Switzerland · Grimsel
Sagittarius
A Grimsel granite classic: low-angle slabs lead to the famous 6a+ crack pitches and a thin 6b traverse, then steeper, sculpted ground. Sustained at 5c/6a throughout.
6b13 pitches400 m
Grimselstrom
Räterichsbodensee – Seeplatten · Grimsel · Switzerland
Read the cautionsEasy to bailBolting confidence: medium
Glacier-polished slabs straight above the Räterichsboden dam. Four warm-up pitches lead to sustained 5b–5c slab and a short fissured roof (6a or A0).
- Hardest pitch
- 6a
- Pitches
- 11
- Length
- 220 m
- Approach
- 15 min
- Aspect
- E
- East-facing
- Rope
- 2×50 m
Read before you go
Fully bolted and reopened, but it lies in the 2022/2023 Seeplatten rockfall zone, was only partially refurbished in 2024 and still has rubble on the ledges.
The route
Overview
Grimselstrom is an 11-pitch friction route on the glacier-polished Seeplatten slabs directly above the Räterichsbodensee reservoir on the Grimsel pass road. Four easy pitches (4b to 5a) lead to sustained 5b/5c slab, a small cracked overhang, and a short cracked roof that goes at 6a or with one pull on a bolt. The bolts are stainless and sound but spaced in the slab style, so the 5c moves between them are obligatory. The sector was hit by rockfalls in June 2022 and June 2023; the route was partly re-equipped and reopened in September 2024, and rubble still lies on the ledges.
In pictures
Photos
TopoPhoto-topo of Grimselstrom on the Seeplatten above the Räterichsbodensee, GrimselPhoto: herve thivierge · CC BY-SA 3.0 On the routeArriving at a belay on Grimselstrom high above the Räterichsbodensee.Photo: Pibou · CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 The areaThe Räterichsbodensee seen from above its dam; the Seeplatten are the slabs along its western shore.Photo: Falk2 · CC BY-SA 4.0
The climbing
Pitch by pitch
4c5a4c4b5b5c5c5b5a6a5c
| Pitch | Grade | Length | Bolts | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | 4c | 27 m | 6 bolts | Approach slab. Belay on three hangers. |
| P2 | 5a | 23 m | 4 bolts | Links well with pitch 1. |
| P3 | 4c | 35 m | 6 bolts | Easy slab. |
| P4 | 4b | 45 m | 5 bolts | Long easy slab; last of the approach pitches. |
| P5 | 5b | 38 m | 9 bolts | It steepens a little, still with holds. |
| P6 | 5c | 36 m | 7 bolts | Straight up, then a detour right that touches the old-hanger route, then straight up again. Few holds, sustained friction. |
| P7 | 5c | 30 m | 7 bolts | More of the same. |
| P8 | 5b | 20 m | 6 bolts | A small cracked overhang; reported as easy and closely bolted. |
| P9 | 5a | – | – | A very pretty glacier-polished slab. |
| P10 | 6a | – | – | Short cracked roof: 6a for one move, or A0. |
| P11 | 5c | – | – | Short finishing pitch. |
Getting there
Approach
To the parking
Park at the Räterichsbodensee dam (1767 m) on the Grimsel pass road, reached from Innertkirchen and Guttannen on the Bernese side or over the pass from the Valais. The road is open from about late May or June to October/November. A postbus runs June to October. Accommodation at Hotel Handegg, the Grimsel hospice or in Innertkirchen.
On foot · about 15 min
15-20 min. From the parking go up onto the dam and cross it. At the far end turn left on the big path cut across the Seeplatten slabs; the routes start from the path. Grimselstrom starts on a small reclining pillar, 10 m right of Neuholz (name painted at its base) and 20 m left of Tim und Struppi ('TIM' painted at its base). An older route on old hangers starts between the two; do not take it.
Finding the route · 3 photos
Walk-inCrossing the Räterichsbodensee dam: the Seeplatten slabs rise from the far shore of the lake, in the sun.Photo: Sergio Ruzzenenti · CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 OverviewThe Seeplatten seen across the Räterichsbodensee. The horizontal line just above the water is the big path cut across the slabs, where the routes start.Photo: Michmuch06 · CC BY-SA 3.0 OverviewThe Seeplatten above the lake, with the path along their base. The photographer notes that the route climbs to the right of the waterfall.Photo: Sergio Ruzzenenti · CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
Map of the walk-in
- Route base
- Parking
Loading map
The point marks the base of the route.
Parking
46.59062, 8.32794
Räterichsbodensee (camptocamp access point)
Point from camptocamp route 561804
For your phone or watch
Download GPX
Contains the route point and parking. Opens in most mapping apps and GPS watches.
Points are compiled from published sources, with the precision stated above. They were not surveyed on the ground: check them against a current topo.
