West Ridge | Alpinism | Swiss Alpine Club SAC

Unterstütze den SAC Jetzt spenden

West Ridge Gwächtenhorn (Steingletscher) 3404 m

Difficulty

PD, 2a
Ascent

2:30–3:30 h, 630 m
Descent

1:30–2 h, 630 m

The heavily glaciated mountain landscape, with the great bulks of Susten - and Gwächtenhorn, is impressive to all who journey over the Sustenpass. From the main road at Steingletscher the Gwächtenhorn in particular dominates the scenery. Presenting a satisfactory traverse through varied terrain, the West Ridge of the Gwächtenhorn has grown increasingly popular as a training tour. After an easy romp up the glacier, the real climbing begins at the Tierberglimi / Chelenlücke (col), where good scrambling over the exposed but never difficult ridge, leads all the way to the summit. The descent is again easy, following the normal East Flank route in a wide arc via the Sustenlimi and back down to the Tierberglihütte.

Route over the West Ridge of the Gwächtenhorn. (08/2014) © Verena Gisler

Early start from the hut! (08/2014) © Verena Gisler

The heavily glaciated surrounds of the Gwächtenhorn, which can be traversed from West (right) to East (left of the picture). (08/2009) © www.cornelsuter.ch

Route description

From the hut to the Chelenlücke (col)

From the Tierbergli Hut (2797 m) you climb over the fractured Steigletscher to the southwest and reach the Tierberglimi or the Chelenlücke (3194 m).

West Ridge to the summit

Climbing up steeper firn and a rock step you gain the eastern most reaches of the exposed West Ridge. Its jagged rocks are taken as directly as possible (climbing up to 2a) and lead you steadily up, all the way to the summit.

Variant: Approach in icy conditions

The route is equipped with bolts and well marked with red dots. Please follow the markings. Fragile rock next to the route. Beware of falling rocks, avoid climbing on top of each other. Caution: From the last bolt to the RIGHT onto the ridge; fragile ledge, do not climb straight up!!! Over the easy ridge to the original route. Climbing sections 2a to 3a.

Descent from the summit to the hut.

The descent follows the East Flank route. To avoid crevasses, continue as far as possible towards the Sustenlimi, before swinging to the northwest and refreshment at the Tierberglihütte.

Additional information

Departure and arrival point

Tierberglihütte SAC (2795 m)

Difficulty: The key section is often the climb up to the ridge, especially if it is icy. In October 2023, the hasliguides.ch Jan Wiegenbröker and Käthi Flühmann equipped a new variant on the right (west), which is recommended in case of ice on the north flank. See variant for details.

Waypoints

Chelenlücke / Tierberglimi (3202 m)