In 2013 I took my climbing boots with me on our trip to Zermatt in Switzerland. Annette and I were celebrating our engagement. The visit to the Swiss Alps also offered me the opportunity to climb. I had a very specific objective in mind, the Dom Hut. My friend Lara had planted the seed of this idea some years earlier. The Dom is the highest mountain within the Swiss borders and stands 4545 metres high. I was full of confidence and in the best physical condition thanks to the infusion pump therapy and my successful adventures in the Irish mountains. I had huge ambitions to climb this giant. The climb to the summit and down again is a two day trek. On the first day you climb to the Dom Hut, half way up the mountain at an elevation of 2940 metres where you spend the night. The second day you set of early to reach the summit by midday before making the descent all the way back down. 

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The official guidebook published by the Zermatt Tourist Council lists the walk to the hut as one of four ‘Alpine Hiking Trails’ in the region which carry the following warning,

“Alpine Hiking Trail- use at your own risk! Only suitable for sure-footed hikers who do not suffer from vertigo and have considerable mountain experience. Please be aware of the weather conditions and the length of the hike.”

 

I had chosen to climb up to the hut and down in one day as part of my planning and preparation for my latest challenge. The route to the hut and back down is a measured 4.2 kilometres. The hike starts in the village of Randa. Even the streets of this small village leading to the hills and the start of the path up to the hut are steep and have a 45 degree incline. There is a path that starts in woodland and makes up the first 1000 metres of the climb. The day I climbed the ground was dry. I would not like to think of how difficult this would be if the ground had been wet and muddy, the trek in those conditions would be thoroughly miserable.

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Working my way up through the forest took about two hours. Signs for the Dom Hut disappeared fairly early whilst those for the Europa Hut were easily visible. This worried me a little. Had I missed the way? How embarrassing to end up at the wrong hut...

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I persevered and as the ground levelled out and the trees gave way to rocky terrain, there was the yellow signpost with its blue Dom Hut finger pointing the way. On the signpost was a little white square with the altitude written on it. I was now 2100 metres above sea level, 1100 metres climbed. Reaching level ground provided me with a welcome break after climbing through the forest section. Ahead lay the path to the Dom Hut that leads to a vertical rock face. I took a deep breath on seeing what lay ahead. I had never tackled a challenge of this magnitude. I had researched the climb on the Internet, but standing in front of this sheer rock wall was very different- all 840 metres from where I stood up to the hut. I told myself to focus, this was not going to be easy.

 

I followed the blue and white stripes painted on the rock that mark the route. I felt like I had followed the White Rabbit down the hole and had drunk from the bottle marked ‘Shrink Me’ as I climbed the vertiginous path. It was a path like I have never encountered before. It is labyrinthine and hugs the mountain, sometimes going to the left and sometimes going to the right. The path is both precarious and precipitous. A fall would be disastrous so I concentrated on not falling. That would certainly have spoilt my day. 

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The hike in the forest and climb up the rock face had taken me four hours to reach the hut. I had hoped to see the Dom from here but the mountain was covered in a thick grey mist denying me the opportunity to check out the final 1500 metres to the summit. 

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On reaching the flat ground where the hut stood, I was delighted to see three Alpine Ibex, expert climbers in this, their natural habitat. How did they do it? This intrigued me. It had taken me two hours and vast amounts of tenacity to reach the hut, and encountering some very difficult passages where iron ladders had been fixed to the rock face requiring you to pass an overhang, using all your limbs. I had lunch at the hut then made the perilous journey back down to the train station at Randa.

 

I had been told that the hike to the hut was known to be a tough part of the Dom climb, but the descent is even tougher. I was about to discover this for myself.

If I felt the climb up to the hut to be difficult, the descent was decidedly perilous. Going up I could focus on where to put my hands and feet. Going down, especially on the overhangs I was looking at thin air. I was climbing now with total concentration and I was pushing myself to the limits of my experience and ability. The smallest error and I was done for. There was no room for any thought other than how I could make my way safely down the rock face and reach the safer hike down through the forest.

 

I finally reached the end of the forest and entered the streets of Randa. My journey back down had taken three hours of absolute focus. I had been climbing for seven hours in total. Intense concentration gave way to a wave of euphoria so powerful it left me literally gasping for breath. I felt overwhelmed by the intensity and the enormity of what I’d just accomplished.

 

I planned to do the climb the following year. It did not happen. I was out of time. My Parkinson's saw to that. My window of opportunity to make it to the summit of the Dom had closed.

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