After 1,5 hours and about 30 climbs I totally climbed more than 300m of ice - great exercise and nice preparation for winter climbing.
more info about the indoor ice climbing on http://www.bever.nl/icewall
Sunday, October 6, 2013
ice climbing season is opened!
Last friday and saturday I have been to The Hague for work. In the Globe there is a big outdoor shop and the climbing gym as well. Special feature is the indoor ice wall - a huge refrigerator produces a 12m ice wall. With a self belaying device you can do a non stop exercise with your own ice axes and crampons. It was great to hear the sound of my ice axes again.
After 1,5 hours and about 30 climbs I totally climbed more than 300m of ice - great exercise and nice preparation for winter climbing.
more info about the indoor ice climbing on http://www.bever.nl/icewall
After 1,5 hours and about 30 climbs I totally climbed more than 300m of ice - great exercise and nice preparation for winter climbing.
more info about the indoor ice climbing on http://www.bever.nl/icewall
Saturday, September 7, 2013
rock climbing
Well,
summer is almost gone, we are at home again and to be honest I’m already
planning for the ice climbing season...
Last weeks
were great. Together with Marieke I went to the Frankenjura and to the Dauphine
again. We had not been in the Frankenjura this year. Last two springs we had
been to the Bavarian climbing Nirvana for a few times. Already after our first
visit back in 2011 we knew we would come back. The whole package is great:
there are a few thousand routes on several hundred rocks in a very quite and
nice forest/lower hill- region. The rock is most of the time steep and fingery,
the easier routes are mostly poor equipped and have to be protected by
yourself. The harder routes normally see more bolts but it can be pretty
demanding. Beside that climbing specific features – the Frankenjura is a good
place to be because of the hospitality of the people, good food for an affordable
prize and most of all – all smaller villages have their own brewery…. What else
do you need?
We spent
our first week in Freienfels on the very low profile campground Waldmühle… no 4
star swimming pool, just the backyard of the old watermill. An old school
campground.
First day
we went to the Treunitzer Wand. A small climbing area with about 20 routes
between UIAA 4 and 7-. Nice warm up. We went there by bike and checked out one
of the breweries… I ordered a beer and got half a litre – yeah. Next day my
brother and his girl-friend arrived as well and we went to the Treunitzer
Klettergarten. A larger area with plenty of routes in the lower grades. We
checked out a pretty hard 7+, pure fun!
Marieke climbing on the Treunitzer Wand
cycling before the beer was ok, afterwards was interesting...
at the brewery
At the Treunitzer Klettergarten
Another
great spot is the Rote Wand close to Kleinziegenfeld. A really impressive wall
with on the right a few classic routes. We climbed the old direct south face,
steep and long! After that we did some nice attempts in “brothers in arms” UIAA
8. Good and steep with a boulderproblem halfway. There are a few more really
interesting routes rated 8- till 8+, they look really good and I definitely will
come back. To the right are easier routes, Peter did some good leadclimbing
there.
the classic south face of the Rote Wand...
Sarah working here way up in "brothers in arms"
Another
great spot are the Obere Schlossbergwände close to Gössweinstein. We went there
twice. After two attemps I redpointed my first 6c+/UIAA 8-, the route is called
Ulala and has a fingery start and in combination with the small roof in the
middle it is a nice route. two weeks later we met a guy who opened these routes, by the way, we met him in the Dauphine...
excellent climbing on the Obere Schlossbergwände
After 10
days the weather got bad and we drove to the south – to the Dauphine. I was
really happy to go there. In the last 5 years I visited the Dauphine every year for alpine
and sports climbing. The southern climate and the French culture are almost a “must
have” in the summer! We went to the camp ground in La Roche de Ram, about 20
minutes to the south of Briancon in de Durance valley.
The biggest ice axe of the world.... in Argentiere, well, a bit heavy if you need two of them for steep ice....
