Salbit Trilogy speed record set by Yannick Glatthard and Simon Wahli

Salbitschijen with its three ridges fascinates climbers far beyond the Swiss borders. For most, it is already a satisfying achievement to tackle one of the three ridges in one day, especially the longest and most challenging, the west ridge. In total, the ridges comprise around 70 pitches and over 1500 meters of climbing, stretching over steep towers and saddles in different directions. It is not surprising that historically the best climbers in the world complete speed ascents of all ridges in one go. In July 2023, Dani Arnold set the most recent record and climbed all three in 9 hours and 36 minutes. The accomplishment of the Swiss mountain guide inspired Yannick Glatthard and Simon Wahli to test their skills on the same terrain. But they had the vision to accomplish it as a team. "We knew from past climbs that we work together well as a team, when it comes to efficiency and speed. The Salbit Trilogy was the perfect project to test these skills."

Wahli, a mountain guide himself, was acquainted with the area as he had climbed these alpine classics with both clients and friends, while the ridges represented unknown territory for Glatthard. They decided to engage in a dry run on 2nd and 3rd of October to explore whether a new team record was realistic.

On Monday 2nd of October the pair climbed the east ridge, rappelled over the south face, traversed to a saddle called "Zahnscharte" and climbed the upper part of the south ridge. Tuesday the 3rd of October was dedicated to the Salbit west ridge, the most demanding of the three in terms of difficulty, length and technical requirements. Right afterwards, they climbed the lower part of the south ridge. For the most difficult sections, the party decided on technique and strategy in order to maximise speed and safety on the day of action. After the dry run they both felt fully confident. The timing was perfect for good reasons: October is typically a month when very few climbers engage on these long ridges. Furthermore, the weather forecast was stable, and both felt on form and readyafter the numerous climbing days throughout summer and autumn.

Glatthard and Wahli hiked to the Salbit hut on October 5th with the aim of climbing all three ridges the next day as fast as possible. "In the hut everyone knew about our project" they explained "but nobody mentioned anything. And yet, we felt so much support and positive energy, that we could start our endeavour in the best possible conditions."

The team left the hut at 7.55 am to tackle the west ridge first after a 40-minute ascent. They climbed the ridge with its six towers simultaneously and changed lead on the saddles. Anyone who has ever been on a ridge knows how much rope handling determines the make or break and, ultimately, the time required for an ascent. The tactic of simul climbing and swapping leads allowed them to move forward quickly and efficiently. When one was on the sharp end navigating through the ridges, the other could recover mentally and just follow the rope. After 1 hour and 52 minutes, they reached the summit needle and were therefore the first ever team to climb the ridge in less than 2 hours.

They rappelled quickly over the south face to reach the saddle of the south ridge called Zahnscharte. From there another two rappels and a short walk led to the start of the second ridge. Again, they used the same tactics of simul climbing, with Wahli leading up to Zahnscharte and Glatthard leading the remaining pitches up to the summit needle. They left one rope on the top of the needle to save time as they planned on climbing the east ridge without a rope, except for the most difficult section. To climb the identical route as the record holder they went for the classic start of the ridge, located slightly higher than the direct one.

Towards the end of the east ridge, Glatthard started to feel exhausted, while Wahli knew he would have to give his best for the descent. The team leveraged their individual strengths on the very last mile through clever teamwork – Wahli is faster running uphill, while Glatthard is faster running downhill. "If one of us felt exhausted, the energy of the other would lift him up. One of us was always fit and could motivate the other."

After an emotional run down the scree slopes, at 13.48 Glatthard and Wahli were both back at the hut. Happy to be back they made a selfie to record the time. They had climbed the three ridges in 5 hours and 53 minutes from the Salbit hut as start and finish, and hence had established a new speed record.