Salbit Westridge

The best topo can be found in Filidor Extrem Ost or the Salbit Erleben (available for purchase at the Salbit hut) guidebooks. Recent topos give the route 36 pitches. 

Famous ridgeclimb in beautiful granite. An early start is necessary. For me some of the pitches where incredible, but it was hard work to do it in a day. We fixed the first pitched the day before.

First Tower:

p1 6b (6a A0): some pitons. Crack climbing and some slabmoves. Beautiful pitch 42m.

p2 5c: easy climbing. Some five 5c-moves (laybacking) 40m.

p3 5a: easy climbing, follow the natural line to the next anchor 40m.

p4 4b: easy climbing, some bushwacking 45m

p5 5a: to the grassband, than to the right for the anchor 40m

p6 5b: crack, laybacking, good pro 42m

p7 4c: pass the red tower to the right. Easy slabclimbing 42m

p8 6a: easy climbing with some technical (boltprotected) cruxmoves in a fingercrack-dihedral. Aiding is possible 45m

p9 4c: ridgeclimbing, ropedrag! 40m

Two rappels (12m and 20m, to the base of the next tower.

Second Tower:

p10 5c: beautiful but long pitch. Easy to protect. Cracks and stemming. Awesome! 48m

p11 6a: strenuous (wide) crack, some bolts 45m

p12 4b: easy, watch for ropedrag 45m

p13 5b: great climbing. Exposed! Easy pro 48m.

p14 5b: Exposed slab, two bolts two rappel-anchor 50m.

Two rappels (10m and 50m to bast of next tower.

Third Tower:

p15 4c: easy climbing, lots of ropedrag 42m.

p16 5cA0: short pitch, with some hard crux moves (6b). Aiding on bolts. 15m

p17 4b: on northface of ridge. Easy but unprotected climbing. Harder for seconder.

p18 5a: Very exposed but big jugs. Beautiful! 30m.

Rappel (30m) to base of next tower.

Fourth Tower:

p19 5a: easy to protect and beautiful solid rock. Cracks. 35m

p20 5c A0: hard moves, aiding on pitons. Then walking. 30m.

p21 5c: Chimney! Well protected with bolts/pitons. Awesome classic pitch! 40m.

p22 5c+: One of the hardest pitches. Long sustained 5c-climbing. Cracks/laybacking. Lots of pitons, but some runouts. Halfway up there's a belay to the right. DON'T GO THERE, OFF-ROUTE! 42m

Rappel (45m) to north side of ridge.

Fifth Tower:

p23 4c: from the bottom of the rappel, walk a bit to the left and go up through a yellow dihedral (two bolts) two cross to the south face of the ridge again.

p24 5b: hard to protect. Cruxmove can be aided. Long pitch! Block-anchor. 48m.

p25 5c+: follow the ridge, then a little downclimbing (two meters, NOT AS MUCH AS THE GUIDEBOOK SAYS!). Look up for the pitons in the small seam under the roof. Go around the roof (to the right) to the anchor 48m.

p26 5c: Great climbing in bomber rock, second half mostly unprotected 42m.

Rappel (15m) to traverse to last tower.

Sixth Tower:

p27 4a: traverse to anchor, linking with p28 is possible (20m).

p28 5b: lower down over the anchor for 10m. Than climb up through the crack (no placements, dangerous pendulum for seconder!!). I climbed to the bolt, my seconder did a pendulum over this bolt. Then some easy downclimbing to base of Sixth Tower.

p29 6a A0: slabclimbing (first half) with boltladder. Than some exposed ridgeclimbing (hard to protect). 50m

p30 5c: Traversing. 15m chimney in the middle of the pitch. Cool! Easy to protect. Watch for ropedrag! 45m.

p31 5a: easy climb out. Cross over the rigde to the north face and climb up to the summitblock. 40m.

p32 5a: Summitblock! Nice easy climbing. One piton and anchor to lower down.