Gelmerfluh ****

“Sagittarius” is the Grimsel classic. That said, get up early and you still may have to get in line. It sees that much traffic! “Savoir Vivre”, thankfully, is a convenient nearby alternative. The first half of the route offers awesome crack climbing turning into slab climbing up high. Then the wall steepens considerably and gets pretty athletic in character. Unfortunately, the rock quality decreases up high as well. Take care on both routes while rappelling. Especially with high winds, the rope can get stuck on the upper part of the route. Always carefully reclimb up to free it. Never pull on it: Rockfall! Atypical for the Grimsel is the steep crack and face climbing on the route “Chopper”. The steep couloir you approach through is easiest in the spring when some snow still lingers. Mountain boots and an ice axe are a good idea. Later in the season, you will need to climb past a large boulder (protected with 4 bolts). The shorter, but very nice routes in the “Moby Dick” Sector were rebolted by a strong group of guys from the Civil Defense Service.