On the 22nd of June 2020, my home country, Wales was still in full lockdown. This strict lockdown meant that local people, as well as everyone else, was unable to walk, climb or scramble in the mountains of Snowdonia National Park. Not alone, not with family members, not even if the mountains were on the doorstep. It was an anxious and upsetting time for many people who derive a sense of purpose and well-being from being in wild places. It felt as though our freedom of access to nature and our national park had been stripped from us. No timeline for the opening was given, in fact, the mountains remained inaccessible until July.

Over the weeks of June, I was dreaming of getting back to the mountains, thinking about some life goals that I had had for many years but work had always been getting in the way. One positive way of thinking about the Coronavirus pandemic and the associated loss of all my UK adventure work and overseas expeditions was that it presented me with an opportunity. It was a gamble with a chance of total failure. At the time any travel seemed morally questionable. After weeks of debate on how to proceed, me and my climbing partner Sally, came to our decision and opened the door to a beautiful alpine adventure.

After a few days of frenzied organizing and travel, we awoke in the campervan in Switzerland on the 1st of July. Sunshine, jagged snow-laden peaks, and huge granite spires awaited us. The question; why would you plan such an adventure in such an uncertain time when few others were traveling, was quickly answered as we acclimatized on some grippy dry rock high above wildflower alpine meadows near Andermatt.

Suddenly all the anxiousness and upset of the past months faded. All we had to concentrate on was our next big objective. The weather was on our side, the alpine huts were open and our tick list was finalized. We had a short amount of time but we had big plans (click on the links to find out more)

• The South and West ridges of the inspiring Salbitschijen

• The Piz Badile via the Cassin or North Ridge

• Piz Palu Traverse

• The Piz Bernina via the Biancograt

• The Dufourspitze via the Cresta Rey

It was so refreshing and awakening to be out of Wales and experiencing the Swiss approach to the pandemic. Bars and restaurants were open, masks were worn and social distancing measures were in place. Finally, there was nothing stopping us from making our plans a reality. Our first major objective was a huge alpine ridge rising to 3000 meters.

The Sudgrat- South Ridge of the Salbitschijen

This route involves Sixteen wonderful granite pitches of rock climbing in the majestic scenery of the Swiss Alps. A 4am start from the Salbithutte led to this monster climb over ridges and pinnacles of the Salbitschijen. Of course, we thought we were moving fast until we were overtaken by a Swiss couple. As we abseiled off the second of three enormous pinnacles that were guarding the upper reaches of the ridge we began to realize we needed to get a shift on to avoid an enforced overnight bivy on an exposed ledge. The sun set as we made the summit. Far down below was our refuge. The descent was very snowy and exposed as well as loose. So our first major alpine objective finished, as was to become a theme, with us arriving back into the hut exhausted and a bit bedraggled and late for dinner!

Certainly, we learned on this trip not to underestimate the way back from our objectives. The biggest challenges we had were always on the descent. Time seemed to disappear as we dealt with jammed ropes on abseils, steep exposed snowfields, and miles of endless chossy, loose rock to descend through. Although we were climbing the routes in good time the descents always took much longer than expected. The descent from the Sudgrat was particularly memorable in us being totally unprepared and ill-equipped to deal with a snow descent. We had seen no snow on the ascent, the climb was totally a rock route so we had worn approach shoes and not taken ice axes. Then we came across the descent down a steep rock-hard snow-filled couloir. Lightweight axes would have been super useful but karabiners held in our hands did the job to help us descend…. very slowly and cautiously.

The Piz Badile - North Ridge

This is a huge shovel-like rock that sticks out against its neighbours high in the Bregaglia of Switzerland. The classic route is the Cassin route on the steep and exposed North Face. Due to early Summer snow on the North face and our earlier less than speedy ascent of the Salbitschijen we opted for the North ridge route which is graded Dificile and rises 700m above the meadows of the Saas Fura hut. So followed twenty-six pitches of lovely gentle climbing with the occasional bolt to show the way. Epically brilliant!

What was incredible in the Alps this summer was how quiet the alpine huts were. We had our own room in the Sasa Fura and were one of only three parties on the mountain that day. We needed to book the huts three days in advance as they were operating on a reduced capacity basis. Not once did we struggle to get a place and unusually the hut guardians saved us some dinner every time we were late back from an objective! The Swiss Alpine Club huts and routes portal is invaluable on a trip like this www.sac-cas.ch/en/huts-and-tours/

For anyone wanting to plan a trip during the pandemic although the planning is fraught with difficulties and can be more stressful than it would normally. Remember the trip is ultimately always worth it and you won’t regret your decision. It is a time when much flexibility is needed as rules change frequently. With a flexible approach and plenty of planning big things can still be achieved. So go out there and achieve!

The weather was not ALWAYS on our side and we had to back off from high on the Biancograt on Piz Bernina but that is another story. Read ore of our blogs here www.prideexpeditions.co.uk/blogs