Rock climber on summit — *Karolina topping out on Salbitchjien*

The Climbers Shop staff team member Karolina took a trip out to the Alps with her partner Aled - here’s what they got up to:

Every summer we make a shortlist of routes in different areas around the Alps, so we can have a back-up plan for almost every scenario. And then, we just follow the weather.

Salbitschjien was on our list last year, but the weather didn’t look too good that way. The forecast looked more promising this time, so we decided to start the trip in Vicosoprano, a sleepy place in Swiss Bregaglia, and head to the closest crag with easy access – Spazzacaldera. Beautiful granite, amazing setting, perfect place to get used to the rock and get the multi-pitch systems sorted.

Spazzacaldera to Göschenen

We started on one of the classics at the crag – Lasciami-li 6a+ *** (maybe like E1/E2 5b in British money). This route was on my list since we went to Piz Badile for the first time. I remember racking up and getting rained off just before setting off back in 2023. I was chuffed to finally tick it off this year, and what a quality route! Seven pitches of beautiful and engaging climbing, few bolts along the route but a trad rack needed.

Over the next couple of days, we did another cool route at the crag called Steinfresser 6b ***

Outrageous exit from the chimney onto the face! A five pitch route with seriously good rock and quality movement. We had one rainy day in between but that gave a good opportunity to chill and not get too tired at the beginning of the trip.

I was able to do some yoga almost every morning, and what a joy to do it outdoors, before or after climbing. Much needed soothe for the body and mind.

After a couple of days here, we headed to Salbitchjien, basing ourselves in the campsite called Mattli, just up the valley from Salbithutte trail car park. We found an amazing looking line just outside Goschenen, at a crag called Scholenen. It was an eight-pitch route, with a perfect splitter crack on the second pitch. I led the first pitch, then Aled led the next 3 pitches as I didn’t feel that confident to go for it and it was absolutely boiling. The crag was south facing and there was no breeze at all. We had some water with us, but it didn’t feel like enough. Any slab pitches felt desperate because the shoe rubber couldn’t hold up in the heat. At the top of the pitch 4 we had to make a decision; we bailed and abseiled back to the base. Aled’s phone has this really cool feature of measuring the temperature, so I asked him to measure my rock shoe – 50C. The rock – 48C. No wonder there was not a single other climber at the crag! Shame we couldn’t finish the route, every pitch and every section was quality.

Oh well, back to the camp and chill. A night to settle and pack for Salbit.

Rock climber — *Karolina seconding on Shollenen crag with Goshenen valley below*

**Route Highlight:**

**Lasciami-li**
One of my personal favourites. 7 pitches of immaculate rock and engaging climbing. The crux pitch was a fairly steep layback (of course) on the flake – pumpy! Beautiful views all round, looking over the Albigna dam and surrounding peaks.
The bolted belays made the ascent quick and easy, but with minimal fixed gear on the pitches, it still felt like a proper trad adventure. Two abseils and an easy walk off – doesn’t get much better than this.
pic: *View on the descent of Lasciami-li*

Salbitschijen – South Ridge

The next morning, we hiked to the Salbithütte, two hours up the hill from the car park. Not too long a walk, but it was roasting; we were absolutely drenched in sweat as the heatwave continued…

Once we reached the hut, we could get a clear view of the ridge. We got so psyched about all the routes we could see on the face of Salbit, we weren’t even sure which one to do. Once the overwhelm settled and we got to bed, we narrowed it down to two options – the classic South Ridge or Clock and Stock with a South Ridge finish if we were feeling fresh and strong.

You might know this about huts, but you don’t really get a good night's sleep. Bunk beds, beer and laughter until late, the excitement building up… all these things affect the rest you’re trying to get. We woke up at 4am feeling groggy, and having had little sleep we opted for a classic – the South Ridge.

We forced some breakfast down and by 4:30am we were walking to the base of the crag. Then a gully to approach the start of the route. One and a half hours later we were racking up at the base. We had a team of Brits in front of us, and funnily enough, one of them was from Cockermouth – only an hour’s drive from Ambleside! Small world.

We started climbing as the sun rose above the many peaks. A reward after having to wake up so early. The first few pitches weren’t too challenging, so we got up the first tower – Zahn – pretty quickly. Then we had two abseils and about nine pitches until the next abseil. A few easy pitches and a bit of down‑climbing until we reached the crux pitch. Probably E1 5c if it were to get a British grade, but it had enough pegs and bolts for those wanting to aid it.

