Reisfresser at Yin-Yang, Sandbalm, Uri
(Written by Sandra)
For us things didn't go quite as planned. Or actually it might have if we had planned it at all. We learned that one should do so - not least when fumbling on unknown ground. But failures teach valuable lessons…
We were supposed to spend this weekend in Bergell. Our friend Jochen would lead a couple of alpine climbing tours from the Gianetti hut with a DAV group from Karlsruhe, and we saw a perfect opportunity to reconvene at the hut. Unfortunately, one member of that group had to cancel on very short notice. The rest spontaneously opted to skip Bergell for the much closer situated Swiss canton Uri. I and Markus hadn't decided what to do about this information until Thursday evening - by which time the group where already on their way, one day in advance. With a decision finally made, we hurried to pack our car full with seldom used camping gear, as well as all the usual climbing stuff, and on Friday morning we were off.
However, one must never forget how relative such notions can be. For a climber born and raised in Uri, the feeling for granite slabs may come with the mother's milk. But to us, used to easy long ridges or steep but well protectable dolomite or limestone, it's another story altogether. Not that we haven't climbed slabs before - we just never quite enjoyed it if the grade climbed over 4c…
After an extraordinary beautiful and easy 20 min approach, crossing the river Voralpreuss and passing through a cave-like formation of bouders, we stood at the foot of the Yin-Yang slab with a roaring river just at our side. Markus led the first pitch on Reisfresser (190 m 5c, though we suspect it's shorter). The first pitch is graded 5a+ and offers a few narrow cracks to complement the granite slab. Markus seemed to manage well enough… but as soon as I joined him up at stand it was apparent that he'd already had enough. Perhaps if there were just a couple more bolts, or somewhere suitable (not flaring) for a cam, he might still have been happy. But no. This route was never meant for the two of us at this particular time.
Reluctant to give up so soon I took over the lead. The second pitch is the crux one, a dazzling 5c. It's hard to explain to someone who hasn't tried it, just how intimidating a slab 5c feels to someone like me who is not used to it. It's another world from ours. You climb up by friction alone, counting on your rubber covered feet to smear enough against the wall. And everything above a 4 feels steep… I hadn't practiced this for years and wasn't ready to fully trust my feet yet. Thus this short second pitch was a great show in cheating: A sling round the wee tree root here, a pull on the quick draw there... At one of the most intimidating parts I could follow a toebox-narrow line of vegetation just to the right of the actual line, trying not to slip on the soil (though, being an Allgäu climber I'm actually pretty good at soil climbing). Nevertheless I came up, and Markus followed, still not happy.
I wasn't ready to give up. The 3rd pitch is a "mere" 5a. My pulse approached maximum at reaching the stand - but in getting there, foot confidence had grown with each step as the rubber stuck to the granite. It should be noted that the friction is very good on the entire route; nothing polished here. Perhaps we might even be able to finish…?
The 4th and final pitch, 5a+, is a proper slab. I had by now gotten good at convincing myself to not think, and continue to not think until it was too late for retreat. After the 3rd bolt comes the single not-completely-slab section of the route; a sort of shallow flake corner without open cracks (thus not accepting any pro). It turned out to be basically slab climbing anyway.
At reaching an abseil ring I was already a bit jittery. I couldn't see if the shiny thing above me was a bolt or only the remains of one - it somehow looked too small. And I didn't see any continuation after that, gazing into the shade on a sunny, high contrast day. But as Markus arrived, his sharp eyes quickly spotted both the bolt and the last ring which is the actual end of the route. He was off to finish the route once and for all, and soon we could celebrate having managed the "amateur route". What a feat! :-)
We abseiled along the route, ending on a sandy little beach on the riverside with the ropes only slightly wetted. It's a wonderful spot to take a moment of rest. We had a lot of time (no, we would NOT go for the Yin-Yang route now…) so this was a great chance for a quick dip in the freezing water of Voralpreuss.
