I had a fantastic 1st week out in the Alps climbing with Adrian W. We headed up the Rhone Valley & over the Furka Pass towards Andermatt, where we turned off at Goschenen Tal and into the beautiful quiet valley beyond. From here we headed up the steep hillside to the Salbit Hut at 2105m, which gave us access & great views to the Salbitschijen, an awesome granite peak with some of the best granite climbing in the Alps
A view of the Salbitschijen from the Salbit Hut
The classic South Ridge of the Salbitschijen in profile
Enjoying fantastic climbing on the South Ridge of the Salbitschijen
A view of the South Ridge above the first tower
Adrian Walter enjoying the immaculate granite
A fantastic view of the awesome 1000m West Ridge
Great climbing on the Zwillingstrum
Adrian rounding one of the great towers
One of the final towers before the climb up to the summit
Nearing the top of the South Ridge
Adrian enjoying the summit after a great climb
The Salbit Hut with the Salbitschijen behind
On the way back to Leysin we headed back over the Furka Pass & climbed some lovely granite slabs high above the massive Rhone Glacier.
Adrian climbing beautiful granite slabs with the huge Rhone Glacier behind
We stayed the night in the old medieval town of Saillon down in the Rhone Valley.
I’ve always wanted to spend the night here & I’ve driven past it many times. Saillon’s a walled town built high up on a hill above the Rhone Valley floor surrounded by vineyards. The walls & turrets are over a thousand years old and the buildings remain largely unchanged. There’s a great vibe here & we enjoyed plenty of the local wine & food before heading on to a climb close to Lavey on the way back to Leysin.
Adrian climbing the first steep pitch on the Pillar de Pisschevre
Adrian topping out on the first pillar
Adrian enjoying some steep face climbing on the 2nd pillar
An awesome week climbing
Ade
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