Alpinehearts - Climbing

About climbing in the valley

The main rock type in Goescheneralp is granite, which is amenable to many different kinds of rock climbing. It produces styles such as crimpy vertical climbs, technical slabs and crack climbs. These styles can be enjoyed at well developed sport crags, boulders and multipitches, some of which are easily accessible with a 5 minute - 30 minute approach! There is enough nature and climbing for everyone to enjoy, whether they are beginning their climbing journey or if they are experienced climbers. There are also serious alpine climbs up to 3000m summits (such as the Salbit, 2981 m) with a 2-3h approach, as well as glaciated mountaineering tours (such as up to Sustenhorn, 3503m) much further down the valley. This combination of safe learning grounds and inspiring alpine objectives make Goescheneralp an amazing playground that we can't wait to share with you :)

Below is the main information about climbing in the valley, including a detailed description of all the main crags and areas that we feel are worth mentioning. Check them out! 😍

For a visual taste, check out this video for an older production about sport climbing in the area. See here for a newer one of one of an alpine multipitch.

In case of rain:

Since this is an outdoor festival, we cannot guarantee that it will be dry the whole time.. Luckily granite does dry quickly. We will be spending time in nature, come rain or shine. If you're attending a course, your instructor will be in touch with you to organise meet-up point, equipment necessary and exact times, and they will also organise a plan B option in case of rain.

If you are not attending courses and it rains too much to be able to climb, we reccommend taking a hike up to one of the nearby huts such as the Voralphütte, the Salbit Hütte, the Bergseehütte or the Dammahütte and maybe asking for a "heisse Schoggi" (hot chocolate!).

A note on finding climbing partners:

We have organised two different main ways to find climbing partners; we will have a daily meetup on the festival grounds near the coffee where people can find groups to climb with on each day spontaneously, but also have a group dedicated to finding climbing buddies on our Festival Whatsapp Community.

Guidebooks and topos:

The main two relevant guidebooks for roped climbing are Plaisir Ost and Extrem Ost, which are broadly split into the ideas of pleasant climbing vs. challenging climbing. The guidebook for bouldering is Gottardo Boulder. Another relevant book is C(H)lean!, which describes routes at particular crags which are pure trad climbing. In Switzerland it's common that at the same crag, some routes are bolted, whereas others can be climbed clean. We recommend renting a guidebook or bringing one if you have it, since we will have some copies of all these books, but will not be able to provide it for everyone to take with them to the crag.

You can also checkout theCrag or Bergsteigen.com, where some topos are available. There are two new topos for the multipitch area Griestal available to download here and here. There have also been some multipitches on the Sandplatte area which have been recently been rebolted, here at kleine Sandplatte.

Description by the creators of the main guidebooks:

Zahlreiche kleine Klettergärten sind auf der wunderschönen Göscheneralp verteilt. Einige davon eignen perfekt für die ganze Familie, ob zum Klettern oder zum Spielen! Der bombenfeste Göschener-Granit lässt kaum Wünsche offen und bietet abwechslungsreiche Platten- und Risskletterei.

Climbing areas by type & level:

Workshops will be organised to take place in the most easily accessible crags, which we've listed below in the Sport climbing crags and in the Sport multipitch crags. We've also described the Bouldering as well as the Alpine / pure trad multipitch routes, where workshops will not take place.

Sport climbing crags:

These crags offer single-pitch bolted climbing with bolted anchors.

Familienklettergarten Jantelboden: Topo available on link. Accessible crag with short routes (5 - 10m) where top ropes can be placed, routes from French 3a to 6c. Some routes can be climbed on pure trad.
Kompressorwand: Topo available on link. Accessible crag, 5 minute walk from road. Dense area with 24 routes with grades between 5c+ to 7b+, some amazing cracks and other great climbing. Note that for a few of the climbs in this area a 70m rope is required.
Griestal: Long approach (1 h) from Gasthaus Dammagletscher (5 minute drive from Festival) but worth it for the beautiful views and rock. Grades between 4a - 7c.
Lochstafelparadies: 34 routes, with grades between 6a+ - 8a
Schwarze Wand: A wall that's in the shade for most of the day has some overhanging routes so is slightly protected from rain. Style of climbing is more crimpy compared to other areas in Goescheneralp. Routes from 6a+ - 8a.
Darkside: Topo available on link. 6 routes between 6a+ and 8a (which is pretty dirty). The route Power Explosion 6c is well worth a try if you want to work on your crack climbing and jamming skills!
Klettergarten Mattli: Accessible crag, 5 min from parking on the road. Hard and easy slab and crack routes with grades between 5a to 7c.
Geissenwand: Slab heaven! Accessible crag, 5 min from parking on the road. Hard and easy slab and crack routes with grades between 6a to 7c.

Schwarze Wand

Kompressorwand

Sport multipitch crags:

These crags offer bolted multipitches, and have bolted anchors. This is just a small selection of the most accessible bolted multipitches here in Goescheneralp, with a short approach and low down in the valley. There are many more routes at higher altitude that require a long approach. Note that leaders here should be solid in the grade due to the alpine nature of the tours, as there may be some distance between bolts. These routes may require double ropes in order to abseil.

Short approach (5-10m) within a short drive from Festival grounds

kleine Sandplatte: Topo available on link and here if a member of the SAC. Grades between 4b - 6a.
Sandplatte: 6a - 7a and one 7c route. Topo available on link and here if a member of the SAC.
Sandbalm: 6b - 6c+. Topo available on link and here if a member of the SAC.

Sandbalm and Sandplatte multipitches

Bouldering:

Yes, Goescheneralp has boulders! Though we are not sure how often they get climbed - the jewels of Goescheneralp are bigger pieces of rock :)

Goescheneralp boulders: The grades go from FB 3a all the way up to 7c+. Topos partially available on link.
Bitzi: Closer to Goeschenen than to the festival grounds, these boulders have grades from FB 4a up to 8b.

Alpine / pure trad multipitch routes:

The routes listed here are serious objectives which require signficant alpine experience and have long approaches. We will not organise trips here as part of any Festival workshops. If you would like to go up here guided, consider contacting the Andermatt guides. These routes may require double ropes in order to abseil, as well as some small amount of Friends / Cams and nuts. You can find some topos for particular routes on Bergsteigen.com, or will need a guidebook.

Gandschijen: Trad multipitch. Just above Griestal. Long approach (1 h30) from Gasthaus Dammagletscher (5 minute drive from Festival). Grades between 6a - 7b+.
Bergschijen: Partial, sporadic bolting. Routes 4a - 5a.
Hochschjien: Partial, sporadic bolting. Routes at 4c, 5b, 5c.
Salbit: The general Salbit area, with base at the Salbit Huette is quite amazing. The jewel of this area is the Salbit itself, which has several long rock climbing ridges to make it to the peak. This area is quite a walk away (at least 2 1/2 h) from the festival, so it may be worth climbing there before or after the festival, rather than during.
- Salbit Klettergarten: Alpine sport climbing ! Single pitch partially bolted routes, where a few Friends / Cams and nuts don't hurt. Lovely if you fancy a day out from the hut.
- Gemsplanggen: The most approachable and partially bolted (in alpine style with quite a bit of distance between bolts) multipitches in that area. 2 1/2 hour approach from car park at the bottom. Incredible slab and crack routes between 6a - 6b+ such as this one.

Climbs on Gemsplanggen

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