I met Christina Juahasz on the morning of July 11 and we discussed her goals for the week. Christina, better known as CJ, had two objectives in mind: Mt. Blanc and the Matterhorn. With this in consideration, we set out for a day of climbing on a classic mixed route to warm up and acclimate ourselves.

Early the next morning we began climbing from the Gouter hut on Mt. Blanc. We woke at 2:30am and climbed in the dark via the Gouter Route, reaching the summit just after sunrise. Conditions on the route were perfect and allowed us to summit in just four hours. We were back to the hut by 9:30am after a quick descent.

We then did the long, mildly technical rock descent from the Gouter Hut to the Eagle's Nest (Nid'Aigle) and caught the 12:50 train back to Les Houches. The very next day we climbed an ice route called the Goulotte Chere, knowing that conditions were perfect. CJ had never climbed steep ice before. After a few pitches, she was in the groove and very efficient with her ice tool swings and foot placements. That night we had a delicious and much-deserved meal at a local Swedish Restaurant called The Munchies and discussed our next objective - the Matterhorn.

To approach the Matterhorn, we had to drive three hours drive from Chamonix to Zermatt. From there we hiked up to the Hornli Hut, where we spent the afternoon meeting other climbers from all over the world.

The next morning we woke at 4am and ate a quick breakfast, roped up in the hut, and were on the route in five minutes. The rock was slightly wet from a recent rain shower and made for slow, careful climbing. After an hour it started to pour on us, and we considered whether or not we should continue. We decided to turn around, and soon after, the sound of thunder and a flash of lightening confirmed the wisdom of our decision. We descended as quickly as possible and arrived back at the hut a little wet and disappointed that we couldn't summit. CJ understood that weather is one of the uncontrollable aspects of alpine climbing, and that while summits are preferred, round trips are required!

Though we didn't climb the Matterhorn we still had a unique adventure later that day. We hiked down from the Hornli Hut and did some canyoneering in the Gornergletscher near Zermatt. We had fun doing a bunch of different climbing - we did some via ferrata (fixed cable and hanging ladder climbing), some rock climbing, some rappeling, and a number of Tyrolian Traverses through a spectacular river gorge. It was a fabulous way to end a great week.

A large part of CJ's mission in the Alps was to raise money for the Jack Orchard ALS Foundation, an organization dedicated to supporting scientific research and education of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (also known as ALS, or Lou Gehrig's Disease). CJ organized her climbs as a benefit, and asked sponsors beforehand to pledge a certain amount of dollars per 1000 feet of elevation gained. CJ managed to raise a significant amount of money, and as a result was able to donate $10,000(US) to the Jack Orchard ALS Foundation. For more information on ALS and the Foundation, please visit www.jackorchard.org.