Gasterix

Pfadflue – north-west face · Gastlosen · Switzerland

Read the cautions Bail with caveatsBolting confidence: high

The accessible long route on the shady north-west side of the Pfadflue: thirteen pitches of pocketed walls, slabs, cracks and big runnels, with a 7a wall of pockets at mid-height and two fine 6c pitches near the top. The hard moves can be aided on the close bolts. Grassy ledges break up the line and the last pitch is loose.

The north-west side of the Pfadflue from the snow slope below the start of Gasterix in early MayPhoto: gummi_flüsterer · CC BY-NC-ND 3.0

Hardest pitch: 7a
Pitches: 13
Length: 350 m
Approach: 60 min
Aspect: NW; North-west-facing
Rope: 2×50 m

Read before you go

Bolted very closely with chained belays, but the last pitch is loose, the walk-down has rotten fixed ropes and parties have been hurt near the top.

The route

Overview

Gasterix takes the north-west face of the Pfadflue, a side of the Gastlosen where most routes are 7b and harder. Opened in 2004, it finds a way at 6a to 6c with one 7a pitch, and it is bolted closely enough that parties climbing a grade or two below it get up with a few pulls on quickdraws. The rock on the main pitches is excellent, with pockets and craters unlike the south side's runnels, but grassy ledges interrupt the climbing. Treat the top of the route and the descent with respect: there has been an accident on the last pitch and an injury from a falling block near the summit.

The climbing

Pitch by pitch

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Pitches of Gasterix
Pitch	Grade	Length	Notes
P1	6a	40 m	A vertical wall seamed with wide, grassy cracks and runnels for about 30 m, then a series of grass ledges; the belay is up to the right.
P2	5c	40 m	Steep on good holds with a physical move through a small cracked overhang less than 10 m above the belay. Stop at the belay, a little right behind a tree; running on gives terrible rope drag.
P3	3a	–	A walk left along a grass ledge, about 20 m, then a few metres up to a two-bolt belay. Do not follow the fixed ropes, which belong to the descent; the route continues about 5 m left of them.
P4	6a	–	Up and left through grass, then a vertical wall on good holds and crater-like pockets.
P5	6b+	–	Yellow, rougher rock left of the belay, following pockets and cracks up a compact wall to an airy, physical move on the prow. Goes at 6a with two points of aid. Camptocamp gives 6b.
P6	5c	–	Short, on good holds and water-drop rock, crossing from one pillar to another.
P7	7a	35 m	A few slab moves, then a slightly overhanging wall of pockets that are not all positive; the crux is at the fourth bolt, at the lip. Then a crack up and left, a pillar passed on the right, and straight up. Closely bolted and possible A0. It can be avoided on the right from the previous belay by two easier pitches (camptocamp gives a 40 m 5c).
P8	5b	–	Grassy start, then a traverse up and left to a steep slab with a few technical moves. Extend your quickdraws.
P9	6b	–	A steep slab with good holds that need finding, then a physical move in a short chimney or over a small cracked overhang. Goes at 5c with one point of aid.
P10	6c	35 m	A slabby plinth, then a vertical wall on small holds and welcome pockets.
P11	6c	35 m	Straight up a slab, left towards a flared crack, a technical move back right, then a corner and fine runnels where you cannot relax.
P12	5c	30 m	A less obvious move above the belay, then easier up a big runnel.
P13	5b	–	Blocks and grass on poor rock. Camptocamp flags an accident on this pitch; climb it with care or stop below it.

Getting there

Approach

To the parking

From Jaun (canton Fribourg) turn right at the 'skilift' sign and follow the road signed Sattel and Chalet du Soldat to its end at the Chli Sattel car park (1420 m). No public transport reaches the car park; buses run to Jaun.

On foot · about 60 min

From Chli Sattel walk towards the Chalet du Soldat, then take the path left towards the Oberberg col at about 1600 m (not the first path at 1550 m). At about 1700 m take the right-hand fork back towards the Chalet du Soldat. The path arrives just left of the foot of the route: traverse 20 m left to find 'Gasterix' painted in red. About 1 hour. A faint path bypasses the first two pitches when the slabs are wet.

Map of the walk-in

Crag
Parking

Loading map

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

Coordinates · crag

46.57867, 7.27381

Parking

46.58882, 7.27002

Chli Sattel, end of the road above Jaun (camptocamp waypoint 113911)

Point from camptocamp waypoint 41643 (Pfadflue summit; the route is on the north-west face)

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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

Abseil. From the top use the route's belays for the last two pitches to reach belay 11 (they can be joined, at the risk of a jammed rope). From there an independent abseil line, right of the route and marked with fading red arrows, drops in four straight abseils to the ledge at the foot of the pitch above the grass transition. Walk 20 m to the next belay, make a short 20 m abseil, then a 50 m abseil to the grass ledge of pitch 3. Finish on foot down the path that bypasses the first two pitches, with a few down-climbing steps; the fixed ropes there were unusable in 2021 and short abseils are possible instead. Allow about 2 hours.

