In a separate bunkroom from the mountain guides, the four of us and Rita woke up around 5 am in preparation to climb the Mönch. We woke up early because a thunderstorm was moving through in the afternoon, and lightning does not mix well with ice axes and high altitude. Not only could it be a safety issue, but the clouds could obstruct our view.
Everything had been set up the night before, so we ate a quick breakfast of bread, yogurt, tea, hot chocolate and coffee. Around 6:30, we had our gear ready and headed out into the Swiss wilderness. Johann was the guide for Grant and I. Marcel, an international mountain guide in training, was roped together with Cory and Elliott. In order to receive certification, individuals must pass 3 years of testing. The mountain guides are expected to be experts in areas such as climbing, ski touring, and avalanche safety and theory. Johann said his class started with 75 and finished with 28.
Our plan was to attack the south side of the Mönch and climb up the ridge to the summit. At the beginning, the climb was mostly rock, so we just used our hiking boots. When it got quite steep, the guides would climb first and then wait incase anyone fell, but no one did. Snow then became a factor, so we put on our crampons, which are spiked plates that attach to the bottom of a boot for extra grip in ice and snow... think of a trucker putting on chains on tires. The ice axes came out and we continued our ascent, climbing a mixture of rocks and ice/snow. Scaling up the rocks was a bit tricky with the crampons, but we all soon mastered the learning curve.
Around two thirds of the way up, the summit was visible. The remaining section was entirely snow and ice as we made our way along the ridge of the mountain: a 2 foot wide margin for climbing. It was incredible to move along the ridge because each side was a very steep drop down the mountain. I felt like I was in a James Bond movie or North Face commercial. 
View of our path from the summit
Reaching the top was surreal and rewarding; standing on the highest inch of the mountain provided a commanding view and feeling. 2hrs and 10 minutes of climbing were put into perspective as we all embraced the moment. It was like being the highest on in the playground tree and knowing you were the only one... but on a much different level. The view was incredible and we were very thankful for nearly cloudless skies: the forecast had not looked good days before. We had successfully summited before the thunderstorm and clouds from the West had blown in.
After summiting (most pictures are on flash drive I can't upload right now or our GoPros)
When we had finished soaking in the landscape of the Alps, we headed down in opposite order: the guides trailed behind as a safety precaution. The descent was easier physically, but more difficult mentally. Instead of having the foot and hand holds directly infront, we had to look more closely. The snow and also begun to soften, developing the ability to slide when under pressure (us stepping). Of course Johann and Marcel just walked down the mounatin like it was no big deal... Legend has it they had their hands tied just for fun. Who knows.
Our journey down the Mönch was shorter, taking a total of 1hr and 50 minutes. We passed a few climbers arriving late to the party, who would unfortunately reach the top surround by clouds. Sometime during the 11th hour of the day, we reached the bottom, also in a cloud:
We all quickly took our gear off, happy to shed the weight, and headed to the Jungfraujoch 20 minutes away:
Found this dandy picture on the internet.
We all celebrated with a beer and were happy to see Rita, who was waiting for us before all returing to Grindelwald. It was interesting to think of how much we had accomplished before noon. A feeling of productivity entered my mind as I entertained the possibility of applying this experience to my everyday life. That thought was quickly dispelled as I remember how much I love to sleep.
The train ride down was quiet and quite scenic like the way up. When we reached Grindelwald, we separated with Madcel and headed back to the house for rest. After everyone took a shower, Elliott took a long nap while Grant, Cory, and I played the game of champions and our ancestors: Uno. Around 5:30 we headed over to Rita and Johanns for a great barbecue dinner. We talked, played more Uno, and ride bikes the rest of the night.
-Parker
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