Bohrgeist, Fünffingerstöck

A day on Bohrgeist, the south-face route on the main tower of the Fünffingerstöcke above the Obertal, near the Sustenpass. Nine pitches of well-bolted gneiss, with a snowy approach under the wall.

Fünffingerstöck, ~2970 m / South face — "Bohrgeist"

5c (5b obl.) / 9 pitches / 275 m / gneiss

The Fünffingerstöcke sit above the Obertal, at the head of the valley behind the Sustenpass, a row of gneiss towers that only come into view late on the walk in. Bohrgeist takes the south face of the main tower: nine pitches, about 275 m, graded 5c, put up in 2019 by P. Müller and M. Boos. It is fully bolted and the rock is featured throughout.

The wall gets sun on the base from mid-morning. Descent is by rappelling the route — count on an hour and a half or so, and be careful with the rope on the upper pitches. The tower is not quite the high point; the main summit lies a little further east.

Logistics

Approach

From the Obertal parking, west along the Obertalbach to the lake at 2515 m, then steeply up the moraine ridge and northwest over slabs and snowfields to the start — roughly 1h45 to 2h. Depending on conditions an axe and crampons are worth carrying for the snow below the route.