We went to the climbing
areas of Freissnieres, les Traverses and most of the time we ended up at the
Rocher Baron. The quartzite rock is very solid and the routes are really good
bolted. That makes it easier for Marieke to do some leadclimbs as well. Most of
the routes are in the lower grades but in the second sector you can find some hard
routes between 6c and 7c+. I redpointed a few 6c’s and a 6c+ and almost catched
my first 7a. Good workouts up there in the sun and the wind. Great.
the Tete 'd Aval, impressive south face. the "rank xerox" is a pretty cool route through the center of the wall, maybe next year...
Marieke at Rocher Baron...
mission possible, 6c+ redpoint at Rocher Baron
working in the overhanging 7a sections, really cool
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Valais - Switserland
Last week a small disturbance brought some rain and snow... we planned to climb the Scheideggwetterhorn but we expected the route to be wet... so we decided to go to the Valais and try to make the Täschhorn-Dom-traverse.
We first went up to the Britanniahut. It still was raining on 2800m when we arrived.
on the way to the hut...
Next morning we started at 3.30h for the ascent of the Allalinhorn (4000m plus). It is an easy climb but still 1000m from the hut to the summit. We were pretty fast, other parties kept behind and we were the first to summit that day on 7.15h. The sunrise was exceptional (and the wind as well). It was pretty cold for a "hot" summer day. But we enjoyed to be out there. We were half way, we went down on the other side, crossed the rock tower "feechopf" and climbed the Alphubel (4000m plus) via the SE-ridge. The ridge was in good conditions (no ice, only firn). At 10.00h we were on top with beautiful views on the other high peaks in the area...
on the Hohlaubgrat, views on Täschhorn, Dom and Lenzspitze
Stefan close to the "climbing crux"
Alphubel, Täschhorn, Dom
Close to the summit of the Alphubel
the Mischabeljoch biwak attached to the North ridge of the Alphubel
We went down on the north ridge to arrive at 12.30 in the Mischabeljoch biwak... a very exposed biwak hut in the col between Alphubel and Täschhorn. The biwak is a really good starting point for the Täschhorn southridge and the traverse to the Dom.
We relaxed a bit, made some coffee with my jetboil and checked out the route we would climb next morning in the dark. There was still a lot of snow on the ridge and this ridge is faced south. We were in doubt about how the conditions would be on the north ridge of the Täschhorn where we would have to descent to reach the top of the Dom. The rock up there is really loose and slabby.... with snow on it things get pretty interesting....
Next morning we started at 4.30h and after one hour we got first light and after two hours we catched first sunlight. We were fast and other parties were far below.... Great.... there was a strong wind all day and at 8.00 we reached the top of the Täschhorn....
great sunrise, Stefan climbing on easy grounds, you don't see the wind on the picture :-)
a very long ridge...
looking to the south east with sunrise on the Matterhorn (left) and Weisshorn (right)
on the middel section
climbing close to the summit
on top!
the traverse to the Dom...
We checked out the start of the traverse, a lot of snow and the wind gusts were even getting stronger.... we decided that this was a bad combination, the traverse normally takes 5 hours, another 4 hours to reach the Dom hut and another 3 hours to go down to the valley.... in these conditions the traverse can take 8 or 9 hours.... so we went down the ridge we climbed up. A bit disappointed but in the end the better decision!
We first went up to the Britanniahut. It still was raining on 2800m when we arrived.
on the way to the hut...