The crux was pretty short-lived: a shallow slopey flake and some tiny foot smears to get out onto the arete. The move to come out was quite precarious; as usual, a good lead from Aled. After the crux, we had a few more pitches and then another abseil into the notch. That felt quite exposed; you kind of wanted to aim for a small ledge at the base of the next pitch. A couple more pitches and we had a longer abseil onto a ledge where we decided to chill, have lunch, and enjoy the views. We were going pretty well with all the teams in front and we were in no rush – kind of why we opted for this route on that day.

The last four pitches were actually really nice and contained some engaging and fun climbing on flakes and cracks. Eighteen pitches or 500 metres later, we reached the top at 1:20pm and took a moment to take in the views.

Then the long descent started. First, you carefully descend a vague rocky path and look for the red markings on the rock. There was a ridge section that felt more exposed and looser than Crib Goch. It had a cable though, so we clipped our lanyards in and continued. Slowly we started descending on rock and scree, down to an old snow gully. Short traverse on the snow and another hour later we could vaguely see the path we were aiming for. But first, more scree. My least favourite thing, as it always wrecks my knee that suffers from a long‑term injury. After that, a bit of boulder‑hopping, and finally, the path that leads back to the hut. What a relief. Time to chill, have some food, and share the experience with fellow climbers. After food we watched the sunset and headed to bed.

We woke up for a 7am breakfast and made the next plan: climb a route on Salbit Klettergarten (just 15 minutes from the hut) and head back down. We did this two‑pitch 6a+ at the little crag, a pitch for each of us, then one long abseil, and it was time to walk back to the car.

Left: Aled on South Ridge, Middle: Aled past the crux pitch, Right: The many towers of Salbit

Ecrins and Aiguille Dibona

Once down from Salbit, there was no time to waste. We grabbed some food on the way and headed to the Ecrins, as the weather pattern looked more promising there.

One of the objectives was Aiguille Dibona, so we booked the hut right away as space is limited. That meant tomorrow we’d walk up to the hut and make another 1200m ascent, barely recovered from Salbit.

It took us about six hours to get to Ailefroide, where we based ourselves for the next week. By the time we got there it was late evening, so we just set up the tent and rested.

The next day we had a two‑and‑a‑half‑hour drive to Les Étages, a little village you can only access if you are a resident or a guest in the Soreiller hut. That’s because of the landslide they had a couple of years ago. Another option is to catch a shuttle bus that takes you to the start of the hike.

We parked up, sorted and packed the gear, and started walking. Walking into a hut at 2pm is not a good idea in a heatwave like this. It’s a longer walk than the one to the Salbithütte, and certainly less shaded, so we got totally cooked. But what a stunning walk it was. Beautiful scenery, flora and fauna, and finally, the view of the famous Aiguille Dibona.

Left: Aiguille Dibona from the distance, Right: Views from the Soreiller hut

Once at the hut, we had time to absorb the views, look at the routes, and plan for the next day’s ascent. It was between Voie Madier, a historical classic, and Visite Obligatoire, a more sustained but equally popular route.

After reading the guidebook and looking at the routes, we headed for dinner. I have to admit, it was good, and for the first time ever I got tofu as a veggie option in a hut! That was a real treat, and with a happy stomach we hit the bed.

The next morning, we evaluated the team psyche and decided to go for Voie Madier. The route didn’t require a super early start, so we had a 6am breakfast and got to the base of the crag around 7am. We had a Spanish team in front and no one behind us – “quite nice,” we thought. Our idea was a quick ascent, speedy descent back to the hut, walk back down to the valley, get in the car, and drive back to Ailefroide. But the Spanish didn’t seem to be in any rush…

We soon realised we would not reach the top by midday as expected, as we had to queue on every belay for at least 30 minutes! The sun came onto the face, and it was roasting again. At first, we were really patient, but it all started taking too long. Just before the 6a+/6b off‑width crux pitch there was a ledge. We had some lunch while queuing and 40 minutes later we were still queuing. So, we decided to go for a different finish, just to the right of the original crux. There was a 6b apparently, but somehow Aled ended up going even further right, following new shiny bolts on the arete. I tried to second it but found it super hard, so I had to French‑free it! Turns out that is a new route, not yet in the topo, so we don’t know the grade.

