Piz Badile North Ridge
Climb the iconic North Ridge of Piz Badile - one of the super classic Ridges in the Alps.
Trip Dates
Difficulty:
Accomodation:
simple: Hut / bunks
Considered by many to be the best Route of it's grade in the Alps! Hmmm — superlatives sell!
But one thing you can take for granted: The Badile North Ridge is a dream come true for alpine rock climbers confident in climbing up to french 5b (US: 5.9 UK: VS) and who love long routes!
The North Ridge takes a pure and aesthetic line up the massive granite prow to the right of the 800 meter North Face. Although never hard or serious, you'll have to climb 25+ pitches and negotiate a complicated descent on the south face.
But the rock is superb and well featured, and once you are in the flow, you will enjoy pitch after pitch of quality climbing with stunning views into the austere North East Face with its legendary Cassin Route.
Piz Badile (3308 m) is one of the major peaks of the Bregaglia in south eastern Switzerland. It's a small and rugged range characterized by smooth granite Monoliths. Together with the Mont Blanc and the Aare massif it is considered one of the central granite areas of the Alps. The rock is geologically younger and more featured than the Mont Blanc granite which makes for fun climbing. And you don't necessarily need to polish your crack climbing skills.
Located near the border to Italy the Bregaglia is steeped in history with a unique blend of Italian and Swiss culture. It is home to a very small linguistic minority, the Ladin people. The region has also preserved a unique stone architecture, as can be admired in the renowned village of Soglio.
The soaring spires, the superb climbing and the unique cultural heritage of the Bregaglia all add up to being one of the prime climbing spots to visit in the Alps. And it is by far less crowded than Chamonix.
We recommend combining the Badile North Ridge with one or two extra days of climbing at the south side of Badile. Why? Because you are already there, and there are many more mind-blowing climbs around the Gianetti Hut (we'll stay the night there after the Badile North Ridge). Have you heard of Spigolo Vinci ? Although a bit harder (french 5c, US 5.10 UK HVS; stiff grading) it is not to be missed!
Bitte beachte unsere Infos zu den Anforderungen im Infocenter!
Itinerary
Day 1: You'll meet your guide around 10 a.m. in Bondo in the hotel. He'll discuss weather, conditions and the itinerary with you. Gear check and packing of the backpacks. Then you'll follow the newly built trail through lush forest and alpine meadows to Sasc Furä Hut. 5 - 6 hr ascent
You may find descriptions for a shorter approach on the internet, but those are from before the 2017 rockfall. A longer but safe route has been established since.
Note: We are happy to provide Transportation in our car from a nearby city or even the airport if you are flying in. This depends on our travel itinerary. We'll discuss the options.
Day 2: Early start, we try to be at the base of the route at daybreak. We commonly simul-climb major parts of the ridge with progress capturing devices clipped into bolts, and only standard belay the crux pitches. This allows us to move fast and overtake slower parties. The descent requires care with short roping and rappelling. 1.5 hr approach, 6 – 8 hr of climbing and 3 hr of descent
Day 3: Long hike back over two passes to Bondo. Alternatively we'll stay for more climbing or take the taxi back from San Martino 6 – 8 hr hiking
Prerequisites
- good physical fitness: stamina for 10+ hour alpine days;
- technical skills: confidence to quickly second in the French grade 5a in rock climbing shoes (US 5.9, UK VS); proficiency in belaying and abseiling techniques.
Accommodation & Food
You will stay on typical alpine mountain huts. They have a big dining room and dormitories with usually 4 – 12 bunks. Sometimes the dormitories have up to 20 bunks. The sanitary conditions are basic with common toilets, washing rooms and only rare showers. On very high huts there is sometimes not even running water.
We typically have half board on the hut. A lean breakfast with bread, jam, butter and, depending on the region, cereals is served along with coffee or tea. Dinner consists of 3 to 4 courses: starters (soup, pasta in Italy), sometimes salad, main course with some meat, desert. Vegetarian or other dietary requirements are accounted for.
You can order non-alcoholic drinks, beer and wine. Likewise, snacks and lunch can be purchased. On the higher huts there is no potable water and you will have to buy bottled water.
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
- 2 x Night/Half board on mountain huts approx. 60 €/Night (alpine club members)
- Lunch and drinks at the huts. (Lunch for take away can be ordered the day before)
- taxi fare if used 150 €
- 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.
Alternate dates: if it doesn't work out first try.
Ambitious alpine goals require the right conditions and this might not be the case on your first try. We understand that you don't want to hire a guide for not climbing your cherished dream route. On our individually arranged trips we discuss and agree on how to deal with this situation prior to the trip.
Understandably we cannot cancel all our trips in the high season. But we will come up with a fair deal for both sides: a prefixed alternate date, a voucher for the next attempt, an adapted rate for smaller and less committing objectives, or the option to cut off some days.
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.
Additional Info
and links
Couldn't you do that in a party of three?
Yes, you could.
But the North Ridge is downright perfect to speed things up with some basic and totally justifiable speed-climbing techniques. Not to break the record. And by no means do you have to stress and climb fast.
But we've seen far too many parties who, after 12 hours of climbing, jelly arms and aching feet, lost all enjoyment, where struggling and becoming unsafe. We promise, that in a party of two it'll be a much more pleasant and confident journey.
If you do have an accompanying partner, speak to us, and we'll discuss options.