Coordinates: 46.58319, 8.32358 (route base) · Parking: 46.59062, 8.32794
Getting down
Descent
Abseil the route on equipped anchors. From R8 abseil directly to R6, and from R2 directly to the path. On the camptocamp figures pitches 1 and 2 total 50 m, so the last abseil uses the full length of 50 m ropes. Filidor warns specifically to take care when abseiling because of rubble on the ledges.
Retreat
Bailing off the route
Easy to bail
Yes. The normal descent is to abseil the route on equipped anchors, so you can turn round at any belay. The caveat is rubble left on the ledges by the 2022 and 2023 rockfalls: Filidor asks for particular care when abseiling, and anything you or your ropes dislodge goes down the line.
- Retreat from
- Every belay. From R8 you abseil straight to R6, and from R2 straight to the path. The first four pitches are easy slab (4b to 5a), so an early retreat is from low-angle ground.
- Carry
- 2×50 m ropes. Pitch 4 is 45 m and the last abseil from R2 uses the full 50 m, so a single rope will not do. Knot the ends.
- Basis
- Part stated, part inferredCamptocamp states the abseil descent, the R8 to R6 and R2 to path abseils and the 2×50 m ropes, and Filidor states the rubble warning; that every belay above R8 is equally usable after the partial 2024 re-equipment is inferred from 'abseil the route'.
Partly inferred from the route facts
Safety
Hazards
- Rockfall zone: rockfalls struck the Seeplatten in June 2022 and, on a larger scale, in June 2023. The lakeside path was closed and the routes from Bruni Chue to Neuholz, which include Grimselstrom, were closed. The path reopened on 10 August 2023.
- Filidor, 5 September 2024: André Nyffeler and Sandro von Känel partially refurbished Tim und Struppi, Grimselstrom and Neuholz, replacing broken bolts and belays, and the routes were reopened. Debris remained on the ledges.
- Filidor, 20 June 2025: the path is open and most routes are refurbished or partly refurbished, but there is still rubble on the ledges; take particular care when abseiling.
- Neighbouring routes are not all safe: Filidor says Bruni Chue and Germer-Toni were not refurbished and still had blocks in them (do not climb them), and in 2025 warned of a loose flake at the first bolt of Lady Mary. A 2026 party on Toni/Weisser Germer found bolts ripped out. Make sure you are on the right line.
- Bolt spacing: rated P1 but with slab-style gaps; trip reports say the 5c slab moves are obligatory (camptocamp gives obligatory 5c, Gulliver 5a, a contributor suggests 5b).
- Lichen on the slab makes for unexpected slips.
Sun and weather
Conditions
East facing at 1770-2010 m: morning sun, shade in the afternoon (a mid-October party climbed in the sun and abseiled in the shade). Season is roughly June to October while the pass road is open. Pure friction climbing, so it needs dry rock; Gulliver warns that lichen on the slab is treacherous.
Usual season · Jun to Sep
JFMAMJJASOND
Sun on the wall · E-facing
Working out the sunlit hours for this month.
- January: not yet worked out
- February: not yet worked out
- March: not yet worked out
- April: not yet worked out
- May: not yet worked out
- June (usual season): not yet worked out
- July (usual season): not yet worked out
- August (usual season): not yet worked out
- September (usual season): not yet worked out
- October: not yet worked out
- November: not yet worked out
- December: not yet worked out
Sun on the wallDaylight, wall in shade● Usual season
Estimated from the wall's aspect only. Ignores surrounding terrain, gullies and the wall's exact shape. Clock times are local to the wall (Central European time), for the 15th of each month.
| Measure | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun (usual season) | Jul (usual season) | Aug (usual season) | Sep (usual season) | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean daily high °C | −3 | −1 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 17 | 17 | 13 | 8 | 2 | −2 |
| Mean daily low °C | −8 | −8 | −5 | −2 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 5 | 1 | −4 | −8 |
| Rain days 1 mm or more | 14 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 18 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 15 |
● marks the usual climbing season. Averages for 1991-2020 at about 1777 m. Area climate from Open-Meteo reanalysis. Temperatures are adjusted to the height of the crag; rain comes from a grid cell of about 10 to 25 km, and summer highs on sea cliffs can read a few degrees low. The wall and valley can differ. Data: Open-Meteo, CC BY 4.0.
What to carry
Gear
2×50 m ropes. Camptocamp lists 10 quickdraws and Gulliver 12; pitch 5 has 9 bolts, so 12 is the safer number. Helmet, essential here given the rockfall history.
Checklist
- Quickdraws
- 12
- Rope
- 2×50 m
- Helmet
- One each
- Abseil device and prusik
- The descent or the retreat involves abseiling
Derived from the route data; check it against a current topo
From climbers
Reader reports
Reader reports are not being collected yet. Until they are, check a current topo and the local club or guidebook publisher for recent changes to Grimselstrom.