Next morning we started at 3.30h for the ascent of the Allalinhorn (4000m plus). It is an easy climb but still 1000m from the hut to the summit. We were pretty fast, other parties kept behind and we were the first to summit that day on 7.15h. The sunrise was exceptional (and the wind as well). It was pretty cold for a "hot" summer day. But we enjoyed to be out there. We were half way, we went down on the other side, crossed the rock tower "feechopf" and climbed the Alphubel (4000m plus) via the SE-ridge. The ridge was in good conditions (no ice, only firn). At 10.00h we were on top with beautiful views on the other high peaks in the area...
on the Hohlaubgrat, views on Täschhorn, Dom and Lenzspitze
Stefan close to the "climbing crux"
Alphubel, Täschhorn, Dom
Close to the summit of the Alphubel
the Mischabeljoch biwak attached to the North ridge of the Alphubel
We went down on the north ridge to arrive at 12.30 in the Mischabeljoch biwak... a very exposed biwak hut in the col between Alphubel and Täschhorn. The biwak is a really good starting point for the Täschhorn southridge and the traverse to the Dom.
We relaxed a bit, made some coffee with my jetboil and checked out the route we would climb next morning in the dark. There was still a lot of snow on the ridge and this ridge is faced south. We were in doubt about how the conditions would be on the north ridge of the Täschhorn where we would have to descent to reach the top of the Dom. The rock up there is really loose and slabby.... with snow on it things get pretty interesting....
Next morning we started at 4.30h and after one hour we got first light and after two hours we catched first sunlight. We were fast and other parties were far below.... Great.... there was a strong wind all day and at 8.00 we reached the top of the Täschhorn....
great sunrise, Stefan climbing on easy grounds, you don't see the wind on the picture :-)
a very long ridge...
looking to the south east with sunrise on the Matterhorn (left) and Weisshorn (right)
on the middel section
climbing close to the summit
on top!
the traverse to the Dom...
We checked out the start of the traverse, a lot of snow and the wind gusts were even getting stronger.... we decided that this was a bad combination, the traverse normally takes 5 hours, another 4 hours to reach the Dom hut and another 3 hours to go down to the valley.... in these conditions the traverse can take 8 or 9 hours.... so we went down the ridge we climbed up. A bit disappointed but in the end the better decision!
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Tessin - southern Switserland
Well, and this week as well the weather asks for patience and flexibility.... our initial plan was to climb the Niederman on "Graue Wand" in the Furka area but the weather got bad, so we drove south to the Tessin. Normally, the Tessin is a good climbing area almost all year round. The mild climate of the Lago Maggiore and the excellent climbing facilities makes this area a good place to be. In summer it is often too hot.
But if you want to climb and in the other areas is too much rain predicted you drive south, take some extra water with you and don't even think about complaining about the warmth.... shut up and climb :-)
Things are really interesting down there when it is hot. The typical routes are on slab and the friction under your climbing shoes correlates negatively with rising temperatures.... and again, shut up and climb :-)
First we climbed a classic route in the area: Speroni di Ponte Brolla. It's a worthwhile route on slabs in the lower part and the upper pillar get's pretty steep. The belays are well equipped and you will find a lot of bolts in between. We used a single rope (50m) and brought 10 quickdraws with us. We climbed the 11 pitches in about 3 hours... from the top of the pillar you walk back to the valley in an hour or so. We were back at 13.00h, took a swim and in the late afternoon we did some baseclimbs.
hardmover Nando on a "one finger problem":-)
in the late afternoon, some baseclimbs in Ponte Brolla with the "Speroni" in the background...
Next day we climbed Alhambra. The Alhambra is one of the longest routes in the Tessin, 19 pitches (2 x 6b+, 2 x 6b, 2 x 6a+, 2 x 6a and a lot of slab pitches around 5b/5c. Together with the high temperatures (shut up....) it was a pretty demanding climb. It took us 7,5 hours to reach the top and another 1,5 hours to walk down again (including 6 abseils). The Alhambra is really good protected as well, we took 13 quickdraws with us.
6a slab in the upper headwall
almost on top, Nando following in the last difficult pitch
Good topos and information about all climbing stuff in the Tessin area you can find in the Suisse Plaisir climbing guide "sud".
