Multipitch Climbing Reports

What did the first ascentionists mean when they called Michael ungläubig? The date of the first ascent does not coincide with a holiday, so a religious connotation seems unlikely - in the sense of two young climbers skipping church in favor of a day out. So was it disbelief about their achievement? Or was it up-front doubt which they eventually resolved by climbing the route? And who was or is Michael?? With so many questions calling for answers we decided to look for hints where everything happened pretty much 36 years ago when  Wilfried Aman & Michael Schallert established the route  Ungläubiger Michael at the Schafberg face near Wildhaus in 1986. In short: we did not find answers, but at the same time we left with no doubts about the quality of this route! Thanks Marco for a great day! Sun != clear sky, at least locally, and sometimes to the climber's disadvantage... Summary Just as the guide book says: Sustained slab climbing in best rock. Well protected since its ren...

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 ...

After enjoying the two classic multipitch outings Faces de Plagne and Face de Rondchatel the day before, we moved to the scenic village Orvin to visit once again the sector Grande Lame which offers splendid crack, and face climbing. Remark: The parking situation has much deteriorated during the Covid years. New signs prohibit parking along the road (makes sense), but the previously common parking (also indicated as such by the guide book) on the green within the big bend has been fenced off. This leaves a very narrow stripe along the bend, which is at least suboptimal, or maybe even prohibited as well. We don't know the history of events that led to this situation, so we can only guess that due to Covid an increased number if people visited the area, and some probably parked in a way that upset the owners. While the number of people might reduce again, the prohibition is likely to stay... In contrast to earlier years, the sector was pretty deserted (we guess everybody went abroad...

Having climbed Face de Plagne , we enjoyed a  short rest on top of the cliff, before hiking down for the second classic outing of the day, Face de Rondchatel. Summary: Homogenous, run-out face climbing with little use for mobile protection. Lower part quite vegetated, and a bit chossy. Polish is noticeable, but overall of little concern. Not a beginner-friendly climb, despite the moderate difficulties! Climbing time ~ 2 hours. Looking up into short L2 (5b) with pointless belay in the cave. L1 5b Chossy corner with tricky exit to the right. Bold face pillar (maillon...). L2 5b Short chossy/vegetated pitch with pointless belay in cave, better skip.  L3 5c Run-out climbing in shallow corner. Mind the rock... L4 5c Very short pitch, negotiating an unpleasantly vegetated overhang. Link with next. L5 5b Finally some decent rock, ascending to the left. Stimulating run-outs. L6 5c Nice pitch on flakes, mantle crux at the belay. Exit on fixed ropes. Miriam enjoying the vegetation in L1...

Easter weekend - for many people a traditional time to open the outdoor season, which is just as traditionally reflected by traffic levels, in particular towards the south. This year it seemed particularly bad with 90 minutes waiting time at Gotthard on Friday morning - at 4am! Not to mention more than 4 hours during the day...for us that is/was unacceptably long, and as the weather was nice everywhere we decided to head for the Bieler Jura, another traditional spring destination. Recovering from an infected wound on my ankle (thank god above the shoe rim), we decided to take it easy on Saturday, and check out some short, but classic climbs at Plagne. While the climbing is relatively short (~160m), it's still worthwhile, as it's steep, and it's easy to link several routes. Our choice fell on the Faces de Plagne + de Rondchatel, two classic climbs from the 1950ies, which usually promise an interesting experience (which can range from stimulating to horrifying) even at modera...

  Miriam and I had had marked that weekend at the end of February for a while, with the plan to mount the van for the first trip in 2022. Fortunately, the unusually good weather (it has been the driest and mildest winter in Ticino since they keep records!) did not fail us, but temperatures were still modest (0-10 degrees) so that good tour picking/planning was required. As for the choice: Taroc ticks the boxes of southern latitude, and low altitude, but it's west-exposure means that the sun will appear only later during the day (Feb 27th: 11:00am). This required unusual tactics, i.e. sleeping in, relaxed breakfast, strolling in the sun, some warm-up exercises...or to put it differently, killing the time until the sun got into the face. Given that  we usually leave  rather  sooner than later , this approach felt a bit awkward, but it gave us a faint idea what it must be like to wait for a window of good conditions in much harsher alpine environments (think Patagonia)....

Established in 1982, Neue Süd takes on a fairly bold line through the Zuestoll south face, without failing to follow the logical points of weakness. Apart from L5, the cruxes are very tightly bolted, and hardly mandatory. It  is prudent to carry the recommended mobile pro, as some sections with cracks have been left clean.  The climbing is steep, the grading stiff, and the exposure deluxe! Gear: BD #0.3-0.75, medium rocks, 2x50m ropes, 12 quick draws incl. extensible ones. L1   3+  The entry pitch for passionate botanists, shared by most routes.  L2   7-  Traverse hard left, short but delicate slab boulder to gain upper ledge. L3   5+  Keep going left and aim for chossy looking corner. Dubious rock. L4   7-  Tightly spaced bolts to the left. Beefy opposition moves. Bolt in traverse misses        hanger, bring a rock! Skip first belay on the ledge, under overhang. L5   6-  Crack...