Silvan Schüpbach, Peter Von Känel and Carlos Molina climbed a new route on the north face of the Nesthorn called The Cuckoo's Nest. On the way back they fell into a crevasse, but luckily they were not injured. A report by Silvan Schüpbach and Peter von Känel.
A report by Silvan Schüpbach and Peter von Känel
A long approach, a five-star campsite, a new route and a fall into a crevasse were the ingredients for the mountain adventure from 19 to 21 February 2025. Three of us opened Silvan Schüpbach, Peter von Kaenel and Carlos Molina a new route via the northwest pillar to NesthornThe long route offers beautiful, moderate mixed climbing on mostly good rock in a wild environment.
The Nesthorn (3820 m) is an aesthetic mountain, well hidden between the Lötschental and the Belalp. The north face of the Nesthorn was first climbed in 1933 by Welzenbach and Drexel. Although there are already five routes through the north face, the northwest spire had remained untouched until now. This was the reason for us to embark on a trip to the remote Oberaletsch region.
Fast on rock, slower on snow
Heavily laden, we reached the base of the wall on February 19th from Belalp via the Oberaletsch and Beich glaciers on our touring skis. At 2900 m, directly under the mighty northwest pillar, we found a perfect place to camp. The next morning we set off at first light. We climbed with ski boots and, as we didn't know what to expect, we had all our bivouac equipment with us just in case. The rock was surprisingly easy to climb and easy to secure. We made rapid progress and reached the point at 3404 m after just six hours.
From here we followed the historic route of Kirkpatrick and Hope just east of the ridge. The soft snow and our heavy packs slowed our progress and we finally reached the summit just before sunset, 10 hours after we set off.
10 hours after setting off, we reached the summit just before sunset.
We descended the upper part via the normal route and took a shortcut in the lower part through a steep glacier arm. After 13 hours we were back at our tent.
decision with fatal consequences
The next morning we crossed the Beich glacier to reach the Lötschental via the Beichpass. We judged that the glacier had few crevasses, was well covered in snow and was easy to cross without ropes using touring skis. This turned out to be a fatal misjudgment a little later. Completely unexpectedly, Peter fell through a snow bridge into a crevasse.
Completely unexpectedly, Peter fell through a snow bridge into a crevasse.
After sliding for almost 20 meters, he came to a stop in a narrow passage with a small snow platform. Luckily, we were able to hand him a rope and pull him out a few minutes later. He was only slightly injured and we were able to continue our way back to the Lötschental.
According to our assessment, the glacier had few crevasses, was well covered in snow and could easily be walked on without ropes using touring skis.
How is it possible that we experienced alpinists and mountain guides made such a misjudgment? This incident, which ended well, is a great opportunity for us and all interested parties to critically examine our own actions and learn from them.
Lesson learned
Here are our most important findings: On the one hand, routine and a wealth of experience are essential prerequisites for even tackling such a demanding mountain project full of uncertainties with an acceptable level of risk. On the other hand, as experience increases, one tends to systematically underestimate risks with a low probability of occurrence. We spent many days of our lives on glaciers with touring skis and often roped ourselves up to traverse potential crevasse zones.
As experience increases, one tends to systematically underestimate risks with a low probability of occurrence.
This was without ever being involved in a crevasse fall. Over the years, the danger of a crevasse fall was put into perspective for us and we were strengthened in our belief that we were able to safely traverse glaciers with touring skis. This perception trap is known as "non-event feedback". Professionals with a lot of experience in particular tend to systematically overestimate their ability to assess rare risks. So we intuitively had the deceptive gut feeling that the short stretch across the Beich Glacier could be managed without a rope without any problems.
Focus on the first ascent distracted from danger
Another factor was the fact that we had completed our mission, namely our first ascent, the day before and therefore "only" had to return to civilization. In terms of dealing with risks, we were primarily focused on our first ascent and therefore took the "easy" craft, such as traversing this glacial basin, lightly. This focus on the risks associated with the main difficulty can be attributed to the "commitment" perception trap.
We took the task of traversing the glacier basin lightly.
Regardless of the difficulty of a tour, when we climb mountains we all move within a framework that is defined by the factors of conditions, terrain and people. In order to effectively control our risks, we must design this framework to be sufficiently error-tolerant. Risks with a low probability of occurrence and high potential for damage, such as falling into a crevasse, deserve special attention. In the future, when deciding whether to rope up on a glacier with touring skis, we will ask ourselves the following question: Can I rule out the possibility of there being hidden crevasses with a plausible reason? If not, we will rope up, even if our gut feeling suggests that we are sufficiently safe.
If well frozen, the rock is easy to grip and there are good safety options. A worthwhile tour on one of the most remote walls in Switzerland.
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Credits: picture and text Silvan Schüpbach and Peter von Kaenel