But if you want to climb and in the other areas is too much rain predicted you drive south, take some extra water with you and don't even think about complaining about the warmth.... shut up and climb :-)
Things are really interesting down there when it is hot. The typical routes are on slab and the friction under your climbing shoes correlates negatively with rising temperatures.... and again, shut up and climb :-)
First we climbed a classic route in the area: Speroni di Ponte Brolla. It's a worthwhile route on slabs in the lower part and the upper pillar get's pretty steep. The belays are well equipped and you will find a lot of bolts in between. We used a single rope (50m) and brought 10 quickdraws with us. We climbed the 11 pitches in about 3 hours... from the top of the pillar you walk back to the valley in an hour or so. We were back at 13.00h, took a swim and in the late afternoon we did some baseclimbs.
hardmover Nando on a "one finger problem":-)
in the late afternoon, some baseclimbs in Ponte Brolla with the "Speroni" in the background...
Next day we climbed Alhambra. The Alhambra is one of the longest routes in the Tessin, 19 pitches (2 x 6b+, 2 x 6b, 2 x 6a+, 2 x 6a and a lot of slab pitches around 5b/5c. Together with the high temperatures (shut up....) it was a pretty demanding climb. It took us 7,5 hours to reach the top and another 1,5 hours to walk down again (including 6 abseils). The Alhambra is really good protected as well, we took 13 quickdraws with us.
6a slab in the upper headwall
almost on top, Nando following in the last difficult pitch
Good topos and information about all climbing stuff in the Tessin area you can find in the Suisse Plaisir climbing guide "sud".
preparing for the next alpine climbing stuff - bought some new climbing shoes, after 3 years the "climbing zone" was almost gone, I bought the same LaSportiva shoe again, can you see difference....
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Bietschhorn area
on sunday 21st of july we started our ascent to the Baltschiederklause (2783m). The hike starts in the Rhone valley in Ausserberg at 1200m. More than 10km and 1500m in altitude difference makes this hike one of the longest ascents in the alps. We started early in the morning to avoid the heat of the day. It was a really nice hike through a lonely valley. After 4 hours we got a first sight of our targets (Breithorn and Bietschhorn). After 5 hours we reached the hut.
the hut, next morning
Next day we wanted to climb a shorter route on the Breitlauihorn (passing the 3 towers and then continuing the south ridge and descend on the westridge). Early in the morning we obviously were not able to count to 3.... we started climbing up the first tower what later seems to be the summit of the "northern jegihorn", nice climbing in the upper part but much harder than the grade 3 rock climbing we expected. After downclimbing we reached the start of our original route... the rock was really loose... at 13.30 we reached the foot of the south ridge, the snow was already really warm and slushy... so we decided to go down...
On tuesday we started at 3 AM for climbing the Blanchet ridge on the Breithorn (3785m). After 2 hours walking we reached the foot of the ridge. The moon was shining, so the routefinding wasn't too difficult. There is still enough snow to go up the small glacier and to find your way up to the ridge.
We climbed the first pitches in the dark, at the first pitch I forgot to take the friends with me. After 40 m climbing in the light of my head torch I found a solid rock, put a sling around it - belay. In the next pitch Nando lead to the start of the ridge... we got the first light of a beautiful sunrise. routefinding got easier and we had beautiful views to the south. We were on track... if the first sunlights comes in and you know you are on the right way everything gets easier.... in the end, this kind of climbing takes place in your head... my head sometimes makes the night even darker than it actually is... but at that moment everything was bright!!!
second breakfast at 5 AM, powerbar is great!
the ridge...
sunrise in the south, on the right you can see the Weisshorn (4505m), on the left the Mischabelgroup
We continued on easy ground. After 1,5 hours on the ridge, the real climbing starts... only 4c rated, but it's alpine, climbing with a backpack, big shoes and a light climbing rack is demanding. You can not place protection every meter. After 5 meters I placed one friend in a good crack, climbed 10 meters to clip an old piton and after 40 meters I made belay on two friends.... The rock was really solid, a lot of structures in it, although I enjoy these pitches I am really careful after the "loose experience" the day before - you don't want to risk a fall....
catching the sun...
