The Ueschenental is a quiet side valley west of Kandersteg in the Bernese Oberland, with long bands of grey limestone slabs and walls at about 1800 to 2200 m looking across to the Balmhorn and Altels. The rock is compact and cut by water runnels and grassy ledges, and the walls hold a large number of well-bolted plaisir multipitches of three to five pitches in the moderate grades. You reach the valley from Kandersteg, which is on the BLS railway, either by the Ueschenestrasse toll road or by the Allmenalp cable car and a traverse south, then walk 30 minutes to the foot of the walls. The walls face south-east and are climbed from June to October; autumn is especially fine, but summer afternoons often bring thunderstorms.
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Ueschenen, Kandersteg · 2,145 m
| Measure | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun (usual season) | Jul (usual season) | Aug (usual season) | Sep (usual season) | Oct (usual season) | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean daily high °C | −6 | −4 | −1 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 6 | −0 | −5 |
| Mean daily low °C | −14 | −13 | −10 | −6 | −3 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | −3 | −9 | −13 |
| Rain days 1 mm or more | 14 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 18 | 20 | 21 | 19 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 14 |
● usual season. 1991-2020 averages at about 2145 m; rain is for a 10–25 km grid cell. Weather and climate data: Open-Meteo, CC BY 4.0.
Switzerland · Kandersteg (Ueschenen)
A gentle, very well bolted introduction to multipitch climbing on grey limestone slabs, four long pitches up water runnels and a final steepening wall. It is all about footwork, and the guidebook author Sandro von Känel picks it as one of the five best plaisir multipitches in the Bernese Oberland.
5bVI-5.84 pitches140 m
Switzerland · Kandersteg (Ueschenen)
Four long pitches of increasing difficulty on excellent grey limestone: pocketed slab, a smooth friction crux on pitch 3, and a short, steep final wall on flat holds that gives the 6a. Varied and sustained for the grade, with a few short grassy ledges in between.
6aVI+5.10a4 pitches140 m