secured by chains, in front of it – in one shorter part it is necessary to climb a rock of difficulty II.-III.UIAA.

At the level of the Lombardi bivouac, it is good to keep the cats, followed by abseiling, followed by a short company transition, when breaking seracs roar over us. Then the road leads to the rocks, to the ridge above.

There is little left to deliver. On Sunday we went down and pushed to Bohemia. In addition to the rising sun, we watched three figures return from the top in the morning before breakfast. Thanks to social networks, it was confirmed that they were bivouacs. Since the storm broke out before they could get down, they had a good time in the rocks. At that time, there was still a group of people who climbed the Ortler north wall, difficulty TD, or Tres difficile (= very hard). But this is a completely different song, a different performance, worthy of real admiration.