Nando leading on the ridge...
We continued the climbing, and the crux pitch came into sight: a steep and smooth slab with 5 bolts, free climbing 6a, but with our mountain boots we did not even discussed the way how we would climb it - artificially of course. Nando did his job really well: he used 60cm slings in the bolts as aiders.... in no time he was up on the belay and I followed....
the smooth slab....
The climbing got easier again, but there were some interesting pitches as well.... a very exposed traverse on the left side of the ridge and afterwards some pitches in really compact rock, not hard but technical....
The upper part of the ridge is quite loose, you must climb carefully to avoid rockfall... the last 100 meters you can continu on the loose rock or make a traverse to the right and continu climbing in the snow. We reached the long summit ridge of the Lötschentaler Breithorn at 13.30h. We started walking up to the summit, but we only made progress really slowly.... some darker clouds came in. We estimated that it would take another 1,5 hours to reach the summit - ok, let's go down. We did not want to get into a thunderstorm. So we turned around.
ok, let's go down...
The descent is interesting as well. First you walk to the Gredetschjoch (between Gredetschhorn and Nesthorn). With three abseils you reach the bottom of the Gredetschgletscher. Walk down to the south until the Baltschiederlicka (another col) comes into sight. Walk up again to reach this col and then please use the rock on the northern side of the couloir and don't do what we did (downclimbing the couloir itself). We reached the hut at 16.00h. A long but great trip, 13 hours roundtrip. The Blanchetridge is rated D, 4c and can ben climbed on mountain boots and with a small rack.
Next day the weather was predicted to be bad. So we decided just to climb a short route - traverse of the southern Jegihorn.... we started at 7.30h.... it was raining a bit and I was not in a good mood (a bit tired and the idea of climbing on wet rock was not really attractive). Funny thing is when your climbing partner is really optimistic about the weather and you start a nice discussion about if it is now raining or not :-) Of course, in the end Nando was right... the rock was climbable and we had a really good day out there.... we reached the summit at 12.30 or so.... we were back on the hut at 14.30h. We were hungry, the best thing you can do is to order a big rösti..... go to sleep.... get up for the diner at 6.30 and thereafter go to bed again....
Rösti attack, please don't ask about the price we paid....
At 3 AM next morning we got awake again for climbing the east spur of the Bietschhorn (3934m). We left the hut at 4 AM and reached the start of the spur at 6 AM. The glacier travel is easy at the moment (no crevasses) and you can reach the spur without bigger problems. We had some snow/rain during the first hour but it was ok. The mountain itself was in the clouds all day long... from 3600m onwards the clouds made the climbing really spooky.... for the climb itself try to stay on the ridge if possible. sometimes you have to climb a bit beside it, but the rock is immediatley getting bad....
sunrise on the Bietschhorn on monday on our way up to the Breitlauihorn... the east spur is the long ridge from the summit coming down to the left and front...
on the ridge....
Nando gives a rope command ... :-)
looking back...
the climb is long but not really difficult, a few sections are rated UIAA IV, but it is really ok... We reached the summit at 10.30h, in this case you really are half way. The descent on the westridge is really really long.... I soloed the west ridge 4 years ago and the only thing I remembered was that it is long and loose.... I was a bit disappointed because I couldn't remember the exact details of the descent. At the start of the descent we were not really sure where to downclimb - the clouds made it really difficult. After a short look on the map we continued and found some tracks.... after 4 hours downclimbing, scrambling.... we were save. We went down to the Bietschhorn hut and stayed there for one night.
on the summit....
looking down the west ridge, long way...
