Brunnital, ice climbing in Switzerland

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Brunnital, ice climbing in Switzerland

by Urs Odermatt, UIAA Mountain Guide

The Brunnital counts as one of the best ice climbing areas in the entire Alps. The incredible selection of long, demanding routes is pretty much unparalleled and can only be beaten in Switzerland by the top resort Kandersteg. Since conditions tend to be good in February and the walk-in tolerable, long queues often form at the base of the routes in the Hydrophobia sector. Those prepared to walk a further 30 minutes will almost certainly find a route with no other climbing parties on it.

ROUTE	GRADE	BEAUTY

Bluebalu	IV 6-
Fliehende Stürme	III 6-
Hydrophobia	III 6
Lisslerenfall	IV 5
Verschneidung	III 4-

Info
The Brunnital leads off from the Schächental at Unterschächen. It is located at an altitude of 1080 – 1380m, relatively low therefore for ice climbing. Sine the valley runs North – South, one can always climb either in the shade or the sun. The valley closes off with a massive, 1300m high wall. The classic route through the Ruchen North Face is climbed regularly.

Getting there
The area can be reached easily by public transport. Take the train to Flüelen, then continue by Posttrain to Unterschächen. Reaching Brunnital by car saves not much more then 15 minutes on the walk-in. For those interested in the climbing the Ruchen North Face, get a permit to drive up to Brunnialp from the restaurant at the fork in the road.

Objective dangers
As a ground rule: the further you enter the valley, the more alpine the environment becomes. The routes at the valley head are comparable with the large faces in the Bernese Alps and are therefore just as committing. Those icefalls close to the road can be defined as relatively avalanche safe, having said that, after heavy snow fall the entire valley can become extremely dangerous. Check out the avalanche bulletin under www.slf.ch.
Warning: many starts are exposed to falling ice. During the main season in February the routes receive massive amounts of sun and can therefore become, objectively speaking, extremely dangerous. Despite the vicinity to the road, considerable alpine experience is necessary to correctly judge the conditions.

Alternatives
There are various alternatives should conditions not be 100% perfect for ice climbing. There are numerous ski mountaineering itineraries, including the superlative ascent to Gross Ruchen via the Chälen. This route offers 2000m height gain, 40° slopes and perfect views onto the valley.
There are a multitude of very beautiful alpine sports routes on the south facing walls above the Klausenpassstrasse, and even on sunny winter days these are climbable.
Those who cannot do without ice will almost certainly find something at the high lying Sulztal which runs parallel to the Brunnital, but hardly anyone undertakes the long and tiring walk-in.