Fünffingerstöck, Südwestgrat

We got lost on the Südwestgrat of the Fünffingerstöck. The topo we had was old and not very accurate, and the ridge is very airy. Still a very nice day in the mountains. We came back some weeks later to climb it.

Fünffingerstöck, 2971 m / Südwestgrat (SW ridge)

S, VI (IV A0) / ~600 m / gneiss

Route-finding is the crux here as much as the climbing. The ridge is only modestly protected, and with the old topo in hand we spent a good part of the day guessing which tower was which. It didn’t spoil anything — the position is superb, airy the whole way, with the Susten Pass road far below and almost nobody around.

The site’s own later report on the SW ridge gives the grade as S, VI (IV A0), with the key section an overhanging pillar and an exposed traverse right to the ridge crest. Roughly 600 m of ridge. Crampons and axe for the snow, a small rack of cams, and enough rope to abseil.

Logistics

Approach

From the parking on the Sustenpass road at about 2060 m, up the path to the snowfields south of the ridge, then slightly left towards the western Obertaljoch (2720 m). Descent is by abseiling towards the Obertal glacier and back over the joch.