Great trip up to one of the most famous summits of the Western Alps.
the hut, next morning
Next day we wanted to climb a shorter route on the Breitlauihorn (passing the 3 towers and then continuing the south ridge and descend on the westridge). Early in the morning we obviously were not able to count to 3.... we started climbing up the first tower what later seems to be the summit of the "northern jegihorn", nice climbing in the upper part but much harder than the grade 3 rock climbing we expected. After downclimbing we reached the start of our original route... the rock was really loose... at 13.30 we reached the foot of the south ridge, the snow was already really warm and slushy... so we decided to go down...
On tuesday we started at 3 AM for climbing the Blanchet ridge on the Breithorn (3785m). After 2 hours walking we reached the foot of the ridge. The moon was shining, so the routefinding wasn't too difficult. There is still enough snow to go up the small glacier and to find your way up to the ridge.
We climbed the first pitches in the dark, at the first pitch I forgot to take the friends with me. After 40 m climbing in the light of my head torch I found a solid rock, put a sling around it - belay. In the next pitch Nando lead to the start of the ridge... we got the first light of a beautiful sunrise. routefinding got easier and we had beautiful views to the south. We were on track... if the first sunlights comes in and you know you are on the right way everything gets easier.... in the end, this kind of climbing takes place in your head... my head sometimes makes the night even darker than it actually is... but at that moment everything was bright!!!
second breakfast at 5 AM, powerbar is great!
the ridge...
sunrise in the south, on the right you can see the Weisshorn (4505m), on the left the Mischabelgroup
We continued on easy ground. After 1,5 hours on the ridge, the real climbing starts... only 4c rated, but it's alpine, climbing with a backpack, big shoes and a light climbing rack is demanding. You can not place protection every meter. After 5 meters I placed one friend in a good crack, climbed 10 meters to clip an old piton and after 40 meters I made belay on two friends.... The rock was really solid, a lot of structures in it, although I enjoy these pitches I am really careful after the "loose experience" the day before - you don't want to risk a fall....
catching the sun...
Nando leading on the ridge...
We continued the climbing, and the crux pitch came into sight: a steep and smooth slab with 5 bolts, free climbing 6a, but with our mountain boots we did not even discussed the way how we would climb it - artificially of course. Nando did his job really well: he used 60cm slings in the bolts as aiders.... in no time he was up on the belay and I followed....
the smooth slab....
The climbing got easier again, but there were some interesting pitches as well.... a very exposed traverse on the left side of the ridge and afterwards some pitches in really compact rock, not hard but technical....
The upper part of the ridge is quite loose, you must climb carefully to avoid rockfall... the last 100 meters you can continu on the loose rock or make a traverse to the right and continu climbing in the snow. We reached the long summit ridge of the Lötschentaler Breithorn at 13.30h. We started walking up to the summit, but we only made progress really slowly.... some darker clouds came in. We estimated that it would take another 1,5 hours to reach the summit - ok, let's go down. We did not want to get into a thunderstorm. So we turned around.
ok, let's go down...
The descent is interesting as well. First you walk to the Gredetschjoch (between Gredetschhorn and Nesthorn). With three abseils you reach the bottom of the Gredetschgletscher. Walk down to the south until the Baltschiederlicka (another col) comes into sight. Walk up again to reach this col and then please use the rock on the northern side of the couloir and don't do what we did (downclimbing the couloir itself). We reached the hut at 16.00h. A long but great trip, 13 hours roundtrip. The Blanchetridge is rated D, 4c and can ben climbed on mountain boots and with a small rack.
Next day the weather was predicted to be bad. So we decided just to climb a short route - traverse of the southern Jegihorn.... we started at 7.30h.... it was raining a bit and I was not in a good mood (a bit tired and the idea of climbing on wet rock was not really attractive). Funny thing is when your climbing partner is really optimistic about the weather and you start a nice discussion about if it is now raining or not :-) Of course, in the end Nando was right... the rock was climbable and we had a really good day out there.... we reached the summit at 12.30 or so.... we were back on the hut at 14.30h. We were hungry, the best thing you can do is to order a big rösti..... go to sleep.... get up for the diner at 6.30 and thereafter go to bed again....
