Slabs at Steingletscher

Rock climbing at the Steingletscher sector by the Sustenpass. The weather was poor all day, so it was a matter of moving fast and getting a few pitches in before the rain came.

Steingletscher, ~1980 m / South-facing gneiss slabs

Grade: UIAA 3–7c+ (sector range) / Approach 5–45 min / Gear: bolted single- and multi-pitch, sport rack + quickdraws

A wet day on the Sustenpass, which is not the same as a lost one. The Steingletscher slabs are grippy gneiss, mostly south-facing, and they take what sun there is; between showers that was enough to get a few routes done before the sky closed in for good. Nothing heroic, just a morning stolen from the forecast.

The sector spreads across polished slabs above the pass road, with everything from short single pitches to longer multi-pitch lines, so it is easy to keep the day flexible and bail down when the first drops arrive. We did exactly that.

Logistics

Parking

Reach the sector from the Sustenpass road on the Bernese side. A toll road (about CHF 5) runs from the Restaurant/Hotel Steingletscher up toward the crags; park at the Alpin Center Sustenpass, which is the usual hub for the area.

Approach

Short. Depending on which slab you pick, the walk-in runs anywhere from roughly 5 to 45 minutes from the parking.