Elles Aussi mixed climb established on Tête aux Chamois by Melanie Grünwald, Fay Manners

Between 21 and 23 January 2026, England's Fay Manners and Austria's Melanie Grünwald completed the first ascent of a mixed climb on Tête aux Chamois, above the Glacier 3000 ski resort in Switzerland's Bernese Oberland. The route, named Elles Aussi, is graded M7+ A0, and represents the first route on this face opened by an all-female team.

Tête aux Chamois lies directly beneath the Col du Pillon lift and is accessed via the Black Tunnel - a feature more commonly associated with steep skiing. The tunnel is frequently used to access the Black Wall descent, a 3 km run dropping 1,000 m at angles up to 45°, one of the steepest ski lines in the Alps.

The idea for the climb came from Manners, who has spent some of her previous winters exploring mixed and dry-tooling possibilities in the region. Three years earlier, she had discovered the area through Simon Châtelan’s Topo Dry Tooling et Mixte, and began deliberately seeking out natural, non-drilled mixed lines. After climbing several of Châtelan’s routes, Manners contacted him to ask whether he would be comfortable with a new line being opened on Tête aux Chamois. He welcomed the initiative, noting that few climbers in the area are motivated to develop winter routes.

Manners invited Melanie Grünwald, who returned to mountaineering and climbing this summer after a five-year injury break, with recent solo ascents in the West Alps and on Ama Dablam, and a renewed drive for long, committing days in the mountains. Despite having no prior dry-tooling experience, Grünwald was welcomed the opportunity; for her, the ascent was as much about supporting the vision as it was about learning quickly, expanding her technical skill set, and stepping into unfamiliar ground.

The first two days proved physically and mentally taxing. The approach was complicated by deep sugar snow and loose rock, conditions that would have been straightforward in firm névé but instead required careful movement and constant attention. The team established their first anchor on solid rock, after which the technical climbing began immediately.

The opening pitch followed a striking dry corner, delicate and precise to climb with axes and crampons. Above, two major roofs guarded the line. The first was bypassed with a traverse; the second required direct climbing through steep, sustained terrain.

Manners led the route, free climbing as much as possible, taking a significant fall, and eventually resorting to a short section of aid in order to place protection and bolts safely. The upper pitches followed compact, high-quality rock, with snow-filled cracks and sections of frozen turf. On the final pitch, existing glue-in bolts were encountered and shared before Manners placed new bolts to exit the route to the right.

Subsequent research revealed that the single-pitch route Ma Révérence had been bolted from above in 2003 by Lador Bertrand. The ascent was made possible with the support of Glacier 3000, whose assistance and cooperation - along with the flexibility of the ski patrol team in granting tunnel access allowed the project to go ahead.

Elles Aussi has not yet been freed due to the short aid section, and Manners and Grünwald hope future parties will attempt a full free ascent and propose an updated grade.