Switzerland

B2

Climbing wall
One of the premier bouldering walls in Europe, B2 will stretch your limits like no other wall
Telephone
+41 (0)61 823 22 50
Crag

A couple of small overhanging buttresses with a few short but interesting routes. Osterloch faces west. The Überhang stays dry in the rain, and gets the sun until 1pm. 

Number of routes
5
Range of Routes
7a - 8a
Rock Type
Limestone
Crag

A quiet crag set in a beautiful location just under the Risenberg summit. Bärtel has a steady and pleasant uphill walk to reach it, and then some testing routes. Beware of occasional sparse bolting and inconsistent grades. Some of the grading is not just tough, but clearly wrong,even by Basler Jura standards!

Number of routes
20
Range of Routes
6a to 7c
Rock Type
Limestone
Sun
Can be very hot in summer
Climbing Area

The Basler Jura is a beautiful area of limestone crags located at the Eastern end of the Swiss Jura mountains, close to the Rhine, the city of Basel, and the borders of France and Germany. Some of the crags are in fact in France. There are around 50 crags in the area, a few of them world class.

Number of routes
2000
Crag

Situated on the top of the hills above the Aare valley, Bettlerküche is in a perfect position to enjoy the views of the Swiss plain. Admittedly the crag itself is hidden in the trees, which provide welcome shade in the summer, but let a bit of warmth through when the leaves have dropped. The climbing here has been recently re bolted, giving some generally hard, but well protected routes. There is variety too, from the slabs on the lower buttress, to the steep overhanging walls on the upper section, with a few cracks and walls in between. Well worth a visit.

Number of routes
50
Range of Routes
6a - 8a
Rock Type
Limestone
Crag

A one route crag, Kingway finds a solid way up an otherwise chossy crag. Gets the sun in the afternoon. 

Number of routes
1
Rock Type
Limestone
Scrambles and Alpine climbs

The Biederthal / Burg gorge is a small, hidden gem on the border between France and Switzerland. The river Birsig has it's source in Switzerland near to the village of Burg, best known for its Schloss perched on the top of a large fin of rock. The stream cascades down a pretty little gorge in a series of small waterfalls between steep but short limestone walls.  The climb up this gorge is an interesting and pictureque scramble from the bottom in France to the top in Switzerland.

Difficulty
II - steeper sections may need a rope
Time required
30 to 90 minutes depending on conditions
Crag

Chalengraben is a beautiful gorge tucked away in the hillside above Hofstetten. It has a few short and difficult routes that can be really pleasant in the spring, summer and autumn. Due to the narrowness of the gorge, and hence lack of sun it is slow to dry after rain. The climbs have a convenient picnic table under them, and a walk up the gorge to the Bergmatten restaurant is worthwhile in its own right.

Number of routes
20
Range of Routes
6b to 8a
Rock Type
Limestone
Crag

Set in a beautiful area, just above the Chastelbach, the cliff has a number of buttresses with some excellent routes. In the afternoons Chastelfluh is a good hot weather crag, there is lots of shade. Note that the slabby routes in particular often get overgrown in the summer.

Number of routes
100
Range of Routes
6a - 8b
Rock Type
Limestone
Sun
In the morning
Crag

Cheselenflue is the big impressive cliff that can be seen from the Stockalp to Melchsee Frutt road, or ski piste in winter. It is set in a beautiful location and has a number of friendly multi pitch routes that are well bolted and on generally good rock. It faces due south and so, given good conditions, it is possible to climb here nearly all year round. Clearly when the sun is in full force in the summer, it will be too hot, and when the ledges have snow on them in winter, impractical, but otherwise it dries and warms up quickly.

Number of routes
10
Range of Routes
5c - 7a
Rock Type
Limestone
Crag

A steep featureless crag of compact limestone in a pleasant location above the Laufen-Delemont valley. The forest provides some shade in summer, and lets the sun through in winter. Climbing is slightly overhanging, mostly on pockets. There are many open projects.

Number of routes
30
Range of Routes
7a -8b
Rock Type
Limestone
Sun
All day

A relatively easy, but nevertheless interesting, scenic and enjoyable tour. Chli Bielenhorn is a popular destination, and with good reason. Realp is easily accessible by road or train, and the summit is accessible as a one day tour. It can also be used as part of a multi day tour with overnight stops in either the SAC Albert Heim hütte or the more comfortable, but still very reasonable Tiefenbach hotel. The rock architecture and views from the summit are superb. It is not too difficult or dangerous, but at the same time challenging enough.

Start Altitude
2100m
Finish Altitude
2940m
Height gain
900m
Difficulty
WS
Time to climb
3 hours
Crag

Seldom busy, Chuenisberg is a peaceful place, set in a beautiful wood of beech trees. Often the only sound to hear is the cursing of climbers who have not quite managed to redpoint their latest project. North facing, it is an ideal crag for hot summer days,  the downside being that it can be slow to dry after the winter and after prolonged rain. Although the majority of the routes are hard - and it has of some of the hardest routes in the Basler Jura - Chuenisberg nevertheless has a few excellent middle grade routes.

