Saastal Summer Meet - July 2023
The Women’s Alpine Adventure Club (WAAC) summer meet this July was in the Saas Valley of Switzerland – perfect for both the new and experienced alpinist. We based ourselves at a campsite in Saas Grund, within easy access of the lifts, shops and public transport.
We had 35 women in their 20s to 60s – mostly a UK-based contingent, from the Outer Hebrides down to South Devon. And there were representatives from the Ladies Scottish Climbing Club and London Mountaineering Club – it’s great to join forces! We were joined by International Mountain Guides, Tamsin Gay and Lou Reynolds, and Aspirant Guides Polly Harmer and Silvia Loreggian to share their knowledge and skills and inspire more women into alpinism. Rie from Denmark said about the guides, they were “excellent at teaching and allowing time for questions and practice…it made for an awesome time in the Alps!”
12 women were fully guided on an Introduction to Alpinism course for 5 days, “learning so much more than [they] expected”. They covered the skills and equipment needed for summer alpinism, including a memorable overnight stay in the Weissmies Hut. Jess Williams from London commented on how much she enjoyed being “up on the snow and ice every day, exploring a new area of the Saas valley whilst learning new skills.” Katherine from Lancashire said, “To summit two 4000m peaks on the intro course was amazing. I now feel like I have the skills to do things independently.”
8 women, who’d had some previous alpine experience, took part in a 2-day Improvers course: refreshing their rope work and alpine skills, putting them into practice on a guided ascent of the Allalinhorn. And 11 more women came to summit peaks and explore independently, beginning the week by recapping the essentials with Tamsin and Lou before heading out in smaller groups. Kat from the Chilterns said, “I welcomed the chance to sense check many aspects of getting into the mountains…Every week of alpine climbing should start with a day like that!.”
During the week, WAAC women summited 5 different 4000m peaks, including a mass ascent of the Allalinhorn when 20 of them ended up on the summit within the space of an hour! The number of women-only groups was much higher than usual during the week – we hope that others noticed this too! Various multi-pitch climbs and Via Ferratas were done on the Jegihorn, Mittaghorn and Dri Horlini. And, as the heat wave hit, quite a few members were tempted to dip in some of the glacial streams and waterfalls.
Social and rest time is an important part of our meets too, whether getting to know each other whilst cooking dinner, enjoying a post-climb ice-cream, or having a lazy campsite morning to enjoy the surroundings. When you’re heading out on such big adventures, you really want to know your companions well - so there was time for teaming up, plus a whole group evening out to share achievements. Women left the week having gained new friends and partners for future alpine adventures. As Katie from the Outer Hebrides summed up, it was: “Amazing! Wonderful! A great opportunity to meet like-minded women.”
We’re excited to have taken yet another step towards getting more women out in the Alps and are looking forward to expanding our community even further with our upcoming UK skills meets, winter adventures and next year’s summer meet in the Ecrins.
Submitted by Lucy Gray