Multipitch Atlas

Fliegender Teppich

Gerstenegg – Fliegender Teppich slab (Chüenzentennlen) · Grimsel · Switzerland

Bail with caveatsBolting confidence: medium

The 'flying carpet': nine long pitches of sweeping, immaculate granite slab at the left end of the Gerstenegg, with a superb layback crack on pitch 4 and two short steeper steps. Very popular, quick and never strenuous; the difficulty is all in trusting your feet. The 5b step on pitch 1 goes at 4c with a pull on a bolt.

Photo-topo of Fliegender Teppich at Gerstenegg, with belays and pitch gradesPhoto: Jerry Magnin · CC BY-SA 3.0

Topo

Photo-topo of Fliegender Teppich at Gerstenegg, with belays and pitch gradesPhoto: Jerry Magnin · CC BY-SA 3.0
Hardest pitch
5b
Pitches
9
Length
385 m
Approach
15 min
Aspect
E
East-facing
Rope
1×50 m to walk off, 2×50 m to abseil

The route

Overview

Fliegender Teppich is the left-most route on the lower Gerstenegg slabs, a few minutes above the Chüenzentennlen car park. It runs for nine pitches of 40 to 50 m up a clean sheet of granite, mostly at 4b to 5a, with one 5b step low down (4c with aid) and another on pitch 6. The middle pitches, the 'carpet' itself, are the ones people remember. It forms the first third of the Grimsel-Marathon link-up and is the usual first route for anyone new to the area. Expect several parties on a fine weekend.

The climbing

Pitch by pitch

PitchGradeLengthNotes
P15b47 mSlab, then a short vertical step that is not friction climbing and feels odd, then slab. 4c with one pull on a bolt.
P24b45 mGentle slab.
P33c23 mShort slab; follow the right-hand bolts. The belay is on a single bolt.
P45a48 mThe start of the carpet: slab with a superb layback crack.
P54c50 mMore of the carpet. One non-trivial move, then easy padding with long gaps between bolts and some rope drag below the belay.
P65b45 mA short, nearly vertical wall, then slab.
P74b38 mEasy slab.
P85a41 mSlab.
P94b48 mSlab and cracks to the top. Camptocamp labels this stretch 'pitches 9 to 10'.

Getting there

Approach

To the parking

The Gerstenegg and Räterichsbodensee slabs lie beside the Grimsel pass road, between Guttannen and the pass, reached from Meiringen and Innertkirchen on the Bernese side or over the pass from the Valais. The road is open roughly from May or June to October or November, depending on snow. There are car parks at Chüenzentennlen (1596 m), about 1 km below the Räterichsbodensee dam between the hairpins and the tunnel, and at the dam itself (1767 m). A PostBus runs from June to October and stops at both. Hotel Handeck, a few kilometres down the valley, has rooms and a dormitory; discreet bivouacs are tolerated at best.

On foot · about 15 min

From Chüenzentennlen follow the path towards the slabs, joining the path from the Räterichsbodensee, and cross a bridge. About 20 m after the bridge a track goes left through the scrub to the foot of the slab. Fliegender Teppich is the left-most route and starts from a small ledge. 15 minutes; one party took an hour after looking for it on the slab near Foxie.

Map of the walk-in

  • Crag
  • Parking

Loading map

The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.

Coordinates · crag

46.59531, 8.30986

Parking

46.59839, 8.32478

Chüenzentennlen (camptocamp waypoint 183010)

Point from camptocamp waypoint 180392 (Grimsel, Gerstenegg, the group of slabs; the route is at its lower left end)

For your phone or watch

Download GPX

Contains the route point and parking. Opens in most mapping apps and GPS watches.

Points are compiled from published sources, with the precision stated above. They were not surveyed on the ground: check them against a current topo.

Getting down

Descent

The practical way is on foot: from the top a well-marked track leads to the Azalée Beach sector, from where a good footpath returns to the car park. Allow about an hour car to car after the top. You can also abseil the route with 2×50 m ropes.

Retreat

Bailing off the route

Bail with caveats

Camptocamp gives abseiling the route as an alternative descent with 2×50 m ropes, so retreat by abseil is feasible. Two caveats: the pitch 3 belay is a single bolt, and the pitches are 40 to 50 m long, so a party on one 50 m rope cannot abseil them.

Retreat from
Any belay with two ropes; treat the single-bolt belay of pitch 3 as a station to pass, not to abseil from.
Point of no return
None stated; from the upper pitches the walk-off is quicker.
Carry
2×50 m ropes. A party climbing on a single rope should plan to top out.
Basis
Part stated, part inferredThe abseil option and rope length are stated on camptocamp; the caveats are inferred from its pitch lengths and belay note.

Partly inferred from the route facts

Safety

Hazards

  • Long run-outs on the easy slab of pitch 5, where a slide would hurt.
  • The pitch 3 belay is a single bolt.
  • Pitches of 47 to 50 m leave no spare rope on a 50 m single.
  • Road noise from the pass makes communication difficult on busy days.

Sun and weather

Conditions

East facing between about 1600 m and 1900 m, in the sun in the morning. It needs dry rock. A 2021 party learned that the pink streaks of the granite are slick and the rest grips. Climbable from June to October while the pass road and bus are running.

Usual season · Jun to Oct

Sun on the wall · E-facing

Working out the sunlit hours for this month.

Sun on the wallDaylight, wall in shade● Usual season

Estimated from the wall's aspect only. Ignores surrounding terrain, gullies and the wall's exact shape. Clock times are local to the wall (Central European time), for the 15th of each month.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Mean daily high °C−3−12591417171382−2
Mean daily low °C−8−8−5−2268951−4−8
Rain days 1 mm or more141215151819201815141515

● marks the usual climbing season. Averages for 1991-2020 at about 1777 m. Area climate from Open-Meteo reanalysis. Temperatures are adjusted to the height of the crag; rain comes from a grid cell of about 10 to 25 km, and summer highs on sea cliffs can read a few degrees low. The wall and valley can differ. Data: Open-Meteo, CC BY 4.0.

What to carry

Gear

11 quickdraws plus what you need for belays; a 50 m rope if you walk down or 2×50 m to abseil. Pitches are up to 50 m, so a single rope must be a full 50 m. No cams or nuts needed. Helmet.

Checklist

Quickdraws
11
Rope
1×50 m to walk off, 2×50 m to abseil
Helmet
One each
Abseil device and prusik
The descent or the retreat involves abseiling

Derived from the route data; check it against a current topo

From climbers

Reader reports

Reader reports are not being collected yet. Until they are, check a current topo and the local club or guidebook publisher for recent changes to Fliegender Teppich.

Worth knowing

Tips

  • Most parties take 2 to 3 hours on the route.
  • Arrive early at weekends: at 8:30 one Sunday there were already three parties on or below the route.
  • From the top it is 10 minutes to the start of Ameisenrennen and a short walk to Foxie, either of which doubles the day.

Open questions

Where sources disagree

  • Pitch count: the camptocamp table has nine lines, the last labelled 'pitches 9 to 10'; trip reports count nine. Nine is used here.
  • Length: the nine pitch lengths on camptocamp add up to 385 m, while its height field gives 270 m.
  • Crag name: camptocamp files the route under Gerstenegg; the SAC portal lists it under 'Grimsel, Dom' at 5b.
  • The SAC page is for subscribers and only its grade and listing could be read.

Provenance

Sources

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Compiled from published sources and last verified October 2026. Bolts, anchors and access change. Climbing is dangerous and you are responsible for your own decisions: check a current topo and read the disclaimer.