Chöpfenberg - South Ridge

The south ridge of the Chöpfenberg, July 2020. A long, half-forgotten ridge on the Schwyz–Glarus border above the Wägitalersee — quiet, rough, and much better than its obscurity suggests.

Chöpfenberg, 1876 m / South Ridge (Südgrat)

4c (reported up to 5b/c) / 11 pitches / ~400 m / limestone

The Südgrat is long but never desperate: eleven pitches over a string of towers, with an exposed traverse low down and a sharp horizontal section that keeps the attention. Protection is a mix of old pitons and whatever you can sling around blocks and spikes, so it pays to carry slings and a small rack. Grades on this one are reported as soft — figures range from 4c in the topo to 5b/c in more recent accounts, so treat the number as a suggestion.

Despite sharing a trailhead with the busy Brüggler crags, we had the ridge to ourselves the whole day.