Winter bash of  February 25/26 2005

As usual, about 40 Yetis met the Committee of the Guide Association for a cocktail at the Hotel Mont-Cervin. New members from Sweden could be welcomed, and for the first time since long time our friends from Russia were present with their family.

The new president of the Guides' association, Bettina Sulliger-Perren, held a speech full of metaphers, where she compared the american made climbing help "Friend" with the relation existing between the Guides and the members of the Yeti-Club, also based on the notion of "friend". She expressed the gratefulness of the Guides for our untiring support of the Guides' matters. Thereafter the participants spread up in groups for dinner at the various restaurant of Zermatt, all crowded at this season

Saturday morning at 09:00 a.m. 10 Yetis gathered at the stain of the Gornergratbahn where they were welcomed by Bruno Jelk, Bettina Sulliger-Perren, André Imboden and Roman Haltiner. The guides had brought snow-shoes and soon 2 groups started from Riffelberg towards Rotenboden in a frightening cold. From about 12:30 groups of Yetis arrived at the Alphitta of Fredy Aufdenblatten on Riffelalp, where excellent wines, assiettes valaisannes and raclettes could be enjoyed. As usual at Fredy's, a huge dessert buffet could be appreciated.  The service was excellent, and the children present were Fredy's guests,  including pints of sirup. When the first among us left the place for returning to Zermatt, the last Yetis only arrived. 

Unveiling of the Pierre memorial in Grünsee, Easter Saturday March 26 

At the initiative of the sympathetic couples Florence and Alain Boucheron and Evelyne and Michel Erb, several members were invited to Grünsee this Saturday at 11:30. Some walked over, but most arrived by ski, to fittingly celebrate an event that occurred during our summer bash in August 2004. At that time, the Guide Othmar Kronig coached our member Pierre Biraben in a seldom used and very particular  climbing  technique, called "beam-catcher". During practical exercise, Pierre was wounded and had to be evacuated by helicopter and immediately operated by a surgeon.  If the stitching part went smoothly, the same cannot be said of the tiresome mental after-effects that plague Pierre each time the drama is evoked in his presence.  So as to prompt members to definitely forget the unhappy incident, a memorial plaque was set up at the very place of the accident, not to recall the the feat of arms, but the promise of all not to hint at it in presence of the victim.

Part of the public

at unveiling

Memorial plaque

Back to the scene

August 19th, evening

Cocktail at the Hotel MontCervin at 7 p.m. About 40 persons attended.

Our President Roberto Seiler welcomed the following guests::

-          Christof Bürgin, President of  Zermatt

-          Maurice Herzog and his wife Sissi from France. Maurice was the first man to arrive to the top of  a mountain  of over 8'000 metres ( Annapurna 8'091m) on June 3^rd, 1950, later on he was French State Secretary for Youth and Sports under General de Gaulle.

-          Antonio Mangia and his girlfriend Amanda from Brasil.

-          Pavel and Carmen Urban-Perlingeiro from Geneva.

Roberto Seiler congratulated the Zermatt Guides for their latest initiatives, mainly the improvement of the security of mountain routes around Zermatt, co-sponsored by our Club, as well as for the creation of the new via ferrata (adventure trek) at Pudel above the village of Zermatt. He could also announce that in execution of a decision taken at our last general assembly in December 2004, the insurance coverage of Guides in case of death or invalidity through accidents has been massively increased as from August 1^st, 2005.

It was high time for us to express our esteem towards Christine Gentinetta, our untiring Honorary Secretary for many, many years, to whom as token of our gratitude we could remit a gift.

Mrs  Bettina Sulliger-Perren, President of the Zermatt Guides, informed the assembly of the projects for Saturday. Instead of the planned trek to the Lichenbrett lake, she had prepared replacement program, as the weather outlook was very bad. Snow covered the barbecue place, and walking over the slippery rocks would have been outright dangerous. Thus a demonstration of the Rescue Station of Zermatt was foreseen on the heliport. Bettina also wished to express the gratitude of all Guides for the continuing support by the Yeti-Club.  

August 20th, daytime

At 11 a.m. the show started at the heliport. About 25 members attended, the others may regret what they missed. The visit took place in three groups, each being received in turn at the three demonstration points.  

