Ameisenrennen - Gerstenegg Dom

Ameisenrennen runs up the Gerstenegg Dom, the slab dome on the west side of the Grimsel pass road below the Räterichsboden dam. Seventeen pitches, 6a, granite. I climbed it on 8 July 2023.

Gerstenegg Dom, Grimsel - wall base around 1600 m / east-facing granite slab

6a (5b+ if the bolts are used) / 17 pitches / ~760 climbing metres, ~400 m of height gain / granite

The Dom is one of several slab escarpments standing on the orographic left side of the valley beneath the Räterichsboden dam, on the flank running up towards the Alplistock. It is Grimsel granite of the usual sort: smooth, compact, high in friction, climbed mostly on the feet. The wall faces east, so the sun is on it in the morning and off it by the middle of the day - the reason most parties here start early rather than late.

Logistics

Approach

From the Grimsel pass road at the Räterichsbodensee - reachable by postbus, which is one of the reasons this crag gets recommended for car-free days. From the dam the approach is roughly 30 minutes: down to the Foxi sector, then a rightward traverse along the base to the lowest point of the Dom sector, where the route starts. The approach gully can hold meltwater and stay wet early in the season.