Haute Route, Day 5. We woke up at 3am and left the hut at 4am. It was still extremely dark outside, but visibility was good and we were treated to spectacular stars. I saw a shooting star and thought of Jon Allen. We had to descend out of the hut to the glacier below, which was no small feat. It took about 20-25 minutes to navigate the ladders and exposure and get everyone down safely. It was thrilling and I felt very alive to be doing that at 4am.
Once we were on the glacier, we had the best part of the entire hike. We crossed the Mount-Miné glacier for about two hours in the morning darkness darkness, under the thick stars and a silvery sharp moon. 
Our climb led us to the highest point of the hike at sunrise, Tête Blanche, 12,218 feet. To the west was the imposing site the Matterhorn, which we would keep in view all day.
(not my pics by the way--will post ours soon). With the Matterhorn looming above us or along side of us, wedescended into Zermatt, across glaciers and crevasses, huge expanses of rocky morraine, and then finally nice easy downhill walking along well-developed footpaths. An extremely long day--10 hours of hiking, and it rivaled any long run I have done for its challenge.
Duration of walking: 10 hours. Length
: 15 miles. Difference of level : 1,880 feet up, 7,441 feet down. From Zermatt, more great views of the Matterhorn. 
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