Sump To Summit

The d’Es-Cha hut was superb—cosy, welcoming, and with really helpful staff. We had a leisurely start, letting the other groups get ahead before setting off up the Val Mura valley towards the Porta d’Es-Cha col.

Just below the col, we swapped skis for crampons and climbed the final 40m. From there, we descended onto the glacier and skinned up to the base of Piz Kesch. We ditched our skis and started the climb, deciding to leave the rope behind after watching others descend without using one. As we climbed, we quickly realised that every other team was using ropes, but we felt comfortable enough to carry on without.

The snow ascent led to a rock ledge, which we had to climb. Hannah went first, and I followed. El, Chris, and Barney weren’t comfortable with the move and chose to wait—a solid call. Hannah and I pushed on and reached the summit at 3,417m. On the way down, we were just talking about how great it is to have friends who are happy to sit out sections they don’t feel comfortable with when we rounded a corner and spotted Chris and Barney. They’d egged each other on and made the climb after all. No hesitation—Hannah and I turned back and summited again with them.

I descended first and caught up with El, who had already started heading down to avoid getting too cold. We skied back down together, leaving the others to descend as a team.

Once back on the glacier, we clipped in and skied down through incredible powder, softened perfectly by a few hours of sun. We arrived at the Kesch Hut to discover there was no running water—no worries, beer and bottled water sorted that. Compared to the other huts, though, Kesch felt very unwelcoming. The staff weren’t particularly helpful, and overall, it was, without question, the least friendly hut of the tour.