Learn and practise. Gain confidence at full speed.
Weissmies – Valais
During these high-altitude mountaineering days, you’ll work with us to expand your existing knowledge and skills in high-altitude mountaineering, and we’ll put them into practice straight away on a variety of tours. The region around the Weissmies offers ideal training terrain, grippy granite for scrambling and fantastic glacier tours. Over the first two days, we’ll refresh your knowledge and build on it through practical exercises and shorter application tours. Afterwards, the programme includes a traverse of two easy 4,000-metre peaks. A perfect opportunity to apply what you’ve learnt in a real-life mountaineering scenario. We’ll set off from the newly renovated Weissmies Hut, eager to explore the new extension – a beautiful timber annexe that complements the hut’s traditional Valaisan architecture perfectly. Here, we’ll also find ideal training terrain and superb granite. On the second day, we can undertake a fantastic training tour on the Jegihorn, and exciting practical tours such as the Lagginhorn, the Schwarzmies or the Lagginjoch await us. We’ll spend the last night at the Berghaus Hohsaas. There, we’ll enjoy a well-deserved shower before planning the next tour together or deciding to tackle another training ridge. The descent is made much easier by the cable cars from Hohsaas.
This high-altitude mountaineering coaching course is aimed at anyone who already has some basic high-altitude mountaineering experience (e.g. from a beginner’s course or their first independent climbs) and wishes to further develop their knowledge in the areas of route planning, rope handling and practical tactics. We travel in small rope teams, which leaves plenty of scope for individual coaching and collaborative learning within the team. The focus is on training, not on ticking off 4,000-metre peaks.
We’ll meet in Saas-Grund and get to know each other during a brief welcome. We’ll then make our way up the first few metres in altitude comfortably by cable car. Once we’ve arrived at Hohsaas, we’ll take some time to discuss your expectations and personal goals for the coming days and tailor the programme to the group.
Right next to the mountain station, on the Trift Glacier, we find the ideal training ground for our first training modules. Together, we assess our current level of knowledge, refresh what we already know and focus intensively on ice techniques and how to behave on the glacier. After the training, we descend to the Weissmies Hut in about an hour.
After dinner, we’ll get round to planning our route. Together, we’ll discuss the 3×3 model, the risk assessment and other basics for planning high-altitude tours safely and independently.
On the second day, we put what we have learnt into practice straight away in alpine terrain. On a varied practical tour on the Jegihorn, we consolidate what we learnt the previous day and gain further experience on rock and in easy high-altitude terrain.
Step by step, we’re gaining more confidence and preparing for the upcoming days of touring. In the process, we receive direct feedback and can focus on specific individual areas.
In the evening, we reflect together on the day’s training, clarify any outstanding questions and discuss the current stage of our training. We then plan the upcoming tours and go over the 3×3 model and the Risk Check in more detail.
On the third day, depending on the conditions and the group’s level of training, a suitable alpine training tour is on the programme. Possible destinations include the Fletschhorn, Lagginhorn or Weissmies, as well as the rocky ridge leading up to the Schwarzmies.
On one of these classic high-altitude tours, we’ll put what we’ve learnt into practice in real-world conditions and gain valuable experience of navigating independently in the high mountains. Throughout the tour, you’ll receive direct feedback on your belaying technique, your route choice and the decisions you make in the terrain.
In the evening, we head to the Hohsaas Hut and treat ourselves to a well-deserved shower. Afterwards, we reflect together on the day’s tour, discuss individual strengths and areas for development, and plan the final day.
The final day of the course offers another opportunity to work specifically on your own skills. We tailor the programme to suit the weather conditions, the group’s level of training and their interests.
The terrain around the Lagginjoch offers ideal opportunities to tackle a training ridge once again and consolidate the various belaying techniques. Alternatively, we can use the day for in-depth ice training on the glacier. This will allow us, for example, to practise walking with crampons and the basics of crevasse rescue using pulley systems once again in depth.
To round things off, we’ll take some time to reflect together. We’ll discuss your progress, provide personalised feedback and suggest possible next steps and tour destinations to help you develop further in high-altitude mountaineering.
After a joint final debrief, we take the mountain railways back down to the valley to Saas-Grund in comfort. Our training programme together comes to an end, having gained new experiences, greater confidence and valuable insights for future high-altitude tours.
This four-day high-altitude mountaineering course will teach you the technical and methodological basics for travelling safely and with increasing independence in the high mountains. You will learn how to move safely on rock, snow and ice, how to use various belaying techniques appropriately for the situation, and how to plan and assess alpine tours independently.
1. Ice climbing and glacier techniques
2. Rock stabilisation and climbing techniques
3. Route planning and risk management
4. Practical application in alpine terrain
5. In-depth study and personal development
Bergschaft tours and courses are conducted in German as standard. However, our mountain guides speak good English, as do many of the participants. If you speak English, you are of course very welcome. Depending on the tour, it may be worth asking us in advance whether the guide and the group are comfortable speaking English.
10–13 June 2027, Thursday–Sunday, 4 days
1–4 July 2027, Thursday–Sunday, 4 days
8–11 July 2027, Thursday–Sunday, 4 days
22–25 July 2027, Thursday–Sunday, 4 days
12–15 August 2027, Thursday–Sunday, 4 days
2–5 September 2027, Thursday–Sunday, 4 days
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