Number of routes
100
Range of Routes
6a - 9a
Rock Type
Limestone
Crag

A compact sector with two distinct buttresses. The left hand side has some hard slabs and steep pocketed walls. The right hand side has a mid grade classic - big holds up an overhanging wall, plus some easier slabs and harder routes up the overhanging wall.

Number of routes
20
Rock Type
Limestone
Crag

Premiere is the far left hand side of Chuenisberg. Often neglected it has a few excellent routes. As with the rest of Chuenisberg it is in the shade, and so good for hot summer days, but equally slow to dry and cold in the winter.

Number of routes
25
Rock Type
Limestone
Crag

The sector Ravage is steep and has a long history. It was once home to the hardest route in the world. Ravage is a route that has now been on sighted by Adam Ondra. The Bohemian born, Basel resident, Wenzel Vodicka worked with  the leading French climber Antoine Le Menestrel to make the first ascent back in 1985. Originally graded 8b+, it is now thought to be 8c, and still sees very few ascents. Vodicka later turned his attention to the wall to the right, but continually failed on one move, despite many attempts over many years.

Number of routes
20
Rock Type
Limestone
Crag

Tristencholben is the rounded pinnacle east of Rosenboden that is clearly visible when you walk round the "Blumenweg" from the Chäsenrugg cable car. At first sight it is a daunting place to climb. A 200m cliff with impressive curved strata reminiscent of Mousetrap on the sea cliffs of Gogarth in North Wales. Despite its looks, the actual climbing is mostly solid on positive holds, with the usual loose rock lying on the ledges.

Number of routes
5
Range of Routes
5c - 7b
Rock Type
Limestone
Crag

 Diamantstock is a granite mountain accessible from the very pleasant Bächlitalhütte. The Grosser Diamantstock is an excellent full day tour that is often underestimated. Despite the relatively easy technical grades, it is still a long day out. Chlyne Diamantstock has has two well bolted routes up it's south face, on excellent rock amidst magnificent alpine scenery. The hut has a small lake behind it, (Bächli beach) and behind the lake is a crag with a few "warm up" routes, in the 4a to 6b range.

Number of routes
2
Range of Routes
4c - 5a
Rock Type
Granite

Engelberg is one of the best resorts in the alps for off piste ski routes, with many excellent and long itineraries. Amongst them the Laub, Titlis, Galtiberg, Sulzi and Wendenstock-Lücke all offer excellent sport on long, steep, beautiful runs. They require little uphill work, but the risk of crevasses, avalanches, route finding or sliding off a cliff mean that they are for experienced off piste skiers only, and should be treated with respect. There have been fatalities on many of the routes described here.

Start Altitude
3000m
Finish Altitude
1000m
Height gain
600m
Difficulty
S
Time to climb
Allow 6 hours from Klein Titlis to Fürenalp
Climbing Area

The Engelhörner is a huge area of bizarre limestone peaks offering many long alpine routes with some excellent multi pitch sport routes mixed in. The small Engelhörner hut at the foot of the peaks makes an excellent base for the routes, with a warm welcome and friendly hosts. The area is complex and can be a bit confusing on the first visit. There are a large number of peaks, the most popular ones being those that circle around the Ochsetal that leads up from the hut.

Number of routes
100
Crag

It looks like a friendly Swiss crag, but Kingspitze is actually a major Alpine undertaking.

Number of routes
1
Rock Type
Limestone
Crag

At the left hand side of the cirque of cliffs surrounding the Ochsel valley are three impressive peaks. Klein Simeler, gross Simeler and Vorderspitze are connected by a long ridge climb and several modern classics taking direct lines to the summits. All of the hard routes are well protected with bolts, some backup wires and friends useful.

Number of routes
12
Rock Type
Limestone
Crag

Falkenfluh is a large important cliff containing hundreds of excellent routes, nearly all single pitch up to 30m in height. The climbs are predominately steep walls, and the routes are in all grades, with something to suit everyone, except perhaps the complete beginner. Most of the routes are well bolted, although the bolts are sometimes a little spaced, but rarely dangerously. The crag is located in a forest offering welcome shade in the summer, which can mean some sections are slow drying after prolonged rain.

Number of routes
250
Range of Routes
5a-8c
Rock Type
Limestone
Climbing Area

The mystery of the disappearing guidebook. Have you ever noticed that whereas coat hangers in cupboards seem to breed and multiply on their own accord, guidebooks die and disappear. You buy the thing, use it a couple of times and then a year later it is nowhere to be seen. Where did it go? You carefully put it back on the bookshelf, but somehow in the intervening time it disappeared. Lost? Stolen? Decayed? Who knows? It is to be hoped that Climbapedia follows the coat hanger path, and not the fate of the traditional paper guidebook . You could help here.

Number of routes
100
Crag

Long pitches from the exposed ledge. Make sure your rope is long enough!

Number of routes
15
Rock Type
Limestone