Classic Swiss Ridgelines
Swiss Rock and Mixed Trilogy - climb the ultra classic north ridges of Piz Bernina, Piz Badile and Piz Palue.
Trip Dates
Difficulty:
Accomodation:
simple: Hut / bunks
A steep and exposed snow ridge, fun to climb mixed terrain on solid Gneiss and 800 m of sustained mid-grade granite climbing — that sounds quite complete!
This programme is a deeply satisfying experience for those skilled allround-alpinists looking for highest quality rock, snow and mixed routes.
Our Swiss Piz Trilogy packs together the Bianco Ridge of Piz Bernina, the Northridge of Piz Badile and the Northeast Pillar of Piz Palue Northface into one intense week. All three routes are considered major undertakings in their style throughout the Alps. The beautifully shaped snow arête of the Bianco Ridge is one of those lines that you'll have to climb, once you've seen it. As for granite, the same holds true for the Northridge of Piz Badile. It's hard to find another route that long, that sustained and that compelling in its appearance. With its three mixed pillars soaring between hanging glaciers, Piz Palue is the iconic mountain of the range.
All three peaks are situated in Engadine, a part of southeastern Switzerland and a bit off the busy mountaineering capitals of Chamonix, Zermatt and Grindelwald. Of course routes of this caliber will never be completely deserted, but they are lacking the crowds that can be unpleasant on popular climbs in other areas.
The routes in numbers:
- Piz Bernina Bianco Ridge AD 3b, D, Class 3, 40° 1450 m
- Piz Palü Northeast Pillar D- 5a, VD, 5.5, 45° 500 m
- Piz Badile Northridge D 5a, VD, 5.5 800 m
Bitte beachte unsere Infos zu den Anforderungen im Infocenter!
Itinerary
Day 1: You will meet your guide in the afternoon in the village of Bondo. Or we will arrange for a pick-up at a convenient location on the way depending on where you are travelling from. 0 hr ascent
Day 2: Morning approach to the Sasc Furä Hut where we will also spend the night. After the 2018 rockfalls, a new approach was established, longer, but safe. In the afternoon we can climb a little in the vicinity of the Hut to warm up and clear the last tactical questions for the following day. 6 hr approach, plus some mellow climbing
Day 3: Early morning start to be in the pole position for the ridge. We'll start climbing when the first sunlight hits. 25+ pitches of well featured mid-grade granite lie ahead of us. We'll simul-climb the easier pitches to quickly cover distance and to be able to overtake slower parties. After about 6 hours of (hopefully) delighting climbing we'll reach the summit. The descent on the south face is confusing and requires care, but finally we'll reach Gianetti hut. Time to celebrate with Italian food! 1.5 hr approach, 6-8 hr climbing, 3 hr descent
Day 4: Relocation day. We'll descent to San Martino and take the Taxi back to Bondo from there. Drive to Pontresina where we'll have a long lunch break and repack for Piz Bernina. We'll switch to ice climbing gear. In the afternoon we'll take on the leisurely 2.5 hr hike to Tschierva hut. 5 hr hiking
Day 5: Alpine start with the headlamps on. Route finding is a bit tricky until we reach the glacier. Across a via ferrata or a step snow slope we'll gain the ridge proper. Some easy mixed rock leads to the beginning of the fantastic snow arête of the Bianco Ridge. The final mixed stretch to the summit is incredibly airy. The descent follows the Spalla and Fortezza ridge with a couple of abseils and some down climbing. After a long day we'll arrive at Diavolezza mountain hotel. It's good to have the luxury of a hotel to recover for the final day. 10 – 12 hr climbing
Day 6: Another alpine start for the Piz Palue Northeast Pillar. We'll follow the normal route over Pers Glacier until we have passed the great ice fall. Then take a turn right to access the base of the Pillar. 500 meters of solid gneiss lead to the final 45° snow ridge. Shortly after, we'll top out and walk over to the main summit. Done! The descent is easy over snow slopes and the Diavolezza lift will take us down to Pontresina. Accommodation at Hospizio Bernina. 8 – 10 hr climbing
Day 7: Hopefully we can sleep in today! We've definitely earned it! Depending on your itinerary we are happy to assist in further travels.
Getting There
The nearest airports are Munich and Zürich. Let us know your travel plans and we will be happy to assist in your travels.
Prerequisites
- excellent physical fitness: stamina for 12-hour alpine days and lots of those!
- technical skills: confidence to quickly second in the French grade 5b in rock climbing shoes (US 5.6 UK S) and the French grade 4+ in mountaineering boots (US 5.4 UK VD) ; proficiency in belaying and abseiling techniques.
Accommodation & Food
You will mainly stay on typical alpine mountain huts and the odd hotel. Those who are keen to do this trip will know what to expect comfort-wise...
Please don't hesitate to contact us in case of questions.
Gear
Alpine climbing kit. Rock climbing shoes, approach shoes or lightweight mountain boots depending on conditions.
Included
- Organization and guiding by a IFMGA licensed Mountain Guide
- Rental gear
- All guide's expenses
Excluded
- 6 x Night/Half board on mountain huts or basic hostels approx. 65 €/Night (alpine club members)
- Lunch and drinks at the huts. (Lunch for take away can be ordered the day before)
- lift tickets 50 €
- taxi transfers 150 € (if used)
- personal insurance covering mountain rescue
Specials
for this trip
Flexibility: joint risk of bad (weather) conditions.
Flexibility is our working method - not a slick marketing slogan. We budget 1-2 extra days in the planning of many of our trips to factor in adverse weather conditions. The days can for example be used to move the trip a day or two as to use the best weather window for the summit bid.
Of course you only pay the actual guiding days. We'd rather achieve your goal than insist on doing a poor alternative.
Fairness first.
The job of mountain guides is demanding and highly responsible. Clearly, this work has to be appropriately remunerated. Yet we are climbers, not tough business men. That's why our emphasis is on dealing fairly with our clients.
We block dates for your trip. Sometimes the arranged climb still doesn't work out. We then appreciate your understanding that we cannot bear the cancellation risk alone. On the other hand we do understand that you don't want to pay the summit rate of a prestigious goal for an alternative destination. With open communication and consideration for each other's situation, we will find a good solution. The summit rate only applies if the conditions are right and we make a summit bid.
Why we do not show available places online.
Because you still wouldn't know if a trip is confirmed. Bookings can be cancelled after all. Besides, well, the displayed number of available places can be fake — we all know that from the flight search engines.
Don't panic if the minimum number of participants is not yet reached! We often try to directly address long term clients, bring together bookings for different dates or find alternatives. Maybe we are really keen on doing the trip ourselves and offer you a special deal. Anyway we are keeping you updated. You might tell us your deadline by which you have to know if the trip takes place or not.
