Switzerland
The Saas Valley runs south from Visp in Valais beneath the Weissmies and the Mischabel peaks. Its fully bolted multipitch climbing is high and hut-based: the Dri Horlini, a 150 to 200 m wall of tawny gneiss ten minutes above the Almagellerhütte (2894 m), which is a walk of about three hours from Saas-Almagell. The hut is open from late June to late September, and that is the season. Buses run up the valley from Visp; parking at Saas-Almagell is paid.
Where and when
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Jegihorn south face above Kreuzboden (Dri Horlini is 4 km south-east at a similar height) · 2,575 m
| Measure | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul (usual season) | Aug (usual season) | Sep (usual season) | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean daily high °C | −8 | −6 | −3 | −0 | 4 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 8 | 4 | −3 | −7 |
| Mean daily low °C | −15 | −14 | −11 | −7 | −3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | −4 | −10 | −14 |
| Rain days 1 mm or more | 12 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 13 |
● marks the usual climbing season. Averages for 1991-2020 at about 2575 m. Area climate from Open-Meteo reanalysis. Temperatures are adjusted to the height of the crag; rain comes from a grid cell of about 10 to 25 km, and summer highs on sea cliffs can read a few degrees low. The wall and valley can differ. Data: Open-Meteo, CC BY 4.0.
5 routes
Switzerland · Saas Valley
Fourteen pitches of steady 4b and 4c on good gneiss that finish at the summit cross of a 3206 m peak, reached from a gondola. It is the best-known plaisir route on the Jegihorn, closely bolted with chained belays, and often climbed in mountain boots as a first long alpine rock route. Expect company: it is very busy in high summer.
4c14 pitches350 m
Switzerland · Saas Valley
The left edge of the Jegihorn's south face: a 1922 ridge climb turned into a bolted outing of many short pitches, mostly grade 3 and 4. The one real step is the red gendarme, a well-bolted pitch of 5a. More varied than Alpendurst, with slabs, a short steep wall and narrow sections of crest, and a summit finish at 3206 m.
5a18 pitches300 m
Switzerland · Saas Valley
The right-hand of the Jegihorn's three easy bolted routes and the quietest. Ten long pitches up low-angled slabs and then a steeper, airy central section on sharp flakes and edges, finishing along a short crest to the 3206 m summit. Bolts are further apart than on Alpendurst and the belays are unlinked, so it suits a leader who is steady at 4c.
5a10 pitches360 m
Read the cautionsCommitting
Switzerland · Saas Valley
Ten short pitches of grade 4 on superb red-brown gneiss at 2900 m, ten minutes from the Almagellerhütte. Steep little slabs with good holds, closely bolted, and often climbed in mountain boots. An ideal first high-mountain multipitch or an afternoon route after the walk up to the hut.
4c10 pitches150 m
Switzerland · Saas Valley
The 'digestion route': four 20 m pitches of grade 3 and 4 on solid gneiss, fifteen minutes above the Almagellerhütte at 2900 m. Very closely bolted, with iron rods to stand on at the two steepest steps, and well suited to practising in mountain boots or to a first multipitch after the walk up to the hut.
4b4 pitches80 m
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Switzerland