Alpine shorthand for steep, rock-strewn ground between a marked trail and real climbing — the terrain that shows whether you're genuinely sure-footed.
\"And then it gets schrofig\" appears in every other trip report and never gets explained. It means ground that is no longer a path but not yet a route: steep, rock-strewn, with holds you have to find yourself. On the way down you have three orientations, and the choice is a safety decision — facing outward down the fall line is the default, because you can see your feet; sideways works at moderate steepness; facing the rock is for when you genuinely need handholds. The classic error is downclimbing face-in out of habit when facing out would be safer. And because loose rock is almost always part of the deal: in a group, never walk directly below one another, or the stone you dislodge hits the person behind you.