Ameisenrennen - Gerstenegg Dom

Ameisenrennen, Gerstenegg

6a (5b) / 17 pitches / ~757 m / Grimsel granite / Gear: 2x50m, 12 draws

A second time up the Ameisenrennen, the long plaisir line on the Gerstenegg Dom above the Grimsel pass. The route name is stamped right into a stainless hanger at the base, so there is no doubt you are on the right slab.

At the foot of the route: the stamped hanger, and the Grimsel granite with the pass road below.

The climbing is what makes this area famous — clean, grippy granite with crack systems and slabs, all on stainless bolts, so a rack of 12 draws and a set of 50 m ropes is enough. The 6a stays short and never far above the bolts.

On the route — twin ropes running up clean granite, and the exposure building below.

Higher up the position opens out over the Grimsel basin: the reservoirs and their dams, the hairpins of the pass road, and rows of snow-streaked granite peaks across the valley.

Views from high on the wall: reservoirs and dams below, and snow-streaked peaks above alpenrose slopes.

Logistics

Parking

• Parking near the Gerstenegg power plant, above the Räterichsboden reservoir.

Approach

• Roughly 20 minutes from the parking to the foot of the route.

Descent

• On foot via the Bächlitalhüttenweg, or abseil the route — all anchors are equipped for it.

Sources

• Ameisenrennen, 757 m sport climb at Gerstenegg – theCrag
• Klettergebiet Gerstenegg – Ameisenrennen – gipfelbuch.ch