The Obergabelhorn has 2 very different sides - a huge, snowy North face and a steep cliff of red rock to the South. The fine West-East ridge that splits the two faces is one of the finest ridge traverses in the Alps with a steep ridge of solid gneiss on the West and a fine, airy, mixed ridge dropping East off the summit before climbing back over the Wellenkuppe and down the glacier to the Rothorn hut.
The 4000m peaks guidebook says the ridge is "best climbed when dry and snow-free" - that's good advice, but the evening storms had left a thin dusting of snow which made the climbing quite awkward!
The summit is only halfway there! Descending the East ridge isn't easy, needing careful down-climbing and some abseils on steep, mixed ground with the huge drop of the North face below.