At 3 AM next morning we got awake again for climbing the east spur of the Bietschhorn (3934m). We left the hut at 4 AM and reached the start of the spur at 6 AM. The glacier travel is easy at the moment (no crevasses) and you can reach the spur without bigger problems. We had some snow/rain during the first hour but it was ok. The mountain itself was in the clouds all day long... from 3600m onwards the clouds made the climbing really spooky.... for the climb itself try to stay on the ridge if possible. sometimes you have to climb a bit beside it, but the rock is immediatley getting bad....
sunrise on the Bietschhorn on monday on our way up to the Breitlauihorn... the east spur is the long ridge from the summit coming down to the left and front...
on the ridge....
Nando gives a rope command ... :-)
looking back...
the climb is long but not really difficult, a few sections are rated UIAA IV, but it is really ok... We reached the summit at 10.30h, in this case you really are half way. The descent on the westridge is really really long.... I soloed the west ridge 4 years ago and the only thing I remembered was that it is long and loose.... I was a bit disappointed because I couldn't remember the exact details of the descent. At the start of the descent we were not really sure where to downclimb - the clouds made it really difficult. After a short look on the map we continued and found some tracks.... after 4 hours downclimbing, scrambling.... we were save. We went down to the Bietschhorn hut and stayed there for one night.
on the summit....
looking down the west ridge, long way...
Great trip up to one of the most famous summits of the Western Alps.
If you are looking for good topos I really can recommend the Silbernagel topoführer Berner Alpen, http://www.topoverlag.ch/topo.php
Saturday, July 20, 2013
sportclimbing eastern Zwitserland
After our rainy experience in the Bernese Alps we drove back to the eastern part of Zwitserland where Nando is living. We had some nice sport climbing days in Berschis and Haldenstein. Also the rescue techniques training sessions very really nice.
sportclimbing in Berschis, Nando in "panic", 7a
The Kanton Graubünden (east part of Zwitserland) offers loads of opportunities for sportclimbing, multipitch climbing and alpine climbing. The rhine valley has a very mild climate and you can climb almost all year round (no, of course I am not jealous...).
A week later we have been to the Julier pass climbing "Römerweg". A 11 pitch well bolted route with 6a max.... Down in the valley it was 33 degrees or so and up on the pass it was 20 degrees with quite a lot of wind...
Piz de las Coluonnas at the Julier pass
Good topos you can find in the Swiss plaisier guiding books "east" and the "extreme east". If you plan to stay there longer the SAC climbing guide http://www.weltbild.ch/3/18069051-1/buch/kletterfuehrer-graubuenden.html is recommended.
sportclimbing in Berschis, Nando in "panic", 7a
The Kanton Graubünden (east part of Zwitserland) offers loads of opportunities for sportclimbing, multipitch climbing and alpine climbing. The rhine valley has a very mild climate and you can climb almost all year round (no, of course I am not jealous...).
A week later we have been to the Julier pass climbing "Römerweg". A 11 pitch well bolted route with 6a max.... Down in the valley it was 33 degrees or so and up on the pass it was 20 degrees with quite a lot of wind...
Good topos you can find in the Swiss plaisier guiding books "east" and the "extreme east". If you plan to stay there longer the SAC climbing guide http://www.weltbild.ch/3/18069051-1/buch/kletterfuehrer-graubuenden.html is recommended.
Berner Oberland - Swiss Alps
In the week of 15th july I visited the Blümlisalp area in the Bernese Alps. Long long time ago I have been up there but never climbed a mountain of that range (bad weather). I know the area from the ice climbing stuff in winter, down in Kandersteg there are a few dozens of ice routes in all grades.
