Meanwhile, waiting for us halfway between Schwarzee and the Hornli Hut are my wife Marie (taking this shot) of Jay Mellon and daughter Diana (our erstwhile partner who would claim her own victory 48 hours later). Incidentally, could there be a more perfect day to climb the mountain? Notice how dry the rock is on the east (left) and north faces. Christoph told me that the mountain became unclimbable because of snow storms shortly thereafter for the rest of the season-including most of August!