Wildhaus - Knecht Ruprecht (6a, rope solo)

With many of the usual suspects curing cold-like symptoms (Corona?), and others being unavailable, everything had aligned for another rope-solo outing. The weather looked so-so, but the excellent webcam confirmed cloudy, but dry conditions. In fact, I even prefer this kind of cloudy conditions with a mild breeze (at moderate temperatures of course ~ 10-15 degrees).

Indeed, I had been looking forward for an opportunity to climb the newly renovated Knecht Ruprecht, and its variant, Intermezzo. It seems that this thinking applies to other people as well, as I was surprised to find two teams engaged in the route on such a mediocre day (as well as one more team in Sandührliweg (?)).

Once more, it turned out as good advice to put on the helmet once reaching the face, because teams operating above, as well as ibex animals, may cause rock fall anytime. It seems this situation is more the rule, than an exception in this location!

Summary: Nice climbing at the far left of the Sandührli sector. Interesting mix of crack climbing in the lower pitches, and slabby water grooves mixed with slots & big pockets higher up. The climbing is not very slabby, at most in some short sections. The route is slightly more exposed to the typical grass pods than other routes to the right, but not in a disturbing way. So far, no signs of wear, i.e. the rock is crisp and sharp :) While well protected since the renovation, bringing some small/medium cams, and slings might be useful (I managed without, but there would have been opportunities). A steep snow field tends to cover the base of the climb for quite long, but usually the snow is slushy enough to be negotiated in regular approach shoes. Ascent time ca. 5:30 hours rope-solo (climbing every pitch twice). Given my observations on that day, some teams might expect a similar duration.

Note to myself: 70m rope is sufficient to rappel L1! (I spent some time recovering my tag line, which got jammed in a grass pod...). Tag line works fine on upper pitches when rope does not run over a ledge.

Closing hours at Schafbergwand.
L1 6a

Moderate start on nice grooves/cracks, rustical section before crux in steep corner slot.  

L2 5b
Not-so-easy crack climbing on pillar to the right. Tricky mantle exit.

L3 5b+
Delightful cruising on grooves, slots, pockets...nice and compact rock.

L4 5c
Interesting start sequence (smearing+undercling), zigg-zagging (rope drag!), tricky exit moves. 

L5 5c
Again cruising on typical rock features. Traverse before exit (low for new line, high for old?).

Intermezzo

I had only arrived at the base around noon, so it was time to head back before I could conclude Intermezzo. Good decision, because if I had pushed on, it would have turned dark with the jammed rope later on (and maybe even without it)...anyway, I felt my ambitions had been satisfied sufficiently already, and more was not necessarily better in this case.

L1 6a
Very long pitch. Well protected crux at start with two slabby sequences on "bad" holds, easier afterwards. The moves at the beginning are clearly more difficult than any other move in Knecht Ruprecht (incl. the lower sections).

Frequent comrades in the Sandührli sector.



Kommentare

Kommentar veröffentlichen

Beliebte Posts aus diesem Blog

Handegg - Howalthlon

Bild
Vor kurzem hatten Dave und ich in der Schöllenen den Suworovpfeiler (6c) gemeinsam geklettert und danach noch ein paar flotte Längen im Wädlichlimser (6b+) angehängt. Dabei hatten wir so viel Spass am Meter machen, dass die Idee entstand an einem geeigneten Ort so richtig die Sohlen glühen zu lassen und möglichst viele Längen zu sammeln. Da kam mir eine Tour an der Handegg vom letzten Jahr in den Sinn, bei der Gregory und ich die Fair Hands Line (6a) und die Mummery (6c)  an einem Tag  geklettert waren, immerhin auch 20 Seillängen .  Und tatsächlich eignet sich die Handegg ausgezeichnet um die Ausdauer, Effizienz und Fussfertigkeit einer Seilschaft auf die Probe zu stellen, findet man hier doch zahlreiche, leicht erreichbare Routen auf engstem Raum vor. Das Gelände ist vorwiegend geneigt-plattig, was dem Umstand Rechnung trägt, dass  die Beine meist wesentlich ausdauernder sind als die Arme. Aber ganz wichtig: der Granit an der Handegg ist von hervorragender Qualit...
Mehr anzeigen

Teufelstalwand - Laura (7a)

Bild
Having climbed the well-bolted limestone face-route Annika the day before, we opted for a change of styles the following day. So the name of the game was now granite and trad, which can actually both be found not far from Schattdorf, namely  at the Teufelstalwand gorge. This place features an interesting co-existence of clean, and well-bolted routes, which makes it a well-frequented spot. While most parties are likely to visit the latter, such as Zeichen der Freundschaft (6b+), or Alpentraum (7a), the clean routes have also developed a respectable reputation. Eventually, we chose Laura (7a), as it appeared to us as the purest, and most consistent line: continuous cracks, no bolts (except the belays), and difficulties centered around 6c. We were not disappointed by our choice: we had a blast fighting our way up this train of splitters! The approach from Nätschen (P.1843) to the start of the route took us about one hour. First you follow the road up north-west to leave for a path at ...
Mehr anzeigen

Gerstenegg - The missing link (75 SL)

Bild
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...
Mehr anzeigen