New trad route in Oeschinensee, Kandersteg

By Ramon Marin

New trad route in Oeschinensee, Kandersteg - pioneering new routes in Switzerland's breathtaking mountains.

On Monday we went up to have another look at the unclimbed line we spotted after our retreat from “Buch Dich”. The good thing about the line is that it looked that it would go all trad and it linked to a very nice looking ice drip high above in the cliff. What caught Rob’s eye at first sight was an appealing crack system that would take you to a ledge, and then it looked like some easier climbing would take you up to the ice. We went up the first time to have a look, but the first metres we tried didn’t go, and then we tried another start that look promising, but the fading light made us finish that day.

This time with more decisiveness and a full day in front of us, we got to the bottom of the line and yes indeed it looked great. You could see this immaculate crack high above that had to be climbed, and best of all it would go with no bolts, an unusual thing here in Kandersteg, and of course, onsight and ground up. The first pitch took the longest to sent as we were figuring out the climbing as we went, as it turns out the crack had to be rock-climbed with hands and doing some laybacking and a bit of hand jamming. That first pitch was absolute quality and totally 3-stars climbing. Then one pitch of easier but still very fun terrain got you to the base of the ice fall. One more pitch up some very brittle unclimbed ice got me to the top. The whole thing took us about 8hrs climbing and we finished in the dark, but with great satisfaction. We reckon it goes around M6, Wi5, or Scottish VII. Let’s hope for a second ascent!

Steep mixed climbing in Switzerland
Steep mixed climbing in Switzerland

The crack above Rob is what caught our eye, it turns out it was awesome to climb. From the grassy blobs, I took my gloves off and led with my hands. Getting around the bulge I used the undercut crack, but there was nothing for my feet really to a point I considered to undo my crampons. Luckily, I spotted a slot for my axe so I unclipped it and jam it in, that probably saved me from taking a whipper as I was a bit desperate by then.

Steep drytooling in Switzerland
Steep drytooling in Switzerland

The second pitch has some easy mixed up a crack and then joins the ice. I reckon on fatter years, you can probably use the ice all the way to the third pitch pillar. The ice next to Rob was in very poor state.

read Rob’s round up of their time at Kandersteg so far.

Men's Down Jackets & Insulated Jackets

  • New

Filoment vest in Kelp Alpkit mens filoment vest recycled down gilet in black

Filoment Vest [Mens]

Micro-baffle down gilet
$119.99 $159.99
  • New

Filoment Hoody in Nemo 
Filoment mens - action

Filoment Hoody [Mens]

Ultralight and packable hooded micro-baffle down jacket
$169.99 $229.99
  • New

Talini [Mens] Talini jacket in Black

Talini [Mens]

Super lofty PrimaLoft® synthetic down jacket
$99.99 $129.99
  • New

Heiko jacket in Tarmac alpkit men's heiko jacket|tf

Heiko [Mens]

Lightweight and packable PrimaLoft® insulated jacket
$129.99 $169.99
  • SALE

Alpkit men's Jura Mountain Smock windproof jacket in Fern green tf

Jura Mountain Smock [Mens]

All-in-one pile fleece-lined windproof smock jacket for cold and damp
$169.99 $209.99
  • New

Katabatic jacket in Tarmac Katabatic jacket in Nemo

Katabatic [Mens]

PrimaLoft® Gold Active jacket, breathable outer or midlayer
$189.99 $249.99
  • SALE

Solace [Mens] alpkit mens solace |bf

Solace [Mens]

Warm and waterproof Primaloft® insulated jacket
$249.99 $329.99

Full Zip Replacement

Replace a broken zip on your outdoor gear.
$84.99

Down Jacket Wash

Improve your down jacket's performance by using our wash service
$54.99
  • New

0Hiro [Mens] 0Hiro Jacket in Spruce

0Hiro [Mens]

Our warmest PrimaLoft® jacket for cold and damp winter activites
$199.99 $259.99
  • New

Fantom mens in black alpkit fantom mens - action

Fantom [Mens]

Warm and compressible 650 FP down jacket for the coldest conditions
$239.99 $299.99
  • SALE

Sierra Vest in Black dd

Sierra Vest [Mens]

PrimaLoft® insulated gilet with fleece panels for core warmth on the move
$94.99 $119.99

Leave a comment

Please note, comments must be approved before they are published

=