Dri Horlini (Almagellerhütte) · Saas Valley · Switzerland
Easy to bailBolting confidence: medium
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.
The route
Verdauungsweg is a short, easy line on the Dri Horlini, the gneiss wall above the Almagellerhütte that also holds Schmetterling. It has four pitches of 20 m, the hardest 4b, and you abseil back down it. The bolting is recent and very close. On the second and third pitches metal rods have been fixed as footholds: with them the steep steps are about grade 3, without them about grade 4. It is documented by a single camptocamp page written in 2025, so treat the details as one party's account.
The climbing
| Pitch | Grade | Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | 4b | 20 m | Go round the pillar on the left and climb straight up to the belay. |
| P2 | 4a | 20 m | Up rock steps, then slightly left up a vertical wall with excellent handholds and poorer footholds, where metal rods help the feet. About grade 3 using the rods, grade 4 without. |
| P3 | 4a | 20 m | Roughly straight up, with another passage aided by two or three rods, then a short step right before the belay. |
| P4 | 3b | 20 m | The right edge of the pillar on very good holds, with a slabby move to finish. |
Getting there
Drive or take the postbus from Visp up the Saas Valley to Saas-Almagell (1660 m). Walk to the Almagellerhütte (2894 m) in about 3 hours. The hut is wardened in summer only (its website announced the end of the 2026 season by early October, with the winter room open on reservation), so book ahead and check dates.
From the hut follow the yellow marks that start near the old hut to the foot of the wall, about 15 minutes. The route is near a cracked slab on the right, and its name is on a small plaque.
Loading map
The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.
Parking
Saas-Almagell (camptocamp waypoint 112564), start of the 3-hour hut walk
Point from camptocamp waypoint 39703 (Dri Horlini summit; the wall is on its south-east side above the hut)
Contains the route point and parking. Opens in most mapping apps and GPS watches.
Points are compiled from published sources, with the precision stated above. They were not surveyed on the ground: check them against a current topo.
Coordinates: 46.11303, 8.00925 (crag) · Parking: 46.09570, 7.95850
Getting down
Abseil the route in four abseils of 20 m; every belay is equipped for it. About 30 minutes back to the hut.
Retreat
Easy to bail
Abseiling the route is the normal descent and every one of the four belays is equipped for it. Pitches are 20 m, so a 50 m rope doubled reaches each stance.
Safety
Sun and weather
South-east facing at about 2900 to 3000 m. The season is the hut season, roughly July to September. This is high ground: expect cold mornings and the usual afternoon build-up of storms in summer.
Sun on the wall · SE-facing
Working out the sunlit hours for this month.
Sun on the wallDaylight, wall in shade● Usual season
Estimated from the wall's aspect only. Ignores surrounding terrain, gullies and the wall's exact shape. Clock times are local to the wall (Central European time), for the 15th of each month.
| 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.
What to carry
10 or 11 quickdraws, a 50 m rope (the author was not sure a 40 m rope would reach on the abseils) and a helmet. No cams or nuts. Goes well in mountain boots.
Derived from the route data; check it against a current topo
From climbers
Reader reports are not being collected yet. Until they are, check a current topo and the local club or guidebook publisher for recent changes to Verdauungsweg.
Worth knowing
Open questions
Provenance
Same area
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
Around 4b · about 4 pitches
Spain · Riglos & Agüero (Mallos)
The name is accurate: four even pitches of 4a to 4b up a gently angled conglomerate spur, with a bolt every few metres. Made for a first multipitch or a first lead, and it finishes on top of the Agüero massif. Combine it with Tierra de Naide or Tierra de Todos on the same face.
4b4 pitches120 m
Switzerland · Susten
Seven easy, unsustained pitches of edged slab on the left side of the Steingletscher slabs, never harder than 4b. The line is obvious and the glacier scenery is the main event. A good first multipitch, and easy to pair with a neighbouring route the same day.
4b7 pitches200 m
Switzerland · Ticino
The easy neighbour of Quarzader: seven pitches of gneiss slab and small steps up the right-hand spur above the Maggia, at 4b if you take the right-hand finish. Much quieter than Quarzader and very well bolted. Finish with a swim in the river.
4b7 pitches250 m
Germany · Ammergauer Alpen
A short, easy alpine route of UIAA 4+ on the Schlössel above the Kenzenhütte: a water runnel, a corner and slabs, then a compact pillar to finish. Bolted where it matters but not closely. Pitch 3 has some unreliable rock and grass.
4c4 pitches140 m
Read the cautions
Compiled from published sources and last verified October 2026. Bolts, anchors and access change. Climbing is dangerous and you are responsible for your own decisions: check a current topo and read the disclaimer.