Worth knowing
Tips
- Pitches 1 and 2 link into a 50 m pitch.
- The belay description on camptocamp (two bolts joined by a bar with a large fixed karabiner, plus a separate bolt as first runner; R1 on three hangers) predates the 2024 refurbishment, so some belays may now differ.
- Check the Filidor Räterichsbodensee page for the latest danger notices before you go.
- Trip reports find it a little harder than Tim und Struppi next door and less serious than Neuholz.
Open questions
Where sources disagree
- Length: camptocamp gives 220 m of height, but its own pitch lengths for pitches 1-8 already add up to 254 m; Gulliver gives 400 m of climbing. The climbing length is clearly well over 220 m.
- Grades: camptocamp (French) gives 4c, 5a, 4c, 4b, 5b, 5c, 5c, 5b, 5a, 6a, 5c. Gulliver and the older Spanish camptocamp text give 4a, 5a, 4c, 4b, 5a+, 5a+/5b, 5c, 5b, 4c, 5c with one aid point (6a free), 5c. The French camptocamp grades are followed.
- Quickdraws: 10 (camptocamp) versus 12 (Gulliver).
- Status: camptocamp's access page still carries a 2023 note that the path beyond the dam is closed; Filidor's later notices (August 2023, September 2024, June 2025) say the path is open and the route is reopened. Filidor is the publisher's own update service and is followed. Gulliver logs show ascents in August and September 2026.
Provenance
Sources
- Camptocamp – Seeplatten: Grimselstrom (route, crag and access pages, trip reports 2017-2022)Used for: pitches, lengths, bolt counts, belays, start, descent, gear, history, conditions
- Filidor – Räterichsbodensee (Plaisir West news and danger notices)Used for: rockfall, closures, 2024 refurbishment, current status
- Gulliver – Räterichsbodensee, Seeplatten, GrimselstormUsed for: alternative grades, quickdraws, approach, lichen warning, recent ascents
- Camptocamp – trip report, Seeplatten: Toni (August 2026)Used for: state of neighbouring routes after the rockfall
Same area
More in Grimsel
All routes in Grimsel
Switzerland · Grimsel
Roadrunner
Seven pitches of smooth, low-angle Grimsel granite, almost all pure friction, with two short steeper steps. Technically easy, but you have to trust your feet. A gentle introduction to Grimsel slab and to multipitch rope work.
4c7 pitches200 m
Switzerland · Grimsel
Bügeleisen
A short, varied granite route up a pale, smooth pillar across the valley from the Handegg slabs: a corner crack, then friction and edge slabs that get harder pitch by pitch. Grades are stiff, and the last pitch is sustained and tricky. A good half day or uncertain-weather route with a 15-minute approach.
6a5 pitches200 m
Switzerland · Grimsel
Savoir Vivre
Fourteen pitches up the Gelmerfluh next to Sagittarius, and by several accounts the better route: a knife-cut flake, a finger-to-hand crack worthy of Chamonix, corners, a pendulum and Grimsel slab, then easier quartz-veined walls to the top. Mostly 5c to 6a, with two short slab cruxes that almost everyone aids.
6c+14 pitches400 m
Around 6a · about 11 pitches
Similar elsewhere
Greece · Kalymnos & Telendos
Wings for Life
The first route on the wall (Odermatt and Keller, 2008), climbing a long, exposed line on sharp, grippy rock right of the huge roof. The lower pitches are easy for the grade. The two 6a cruxes are a short odd corner over a small roof and a traverse high up, and they come with big exposure. Pitches are short, so you can link them with long draws.
6a11 pitches250 m
Switzerland · Ticino
Quarzader
Slab pitches give way to a vertical wall threaded with quartz veins, which gives the route its name. It is shady in the morning, and the pitches are short (about 35 m), so 11 go quickly.
6a11 pitches400 m
Italy · Aosta Valley
Bucce d'Arancia
This is the most-climbed route on the Paretone. It gives sustained, varied slab and crack climbing on good gneiss, and the hardest moves are a fine crack on P2, a slanting corner and a punchy wall. Queues are common on good days. The Mani Nude guidebook grades it stiffly; camptocamp's Italian page calls it sustained at 5b–5c+ with a single 6a.
6a10 pitches290 m
Read the cautions
Italy · Val d'Ossola
Il Cammino del Sole
Twelve long pitches of sunny gneiss slab above Oira, mostly 4c to 5b+ with two 6a pitches: a thin slab at the start and an athletic corner on pitch 10. Pitches are up to 55 m. A winter-sun route with a summit book and plaques at both ends.
6a12 pitches530 m
Compiled from published sources and last verified October 2026. Bolts, anchors and access change. Climbing is dangerous and you are responsible for your own decisions: check a current topo and read the disclaimer.