Reason for going to this area in summer was that my climbing partner Nando and 3 of his mates wanted to train for the summer course of the Swiss guiding school. All of them are preparing for this summer course, if they succeed they are aspirant guides, which is a major step in the guiding school. The Bluemlisalp range offers a great selection of easier rated climbs (AD and D) which are typically guiding areas. So a great opportunity for them for training and for me an excellent option to learn a lot about rope and rescue techniques.
The weather forecast was predicted good for the whole week, which is quite uncommon for this area. On monday we went up to the Fründenhut at around 2500m. A 1000m climb above the Oeschinensee, really nice views.
Next day we started at 5 in the morning for climbing the west ridge of the Fründenhorn. We walked up to the Fründenjoch, and from that col you turn left, first on easy ground (but very loose) up to the first tower. The first tower has to be climbed by a traverse on the south side, still not really diffcult but still really loose.
in the col, sunrise in the Wallis (looking south)
The second tower has to be climbed directly on the edge. there are a few bolts and some slings. It is a bit overhanging and rated 5b. Nice climbing.
overview of the west ridge above the col
looking south with Bietschhorn
on the westridge, just below the crux
Then the clim continues sometimes scrambling sometimes climbing and some snow fields have to be passed. We were on top at 10.30h. Great views to the east (Eiger, Mönch, Jungfrau, Aletschhorn) and to the south (Weissmies, Weisshorn, Matterhorn....).
After a good break we started our descent, great views down to the Oeschinensee. Two hours later we were back at the hut.
Descent, in the background the lake about 1300m lower...
Next morning we started at 5 again for climbing the Galletgrat of the Doldenhorn. It was cloudy (the weather forecast predicted a nice and sunny day). At 6 it started raining heavily and at 7.30 at around 3000m we decided to turn around. We had just passed a water drained slab with our crampons, so we had to find a different way down... good exercise though. At 9.30 we were back at the hut, completely wet and cold..... it turned out that the forecast for the whole week was too bad for climbing in the higher mountains. So we decided to walk down again....
Reason for going to this area in summer was that my climbing partner Nando and 3 of his mates wanted to train for the summer course of the Swiss guiding school. All of them are preparing for this summer course, if they succeed they are aspirant guides, which is a major step in the guiding school. The Bluemlisalp range offers a great selection of easier rated climbs (AD and D) which are typically guiding areas. So a great opportunity for them for training and for me an excellent option to learn a lot about rope and rescue techniques.
The weather forecast was predicted good for the whole week, which is quite uncommon for this area. On monday we went up to the Fründenhut at around 2500m. A 1000m climb above the Oeschinensee, really nice views.
Next day we started at 5 in the morning for climbing the west ridge of the Fründenhorn. We walked up to the Fründenjoch, and from that col you turn left, first on easy ground (but very loose) up to the first tower. The first tower has to be climbed by a traverse on the south side, still not really diffcult but still really loose.
in the col, sunrise in the Wallis (looking south)
The second tower has to be climbed directly on the edge. there are a few bolts and some slings. It is a bit overhanging and rated 5b. Nice climbing.
overview of the west ridge above the col
looking south with Bietschhorn
Then the clim continues sometimes scrambling sometimes climbing and some snow fields have to be passed. We were on top at 10.30h. Great views to the east (Eiger, Mönch, Jungfrau, Aletschhorn) and to the south (Weissmies, Weisshorn, Matterhorn....).
After a good break we started our descent, great views down to the Oeschinensee. Two hours later we were back at the hut.
Descent, in the background the lake about 1300m lower...
Next morning we started at 5 again for climbing the Galletgrat of the Doldenhorn. It was cloudy (the weather forecast predicted a nice and sunny day). At 6 it started raining heavily and at 7.30 at around 3000m we decided to turn around. We had just passed a water drained slab with our crampons, so we had to find a different way down... good exercise though. At 9.30 we were back at the hut, completely wet and cold..... it turned out that the forecast for the whole week was too bad for climbing in the higher mountains. So we decided to walk down again....
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