Solo Overnight in front of Matterhorn

Solo Overnight in front of Matterhorn

The mountain I’m standing on is called Tat de the Valpelin. It’s 3,800 m high and it’s an incredible lookout over some of the most iconic peaks of the Alps. It’s a very remote place nestled between a complex system of deep endless glacial valleys, steep rocky koars, and massive alpine glaciers. And last summer, I set off on an ambitious solo adventure, loading my backpack with everything I needed to reach this spectacular summit and spend the night there. Oh, and I also brought my glider. So, let’s get started. It’s going to be tough. It’s hard to explain how heavy this thing is, but I’m excited. And that’s what will take me to the top today. It’s going to be a hell of a journey from the lush green valleys to snowcapped mountains at almost 4,000 m. So the goal for today is to get to the summit of Tet de Valpelin, which is the mountain exactly at the end of this incredible valley called Valpelin, which I absolutely love. I want to spend the night right on the summit, and I’ll have the chance to test a new sleeping system that the guys at ZenB sent me. So, I’m super excited for this, too. And another reason why this backpack is so big and heavy is that I have my glider with me. And tomorrow morning I will hopefully fly down with my glider and save up a bit of what remains of my knees. And after hiking the entire length of the lake, I found one of the last signs of civilization for the next couple days and a potential landing. Next stop, Rifuja. 3 hours 30 minutes. So we say goodbye to the lake and that devel is showing up. It looks far but doable. I’ll never stop saying that this valley is unbelievable. 400 m to the hut and then 1,000 m to the summit. My shoulders are starting to feel the weight of life. This valley is huge. And look at the glacier there. The trail goes up on this bump on the rocks and then I should be at the hut. Rifujo Aosta 800 m up and 4 hours. Oh yo yo yo yo yo. This place has a pretty interesting recent history because the last year there was a big flood that led to a massive landslide and this is it. It washed away the entire trail uh which was going up this way. You can see it. Um, and it’s massive. It is really, really, really scary. So, now all I have to do is to go up this kul. I was expecting more snow to be honest. Uh, but that’s not the case. So I will go up by foot as much as possible. Maybe I will reach the saddle called de la division by foot as well and then hop on the ridge and go to the top with the skis. So yeah, let’s go now. this way and then up. Well, that’s steep. But the good thing is that in 20 25 minutes, I already did 200 m. So, we’re doing some progress. This is the settle. That’s hard. Really hard. Paul dea division. Woo. made it. Woohoo! Al time to put the skis on and find the safest way to get through the glacier. skis distribute the weight that our body applies on the snow, so it helps to reduce the risk of falling into a creasse. The risk is still there, but I wanted to be safer, especially alone in this kind of terrain. And now, let’s go to the top. Last 500 m this way. I’m definitely starting to feel a bit tired and feel the altitude as well. I have to stop every now and then. And here’s the summit finally. That’s the Valpelin. Yoooo Al. Woohoo. Incredib. It’s hard to describe how happy I am at this moment. I’ve been thinking of this mountain for years, maybe three, four years, and now I’m here, and it’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. It was a long one. From down in the valley, 8 and a half hours. I don’t even know how many kilometers, but I’m here and that’s what matters most. Okay, so I found my spot. Not bad, I would say. Uh what I want to do now is to dig a little bit of a hole uh so that I’m a little bit protected from the wind. And as we wait for sunset, it’s time to prep our bed. And it’s actually the first time I ever try this new sleeping system called ZenB. They’re actually sponsoring today’s video. So big thanks to them. So basically, it’s a combination of a sleeping pad as well as two pieces. One is a kilt, so an open sleeping bag that goes around the pad and a hood. So, this should create a bed like experience. So, this is the first time I ever tried to set it up. So, let’s see how long it takes. Sleeping pad. All right, we’re going to use this bag to inflate it. All right. And now the upper part. One and two. So, as you can see, we have this hood and then we have this kind of sheet around it. Okay. And one more. Okay. So, as you can see, this insulated hood is now fixed to the sleeping mat, uh, which is pretty amazing because I think it will never slide off. And the kilt has pretty much the same principle. So, it goes on top of it. You can see all this uh colored hooks. And this is where the kilt is going to be strapped on. Okay. The last one is here. And this is it. Pretty cool. The setup took me maybe 5 minutes and it was my very first time. So, it’s pretty simple and it’s a pretty genius concept in my opinion. If you’re interested in knowing more about this product, the link is down in the description. Uh there are a lot of other models, but pretty much this is the way all of them work. Uh I can’t wait to try tonight. So tomorrow morning I will give you an update on how it performed. And now it’s almost sunset time. Look at that. The light is getting soft. Amazing. This place is unreal. Sunset. at Mlanc in the background. I think I’ll never have enough of this you 5 minutes in and I’m already super warm. The good thing is that it’s very wide, so there’s plenty of space to put stuff inside, for example, electronics or gloves or whatever needs to dry during the night. So, this is a really good thing. And now another good thing is having dinner. Today we have nothing special. Quinoa, tomatoes, olives. It’s okay. And it’s light. The way up has been long, 8, 10 hours. I don’t think I ever hiked so much to reach the top of a mountain. But well, it was worth it. The worst part was that I have always had the skis in my backpack, which makes everything so so so heavy and tiring, and my shoulders are bad now. But that’s part of the game. Uh, the moon is rising. Amazing. Look at this. Wow. I think I need to rest. Big day today and tomorrow even more. All right. Good night. Good morning. Tonight was amazing. Under the light of the moon, some stars. It was super warm. Beautiful. Son. Hello. Thank you. So, do you want to know which mountains we have around? Well, let’s do it. It’s worth it here. A lot of 4,000 m peaks. So, let’s start from Mhorn and Denderan. Here we have the Grand Mural. Over here we have Grandparadizo and Griola. M blanc gran comben a gilver here I don’t know dan blanch vice horn and a lot more that I don’t Almost 8:00. Time to get ready to fly. 2 hours later. I Yoohoo! Aloohoo! Aloohoo! Yeah, yoohoo. Heat ale. Yoohoo! Mission completed. That devel say. >> So, that’s the end of this video. I really hope you enjoyed. This was such a dream adventure for me. So I’m blessed to be able to share it with all of you on the channel. I just want to tell you a bit of further information about Zambivi. This was the very first time I used it. So I actually didn’t use the right compression bag. So first of all, I want to show you how small it actually packs down. So this is it. As you can see, it’s pretty compact. And this is the version for -12° C. So, pretty good. Uh, of course, there are so many models. This is what is called the ultra light bed. But you’ll see there are so many options on their website. Uh, so you will find for sure the kit that you need. And the good thing is that this is the best moment to buy it. You can find the link to the European and US store down in the description as well as a discount code. And if you buy through my link, you will also help support the production of these videos. So, thank you for that and I will see you in the next adventure.

Get your Zenbivy here!
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Hey! Welcome to a new adventure!
In this video, I spend 8h to reach the top of Tete de Valpelline, a solitary peak in the western alps. The view towards Matterhorn is just unreal..
And the flight down.. the cherry on top!