Somehow, we still managed to make time on the Spanish team, and a few pitches later ended up at the top, meeting a lovely German couple on the summit who had just come up Visite Obligatoire. We all had a chat and a moment to take in the views. We made it! Not in the time we wanted to, but we made it.

Then I climbed down to find the abseil point and we started the descent. Two short abseils and a scramble down to the path on the side of the Dibona. Then a cairned path down to the hut. We were back at the hut around 5pm, so we had a quick sip of water and headed down to the car. We reached the car in 1 hour 45 minutes, which meant we could still make it to the campsite before they shut the gate for the night. Yay! We got back in time and went straight to bed. The next day was definitely going to be a rest day…

Left: Karolina and the sunrise over the mountains, Right: Karolina and Aled on top of Aiguille Dibona

Heatwave and River Flooding

The weather was consistently hot, and with high air temperatures and lack of clouds, we thought we’d spend our rest day by the river. There was a nice spot just on the edge of the campsite, covered by trees and surrounded by big boulders, so we sat there and enjoyed a peaceful moment until… we started feeling a little damp. The water levels started rising.

“Ka, we have to run!” Aled said, as I grabbed all my stuff and tried to ascend a little sandy slope to get out of the riverbank.

“My phone, have I left my phone?” I shouted to Aled, but then we found I’d already put it in my pack beforehand.

Once above, we just observed the river – it was pretty strong and getting really high. And then I saw my Nalgene bottle being washed away – oh no, that was a little sentimental to me! Although I think I felt sadder about it being washed away and ending up as a piece of litter in this beautiful place…

To celebrate the fact that we didn’t get washed away, we decided to head back to the village, buy some food, and rest in the campsite.

The next morning, we decided to climb one of the multi‑pitch routes in the campsite, called Le Panthéon des Ordures. It was a 10‑pitch, 280m route with 6c and 6c+ crux pitches. I was still pretty fatigued, so I was happy seconding Aled and carrying a pack up the route. Until I wasn’t. My feet were in agony by the third pitch, just because of the heat and the abuse from all the climbing we’d done already, and the bag was so heavy – carrying layers for both of us, snacks, and a big water bottle. The crux pitches weren’t going to be clean sends…

The climb itself was really good though; every pitch was quality, and we managed to stay mostly in the shade. Lovely note for the trip that was coming to an end.

We packed up and were ready to make our way to Italy; we had a flight to catch in Milan. We thought we would bivy somewhere along the way, but then Aled got really ill the day before the flight. That made us reconsider the idea of bivying, and instead I found a little bed and breakfast just outside Milan, so he could have a good rest and sleep in a bed.

The next morning, we caught our flight back to Manchester and spent the rest of the Sunday resting once we’d reached home. What a trip, and honestly, it’s quite shocking that we didn’t lose any gear on this one!

*Karolina seconding one of the last pitches on Le Pantheon Des Ordures*

Top Gear Picks

Nemo Dagger Osmo 2P Tent - Lightweight, packable, and with a mesh inner perfect for hot summer nights. Keeps insects out while letting plenty of fresh air in.

Rab Ultrasphere Sleeping Mat - Great value for money. Light, packable, and easy to use. I have the Ultrasphere 5, but in summer the Ultrasphere 1.5 would do just fine.

La Sportiva TC Pro Climbing Shoes - The best for long days on granite. Plenty of support for edging, smearing, or shoving your feet into cracks. I had mine resoled and have probably done over 5000m of climbing in them, if not more, and the uppers are still in good shape. Well worth the investment.

La Sportiva Bushido III Trail Shoes - I’m not a fan of heavy approach shoes because I know they’ll end up clipped to my harness. I prefer trail shoes for walking and approaches, and I find Bushidos good enough even for a little easy scrambling.

Edelrid Starling Protect Eco Dry Half Ropes - These handle beautifully, and knowing your ropes have Kevlar and are more cut‑resistant puts your mind at ease when they’re running over a sharp edge, especially when abseiling.

Mountain Equipment Glace Hoodie - Super quick‑drying, lightweight, and tough enough to climb in. I really like sun hoodies – they keep you cool and protect you from the sun.

Primus Campfire Kettle & 4 Season Mug - The kettle boils quickly and looks kind of chic. I love the copper base and stainless‑steel body. Paired with the 4 Season Mug, it’s a perfect setup for a nice cuppa.

Aeropress (fits perfectly on Primus mugs) - Coffee is such an important part of my day. Aeropress makes a great brew and fits over most standard cups. Easy to clean and lightweight – perfect for travelling.