Slab Climbing - Klein Furkahorn

The Klein Furkahorn stands at 3026 m on the Uri-Valais border, right above the Furka Pass and east of the Rhone Glacier, at the southern end of the Galenstock-Gross Furkahorn chain. Its west flank is a long sweep of Uri granite, and that is what I went there for: slab climbing.

Klein Furkahorn, 3026 m / West side slabs

Slab routes in the 4a-5a range / up to ~25 pitches depending on the line / Uri granite

Approach from the parking above Belvedere (P. 2385) on the Vier-Quellen-Weg, then track traces left to the wall foot around 2400 m

The rock is granite with the compact, well-textured surface typical of the Furka and Grimsel area. The west side is not one wall but a series of stacked slab tiers, laid back low down and steepening higher up, broken by ledges rather than by cracks. Most of the climbing is friction and edging on features rather than crack work, which is why the peak turns up in the Plaisir-style guidebooks despite being a genuine 3000 m summit.

Logistics

Approach

From the parking, join the Vier-Quellen-Weg and follow it to roughly 2400 m. Track traces then break off left, marked in places with blue dots, and lead a few hundred metres to the foot of the slabs on the right. Around 200 m of ascent from the car. Descent is back down towards Belvedere, normally without snow to negotiate late in the summer, though old snow patches can linger at the base of the routes and seep onto the lower pitches.