Part 2
Part 3
Read MoreUri climbing July 2015: Part 1/3
The area around Göschenen offers an endless amount of alpine routes on granite (see for example the official website of canton Uri for a short summary).For us things didn't go quite as planned. Or actually it might have if we had planned it at all. We learned that one should do so - not least when fumbling on unknown ground. But failures teach valuable lessons…
We were supposed to spend this weekend in Bergell. Our friend Jochen would lead a couple of alpine climbing tours from the Gianetti hut with a DAV group from Karlsruhe, and we saw a perfect opportunity to reconvene at the hut. Unfortunately, one member of that group had to cancel on very short notice. The rest spontaneously opted to skip Bergell for the much closer situated Swiss canton Uri. I and Markus hadn't decided what to do about this information until Thursday evening - by which time the group where already on their way, one day in advance. With a decision finally made, we hurried to pack our car full with seldom used camping gear, as well as all the usual climbing stuff, and on Friday morning we were off.
Multipitch at Schöllenen - not this time!
We decided underway to start with the area Schöllenen, situated right at the mountain pass between Andermatt and Göschenen. Climbing there is to trade solitude and quiet (which we usually strive for) for a short approach. With the 4 hr trip from our own valley behind us, a 10 min approach seemed just about right... As it turned out though, we wouldn't even get the chance to get to those great looking routes. The area is closed for hikers and approach due to some serious rock fall (link, link, link). So there we go, fallback option.Sandbalm: Yin-Yang-Platte
Continuing our drive in the direction of Göscheneralp (where we hoped to meet our friends at the Gwüest camping later on), we settled for the "amateur friendly" Yin-Yang slab. That's what it says in our guide book, and we don't go for pride, so to us this sounded like a perfect second plan.However, one must never forget how relative such notions can be. For a climber born and raised in Uri, the feeling for granite slabs may come with the mother's milk. But to us, used to easy long ridges or steep but well protectable dolomite or limestone, it's another story altogether. Not that we haven't climbed slabs before - we just never quite enjoyed it if the grade climbed over 4c…
After an extraordinary beautiful and easy 20 min approach, crossing the river Voralpreuss and passing through a cave-like formation of bouders, we stood at the foot of the Yin-Yang slab with a roaring river just at our side. Markus led the first pitch on Reisfresser (190 m 5c, though we suspect it's shorter). The first pitch is graded 5a+ and offers a few narrow cracks to complement the granite slab. Markus seemed to manage well enough… but as soon as I joined him up at stand it was apparent that he'd already had enough. Perhaps if there were just a couple more bolts, or somewhere suitable (not flaring) for a cam, he might still have been happy. But no. This route was never meant for the two of us at this particular time.
Reluctant to give up so soon I took over the lead. The second pitch is the crux one, a dazzling 5c. It's hard to explain to someone who hasn't tried it, just how intimidating a slab 5c feels to someone like me who is not used to it. It's another world from ours. You climb up by friction alone, counting on your rubber covered feet to smear enough against the wall. And everything above a 4 feels steep… I hadn't practiced this for years and wasn't ready to fully trust my feet yet. Thus this short second pitch was a great show in cheating: A sling round the wee tree root here, a pull on the quick draw there... At one of the most intimidating parts I could follow a toebox-narrow line of vegetation just to the right of the actual line, trying not to slip on the soil (though, being an Allgäu climber I'm actually pretty good at soil climbing). Nevertheless I came up, and Markus followed, still not happy.
I wasn't ready to give up. The 3rd pitch is a "mere" 5a. My pulse approached maximum at reaching the stand - but in getting there, foot confidence had grown with each step as the rubber stuck to the granite. It should be noted that the friction is very good on the entire route; nothing polished here. Perhaps we might even be able to finish…?
The 4th and final pitch, 5a+, is a proper slab. I had by now gotten good at convincing myself to not think, and continue to not think until it was too late for retreat. After the 3rd bolt comes the single not-completely-slab section of the route; a sort of shallow flake corner without open cracks (thus not accepting any pro). It turned out to be basically slab climbing anyway.
At reaching an abseil ring I was already a bit jittery. I couldn't see if the shiny thing above me was a bolt or only the remains of one - it somehow looked too small. And I didn't see any continuation after that, gazing into the shade on a sunny, high contrast day. But as Markus arrived, his sharp eyes quickly spotted both the bolt and the last ring which is the actual end of the route. He was off to finish the route once and for all, and soon we could celebrate having managed the "amateur route". What a feat! :-)
We abseiled along the route, ending on a sandy little beach on the riverside with the ropes only slightly wetted. It's a wonderful spot to take a moment of rest. We had a lot of time (no, we would NOT go for the Yin-Yang route now…) so this was a great chance for a quick dip in the freezing water of Voralpreuss.
Part 2
Part 3