Retreat

Bailing off the route

Bail with caveats

All belays are chained and the descent is by abseil, so retreat is practical, but it is not a simple reverse of the route. Below pitch 4 you walk off; higher up you abseil the pitches or join the marked abseil line right of the route, which runs from belay 11 down to the mid-height ledge in four abseils.

Retreat from: From the grass ledge of pitch 3 you can walk down. From higher belays abseil the route or join the marked abseil line to its right.
Point of no return: None stated. The 7a pitch has a bypass on the right and the hard pitches can be aided, so continuing is usually possible too.
Carry: 2×50 m ropes. Do not rely on the fixed ropes on the walk-down; be ready to make short abseils there.
Basis: Part stated, part inferredThe abseil line, chained belays and walk-down are stated on camptocamp and in trip reports; retreat from individual mid-route belays is inferred.

Partly inferred from the route facts

Safety

Hazards

The last pitch is on poor rock and camptocamp records an accident there.
In June 2026 a large block gave way under a climber moving right of the route at the top and injured his foot. Stay on the line and on the marked abseils.
The fixed ropes on the walk-down below pitch 3 were described as rotten and unusable in 2021; a tree has also fallen across the down-climb.
Ropes have jammed on the abseils, including at the 6b+ pitch.
Grass ledges leave earth on your shoes before hard friction moves.

Sun and weather

Conditions

North-west facing between about 1770 m and 2068 m, so it is in the shade for much of the day and suits hot summer weather. In early May 2026 there was still snow at the foot of the face, which made the end of the descent awkward in rock shoes. Seeps appear on the first pitch and near the top after a storm but dry quickly.

Usual season · Jun to Sep

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Sun on the wall · NW-facing

Working out the sunlit hours for this month.

January: not yet worked out
February: not yet worked out
March: not yet worked out
April: not yet worked out
May: not yet worked out
June (usual season): not yet worked out
July (usual season): not yet worked out
August (usual season): not yet worked out
September (usual season): not yet worked out
October: not yet worked out
November: not yet worked out
December: not yet worked out
060912151821

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.

Monthly climate averages for Gastlosen, 1991-2020
Measure	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun (usual season)	Jul (usual season)	Aug (usual season)	Sep (usual season)	Oct	Nov	Dec
Mean daily high °C	−3	−2	2	5	10	14	16	16	12	9	2	−2
Mean daily low °C	−11	−10	−7	−5	−1	4	6	6	3	−1	−6	−10
Rain days 1 mm or more	14	12	14	16	20	20	20	18	15	13	13	14

● marks the usual climbing season. Averages for 1991-2020 at about 1766 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

2×50 m ropes and 16 quickdraws, 18 if you want to clip everything, several of them extendable. Helmet. Take approach shoes up to the top of pitch 3, because the descent finishes on foot from there.

Checklist

Quickdraws: 16
Rope: 2×50 m
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 Gasterix.

Worth knowing

Tips

Allow about 6 hours for the climb.
If you aid, the hardest obligatory climbing is said to be about 6a to 6b, though one 2026 climber felt it was more than 6a on the lead.
The abseil stations are separate from most of the belays, so several parties can be on the face without getting in each other's way.
Pitches 4, 5, 10 and 11 are the ones parties single out.

Open questions

Where sources disagree

Pitch count and grades: the camptocamp table has 15 lines, counting two grade 2 transitions and the 5c bypass of the 7a separately, and gives the fifth pitch as 6b and one later pitch as 6a/b. The 13-pitch breakdown used here is the guidebook's, as quoted in a 2021 trip report, and matches the 13 pitches described by a 2026 party. Pitch lengths are camptocamp's where the two lists clearly correspond.
Obligatory grade: camptocamp's header gives 6b+ obligatory, while its text says everything above 6a/b can be aided.
Quickdraws: 16 on camptocamp; a 2016 party recommends 18.

Provenance

Sources

Camptocamp – Pfadflue: GasterixUsed for: approach, pitch lengths, bolting, A0 options, descent, gear, history
Camptocamp – trip reports 2016–2026 (outings 1926927, 1918020, 1902505, 1341876, 788832)Used for: 13-pitch breakdown, pitch descriptions, bolting comments, fixed ropes, block fall, snow, timings
Camptocamp – Chli Sattel accessUsed for: road access and parking

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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.