UKC

Hi, do any of you use the SAC route portal and do you think it is any good/worth the subscription cost?

I'm looking for some route descriptions and topos around the Evolene area (specifically dent de tsalion) and the only English guide (as far as I'm aware) is the old AC one, which is very light on words and pictures. The routes I'm looking at are on the SAC portal, but it's a bit hard to work out if they are particularly useful or whether I'd be better off picking up a guidebook.

thanks all

I have a subscription to the portal, I get great value from it. I use the German version however, since the English version is somewhat scant. I get the most value from being able to look at the old guides in PDF form as these cover pretty much every piece of rock in Switzerland (Including some dubious routes...), but these are all in German or French. So, I don't know if I would use the portal if I could only use the English descriptions.

Looking at the Dent de Tsalion for example, the normal route has a description in English which is decent. But the West Ridge only has a German description. The most popular mountains should have an English description, but for these mountains you can often find similar descriptions in English on other (free) websites.

thanks Jesse, my German is pretty poor so I'd probably have to plug it in to google translate, but it's normally pretty good at that sort of thing. 

Are there good topos included? or is it more of a red line scrawled over a photo taken from a kilometre away?

cheers

Will

Topos vary quite a bit, those included with sport/trad routes are usually decent. Those included with high Alpine routes (Hochtouren) are okay at best and non-existent at worst.

So a pure rock route route like the Galengrat-Verschneidung will have a drawn topo which is okay but not as good as those in Plaisir Schweiz for example. While something like Aiguille de la Tsa will not have any topo at all, just a description.

I find the portal to be most suitable for use in combination with another source (Camptocamp, local guidebook, etc.), as it gives a very good overview of what is available in a certain area but lacks a bit of depth.

I have access included in my CAS membership. I would not personally pay for access to the tourenportal if it weren't included. The overview map with the lines on is the part that I use most, and this isn't behind a pay wall. Behind the paywall, the route descriptions are typically quite terse. So, like Jesse, I'll usually defer to camp to camp or other for route descriptions which is more likely to have a topo and advise on rack ect.

Undoubtedly.

have you found the pdf "escalades à arolla"?  very useful.  I can email it to you if you want. in French but lots of pics.  mainly valley rock

arolla cries out for a decent English language guidebook

I used that last year and found it very easy to follow despite having a French vocabulary limited to buying food and beer.

Great venue and very quiet.