1. Rescue material of the Guides.

The tripod made of aluminum has two winches with mountain ropes, one for the rescuer, the other for the casualty. The rescuer is first lowered with the two ropes into the glacier crevasse. The winches can be turned with hard effort by hand, or with an electric Hilti drill, the latter being much faster and time-saving when many up-and-down lifts are required. 6 spare batteries are available. The legs of the tripod are tied together with a rope, so as to avoid  horizontal skidding. The length of the hoisting ropes is adapted to the depth of the glacier crevasse.  

The material also includes ropes weighted with a lead-filled ball that are fixed under the helicopter, and on which up to 5 persons can be attached simultaneously. To allow the rescuer carried on the longline to reach spots under overhanging rocks, the 5 m long telescopic Jelk-pole  was invented. The same inventor produced the Jelk multipurpose stretcher, which fitted with a wheel is used on walking trails, on snow is a sledge and here was shown as a cable car, whereby always two carrying ropes are used. On the Matterhorn bolts were installed every 100 metres to allow such aerial

transport.

For long-line rescues (up to 220 m). only experienced rescuers can be employed, because visual contact with the pilot does not exist, but only a radio link. There is no more any spot in the Swiss Alps where a rescue with the long-line would not be possible

The procedure: The pilot flies to the altitude of the casualty and reads his altimeter. Thereafter he chooses a higher reference spot and reads his altimeter again. The difference represents the necessary length of the long-line. After the preparations on the ground he flies back to the reference spot. With this method only minimal corrections must be made to fly the rescuer to the proper place.  

(click to enlarge)

3. Helicopter

To search a casualty and provide first help, the old Lama-type helicopters are used. Robi Andenmatten, the Pilot, is full of praise for this machine, and explains that save the ID letters painted on the body, all parts are no more original, as they are regularly replaced by new ones. The fuel tank holds 550 litres, but depending on height and distance of the flight, less fuel is carried. The Lama can reach an altitude of 7'000 m, but then only little payload can be carried.  

(click to enlarge)

4. Flight-show

At the end we could witness a real-life rescue from a neighbouring rock wall. A rescuer hanging under the helicopter captured his colleague in the wall, attached him to the rope flew with him to the heliport. Without the helicopter touching soil, another rescuer fixed himself under the machine and was lifted about 70 metres high. Up there the helicopter held a stationary position, and the rescuer abseiled himself on a rope that he carried with him, coiled up in a sack. This kind of approach is used when rescuing in gorges that the helicopter cannot flow into, because its rotors could touch sidewise trees or rocks.

We wish to thank here all the actors of this demonstration, namely Bruno Jelk, who has succeeded for 25 years to manage a perfect cooperation between the various specialists, then Mr. Beat Perren, Chief of Air Zermatt and Bettina Sulliger-Perren, the active President of the Zermatt Guides' Association and initiator of this show.

After the demo, participants and actors met in the big hangar to enjoy a super buffet prepared by the Guides, and which could easily have satisfied 10 times more people.

August 20th, evening

At  6:30 p.m.we met in the newly built restaurant Marmotte, above Furri. It was reaining heavily (that day there were many floodings in Switzerland), but most of us arrived afoot, some in taxis. We were the guinea-pigs of the final rehearsel, as the place closed the next day until the winter season. 32 Yetis were present, the Guides being represented by Bettina Sulliger-Perren, Beni Graven and Benedikt Perren, all members of our committee. The food was good, the welcome warm, but what pleased us most was the excellent St.Emilion red wine offered again generously by our friend Alain Boucheron. Many thanks, Alain

The return trek to Zermatt under continuing rain was performed in good humour, and the necessary handlamps were well organized by Muggi. The majority of the crew met at Florence and Alain's place for a last drink (out of a bottle originating from the first decade of the last century !!).  

August 21st, morning

Natalie Biraben and Evi Graven, representing the  Yeti-Club, started at 08:05 a.m. for the Matterhorn-Lauf to  Schwarzsee, on the 11,5 km track of the Nordic-Walking group. They mastered the distance and the difference in altitude of  975 metres in less than 2 hours  !! (Evi   1:55.26,0, Natalie 1:57.42,5). This performance is all the more remarkable as the competitors had to run the last kilometre in 15 cm of wet August-snow.

Congratulations to these sporty women.