Gerstenegg - The missing link (75 SL)

Motivated by the great memories from last year's Howalthlon at Handegg, I was eager to further explore the wealth of slabs at Grimselpass. In particular, the abundance of low angle routes at Gerstenegg had caught my interest. Unfortunately, the intersection of motivated, fit and available partners was empty at the time, so the idea of a solo outing came about. However, to link up 70-80 pitches in a day would require to free-solo most of the terrain - which seemed acceptable, given that the difficulties are mostly grade V or less. Nevertheless, I did not feel comfortable enough to free-solo the few 6a pitches, so a more differentiated strategy was due. Firstly, I brought along 10m of rope to daisy-solo/rope-solo any sections, which I might not feel 100% solid on. Secondly, we planned that Miriam would join me later in the day for the "tougher" routes.

Eventually, on a long day in July, with a more or less promising weather forecast, we arrived at Chöenzetennlen to put our plan into action. Conditions were ok, but certainly suboptimal, as it had rained during the previous day, and water streaks were still visible the evening before. Fortunately, the Gerstenegg face gets early sun, and dries up quickly in general, while streaks rarely interfere with the routes.

Overview of ascent & descent paths: (1) Fliegender Teppich (2) La Strada (3) Foxie (4) Letzter Tango (5) Ameisenrennen (6) Krümel

1. Fliegender Teppich (5b, 10p, 1h)
I took off from the parking lot at 5:20am, and it took not quite 10 minutes to reach the base of Fliegender Teppich. I had read the crux was right at the start, and indeed, a few moves are required to negotiate the entrance step, but I found the slabs in L4 and L6 more challenging. In the damp morning conditions I prefered to rope-solo a few meters in L4, and daisy-solo the wet step in L6. But even earlier - in L2 (4b), I stepped on a bolt to pass a section which seemed way too blank and steep to stick (later it turned out that there would have been an easier option). Admittedly, I had felt more nervous than I would have prefered, so it was a bit of a relief to reach the end of the "difficulties" after L6.

2. La Strada (5c, 12p, 1:20h)
Walking over to the base of La Strada is straight forward - or so I thought...being a bit unattentive, my momentum carried me too far, and I did not hit the start of La Strada right away. But soon I was engaged in the relatively steep first section, which follows a line of great, juggy flakes. Still, the exposure did feel different compared to the slabs earlier! But soon, the terrain leans back, and things become more relaxed again. Only in L6 I hit a blocker slab, which seemed too unsecure, so that I decided to avoid it along the nice corner to the left. When I topped out, I felt in a better flow already, and was eager to get down for Foxie.

The descent (which I would do three times on that day) is relatively easy to find, but it can be pretty wet, so better bring a pair of water-proof shoes...soon the trail joins the hiking path which quickly brings you down to P.1772.

3. Foxie (4c, 10p, 16min)
I had been curious about Foxie, as it is listed with five stars in the guide, and I agree, it is a flawless route! It follows a system of corners, but you hardly need them, as you can basically walk up the face. As a matter of fact, I found the limiting factor of this ascent to be my cardiac capacity! I took a moment to consider the steep corner in L9, but did not bother to give it a try, as you can just walk by. Interestingly, an other team had just prepared at the base when I arrived - by the time I got back to the base, they were about to conclude the first pitch...no malice intended...but it made me think about the driving-to-climbing-time ratio if I had come just for Foxie...

4. Letzter Tango (5c+, 17p, ~1h)
Letzter Tango is a rather recent route on the Gerstenegg dome, and not quite the best name-choice for a free-solo ascent...but on a more serious note, I suspect that the origin of its name might have been the realisation that the rock potential on this mountain has been depleted...indeed, I found this route the least attractive. It starts on slightly vegetated grooves, its cruxes are avoidable (fortunately, as they tend to be wet), and the middle part is basically hiking. Just the top offered some nicer climbing again. By this time I started to feel the first signs of ache and some fatigue, so that the perspective of the remaining pitches gained a slight sentiment of labor...

5. Ameisenrennen (6a, 17p, 2h)
For the next lag I was joined by Miriam, wich gave me a considerable lift :) Similarly to Letzter Tango, Ameisenrennen has been established recently by the same team (Müller/Pfeuti). But in contrast to the former route, Ameisenrennen offers quite varied climbing with memorable passages. Even in the flat middle section it finds a line which follows attractive tubs. We simul-climbed most of the route with a few stops when I ran out of micro-traxions (which was more limiting than the number of quickdraws). Climbing together turned out a good decision, as the cruxes were more demanding, in particular the face sequence in L3 with somewhat delicate opposition moves.

6. Krümel (5b, 9p, 2h)
Originally, we had planned to link Grimselzyt (5c, 17p), but the weather forecast for the evening was not 100% safe, and we also wanted to make it in time for dinner at one of the local restaurants, so we changed plan, and targeted the faster to approach, and seemingly shorter Krümel instead. It shares the first two pitches with Fliegender Teppich, and afterwards takes an uncompromising turn into the slabs to the left. My feet hurt pretty badly by now, so that I gladly stopped at every belay to take off my shoes for a moment. But just the mere "difficulty" of these slabs would have sufficed to make me forget about simul-climbing...rated at 4b/c !? Well, I agree the moves (which are really just "walking") are not harder than that, but the mental challenge was more in the range of 6b/c as the slab is close to perfectly blank (and translation invariant = it does not matter where you put your foot, it is the same everywhere). And for the final 5a pitches - I had to fight to keep a clean sheet! Krümel was certainly the surprise of the day, beautiful, but dreadful! Free-solo? No way...

After a total of 12:30 hours, we closed the loop again at the parking lot, and were sure hungry! :D