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Packing list for high alpine tours
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You’re planning your first high alpine tour and you keep coming across abbreviations like “L”, “WS” or “ZS”. Route reports say “ZS, II” or “WS+”, and you wonder: what does that say about me? Am I ready for it, or not yet?
The SAC high alpine scale is the Swiss Alpine Club’s grading system for mountain tours involving glaciers, rock and firn. It isn’t perfect, but it’s the common denominator used by all mountain guides, tour leaders and mountaineering schools in Switzerland. If you understand it, you can assess tours correctly, have better conversations with your mountain guide and, above all, avoid nasty surprises on the mountain.
Mountains can’t be described with a single number. A 4,000-metre peak can be technically easy but still exhausting because of the altitude, the weather and a long approach. A 3,000-metre peak can be short yet very demanding in places thanks to exposed rock sections.
The SAC high alpine scale tries to turn this complexity into a manageable assessment. It rates the overall demands of a tour, not just the hardest single section or an isolated short climbing passage. That’s an important feature: a tour with one short ZS section but otherwise easy terrain may well be graded WS.
Alongside it, there’s also the UIAA climbing grade system (I to IX+) for rock difficulty and the SAC hiking scale (T1 to T6) for hikes without climbing terrain. For high alpine tours, both are often given together: “WS, II” means an overall difficulty of WS (moderately difficult, German: wenig schwierig) with climbing sections at UIAA grade II.
Grade “L” is your entry into the high mountains. Tours in this category cross glaciers or firn but include hardly any technical climbing. The terrain is easy to read and the route is logical – the challenge lies mainly in stamina and altitude.
What you need: sure-footedness on scree and snow, basic fitness for 5 to 7 hours of walking, no previous climbing experience. You’ll still carry crampons and an ice axe, and you’ll practise walking roped up.
Typical tours at this grade: Breithorn (4164 m) from the Klein Matterhorn, Allalinhorn (4027 m) from Mittelallalin, Sustenhorn (3502 m) via the Steingletscher. Just the thing for your first guided high alpine tour.
👉 Enquire about an easy high alpine tour with Exped Tribe
“WS” is the most common grade for classic summer tours in the Alps. The terrain is more varied than at L: steeper firn slopes, short climbing passages at UIAA grade I, more exposed ridges. Even so, with solid fitness and an experienced mountain guide, WS tours are within reach for committed beginners.
What you need: some initial experience in the mountains or a high alpine course under your belt. You should feel confident on rough terrain and have walked in crampons at least once before.
Typical tours: Vrenelisgärtli (2904 m) via the Glärnisch route, Dammastock (3630 m), Weissmies (4017 m), Tödi (3614 m) via the Bifertengletscher.
👉 Enquire about a moderately difficult tour with Exped Tribe
From “ZS” upwards, things get noticeably more demanding. Steeper firn slopes (40 to 50 degrees), longer climbing passages at UIAA grades II and III, exposed ridges with few options for protection. The pace of the rope team has to be right, and you need to stay focused for many hours.
What you need: several high alpine tours in the WS category, or better still WS, experience climbing on a rope and a good dose of self-assessment. With a mountain guide, ZS is within reach – but not on your first tour.
Typical tours: Galenstock (3583 m) via the Tiefengletscher, Lauteraarhorn (4042 m), Lyskamm (4527 m), Zinalrothorn (4221 m). Piz Bernina via the Biancograt is also graded in this category — one of the most beautiful mountain tours in the Alps.
👉 Enquire about a fairly difficult tour with Exped Tribe
“S” describes tours for experienced alpinists. Steep ice slopes of more than 50 degrees, climbing passages at UIAA grades III and IV, long and exposed ridges. Anyone out on this kind of terrain knows it, knows their own limits and has hundreds of metres of alpine ascent in their legs.
What you need: several years of experience in the high mountains, confidence climbing up to UIAA III, and routine in using ice screws and belaying techniques.
Typical tours: Matterhorn Hörnli Ridge (4478 m), Eiger Mittellegi Ridge (3970 m), Dent Blanche (4357 m) South Ridge.
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These two grades mark the upper end of the alpine spectrum: extreme ice routes, long north faces, climbing terrain from UIAA IV upwards. For experienced alpinists and extreme mountaineers. Mount Everest without supplementary oxygen, for example, falls into the AS range. We only offer tours of this difficulty as a long-term project. We prepare our guests for such an undertaking with several preparatory tours and targeted training so that the tour is a success.
On most route websites such as Gipfelbuch and Hikr, on the SAC tour portal and in the classic guidebooks, you’ll find the grade right in the route description.
The SAC scale is a frame of reference that helps you and your mountain guide find the right objective. What ultimately counts is that you’re well prepared, that you go at the right pace and that you’re out there with someone who knows the terrain. If you’re not sure where to start, drop us a line. We’ll help you find the right tour for your level and the current conditions.
👉 Enquire about a high alpine tour with Exped Tribe
Exped Tribe is a mountain guide school based in Central Switzerland. We accompany guests on guided high alpine tours, glacier treks, climbing courses and expeditions in Switzerland and around the world.
