Wiwannihorn – south-west face · Wiwanni (Baltschiedertal) · Switzerland
Bail with caveatsBolting confidence: high
The easiest bolted line to a 3001 m summit above the Wiwannihütte: compact slabs for the first half, then two pitches on a small ridge and a short scree walk to the cross. The thin slab move low down is the crux and feels harder than the old 4c grade. The down-climb of the west ridge is part of the day.
The route
Gemstritt climbs the south-west face of the Wiwannihorn in seven pitches, most of them grade 3 and 4, with one harder slab pitch near the bottom. The lower half is on compact slabs and the last two pitches follow a small ridge; from the last belay you walk up scree to the 3001 m summit. It was rebolted in 2015 and is climbed often, including by club groups and beginners on their first alpine multipitch. You climb at nearly 3000 m and come down a scrambling ridge, so it is a mountain route, not a crag route.
The climbing
| Pitch | Grade | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| P1 | 3c | Easy slab to start. Camptocamp gives 3b; a 2024 party in mountain boots still found this first slab awkward. |
| P2 | 5a | The crux: a thin slab move. The hut topo gives 5a, camptocamp 4c. In 2024 a large flake in the first metres, directly above the belay, looked unstable; you can pass without using it. |
| P3 | 4c+ | More compact slab; 4c on camptocamp. |
| P4 | 3a | Easy ground; 3b on camptocamp. |
| P5 | 4a | Slab and steps; 4b on camptocamp. |
| P6 | 4a | Onto the small ridge; 3b on camptocamp. |
| P7 | 3c | Along the ridge to the last belay; 3b on camptocamp. Easy scree leads from here to the summit. |
Getting there
Take the train to Ausserberg on the Lötschberg mountain line, or drive up from Visp. From the station the Wiwannihütte (2470 m) is a 4 h 30 walk. Most parties drive or take a taxi-bus (Taxi Zerzuben in Visp, or Taxi Yvonne in Ausserberg for small groups) up the forest road to Fuxtritt (1851 m), which saves 900 m of ascent and leaves about 1 h 30 on foot to the hut. The road beyond the village needs a permit: 5 CHF for the first day and 3 CHF for each further day, from the village shop, the parking machine in the upper village, or by app. Park on the verge above the timber yard at Fuxtritt and keep the turning place clear; a July 2026 party found the top parking closed for forestry work and parked lower. Camping and sleeping in vehicles are banned throughout the commune.
About 45 min from the Wiwannihütte. Take the path north through the scree (a snowfield early in the season) towards the south-west face. The start is about 100 m west (left) of the gully that splits the face in the middle; the route name is painted in blue at the foot. Papillon starts a little further left.
Loading map
The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.
Parking
Fuxtritt, 1851 m, end of the permit road above Ausserberg (camptocamp waypoint 240991)
Point from camptocamp waypoint 39718 (Wiwannihorn summit)
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.
Coordinates: 46.35495, 7.85620 (crag) · Parking: 46.32941, 7.85531
Getting down
From the top, follow the blue-marked west ridge down to the col: easy but exposed down-climbing at grade II to III with a few bolts on the steeper steps. At the lowest point two bolted stations give two abseils of about 20 m to the scree or snow below the slab, and a cairned path leads back to the hut. A July 2024 party had to abseil over a gap between rock and snow at the foot of the slab and found crampons and an axe very useful there. Allow about 2 h from summit to hut.
Retreat
Bail with caveats
The belays are bolted, but the hut states that abseiling the route is not recommended and no party reports doing it. From the lower slab pitches a retreat from belay to belay should be feasible; once on the upper ridge the normal way off is over the summit and down the west ridge.
Partly inferred from the route facts
Safety
Sun and weather
South-west face between about 2750 m and 3001 m. The hut season is summer; snowfields often lie at the foot of the face and below the descent abseils into mid-July (reports from June 2023 and July 2024, and frozen hard in July 2018). The slabs dry quickly. Afternoon storms are a real risk on a route that finishes on a summit.
Sun on the wall · SW-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.
| Measure | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul (usual season) | Aug (usual season) | Sep (usual season) | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean daily high °C | −8 | −7 | −3 | −0 | 4 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 8 | 4 | −3 | −8 |
| Mean daily low °C | −15 | −14 | −11 | −7 | −3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | −1 | −5 | −10 | −14 |
| Rain days 1 mm or more | 12 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 |
● marks the usual climbing season. Averages for 1991-2020 at about 2454 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
8 quickdraws and a single 50 m rope (hut topo and camptocamp). A few slings for the ridge and the descent. Helmet. Early in the season ask the hut warden whether you need an ice axe and crampons for the snowfields at the start and below the abseils.
Derived from the route data; check it against a current topo
From climbers
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 Gemstritt.
Worth knowing
Open questions
Provenance
Same area
Switzerland · Wiwanni (Baltschiedertal)
Eight short pitches of 4b to 5a on compact, grippy gneiss slabs above the Wiwannihütte, finishing on a 2880 m summit. Pitches 3 and 4 climb a big steep slab that is the heart of the route. Chained belays and an abseil descent make it the gentlest introduction to the Wiwanni routes, though the starting pitches feel stiff for 4b.
5a8 pitches180 m
Switzerland · Wiwanni (Baltschiedertal)
A 17-pitch bolted ridge to a 3001 m summit. Three slab and wall pitches of 5a and 5b come first, then a long run of grade 3 and 4 on the crest that many parties climb moving together, with one fine 5a in the middle. A full mountain day: the summit ridge beyond the last bolt and the scrambling descent are part of it.
5b17 pitches400 m
Read the cautions
Switzerland · Wiwanni (Baltschiedertal)
A popular eight-pitch line straight up the south-west face to within minutes of the 3001 m summit. Most of it is grade 4 on good gneiss, with two short 5b steps that are closely bolted; the upper one can be avoided on the left. It stays in the shade well into the morning and feels a little more like a mountain route near the top.
5b8 pitches250 m
Switzerland · Wiwanni (Baltschiedertal)
The only route that finishes directly on the 2924 m summit of the Gross Öugstchummuhorn. Structured slabs lead to an awkward chimney low down and two short, steep crux pitches of 5b+ and 5b near the top. The rock is solid but rounded, so you climb on your feet; the summit view of the Bietschhorn is the reward.
5b+8 pitches180 m
Around 5a · about 7 pitches
Germany · Ammergauer Alpen
The classic way up the Geiselstein, the 'Matterhorn of the Ammergau Alps'. After two scrappy pitches it follows a slabby corner system up the middle of the sunny south face: steep, exposed and on good rock, at about UIAA IV with one polished move of V at the start of the corner. The descent by the normal route needs as much care as the climb.
5a7 pitches260 m
Spain · Aragonese Pyrenees (Tena & Canfranc valleys)
An easy granite ridge above the Bozuelo meadows, low-angled and never exposed. Two smooth friction slabs at 5a, on pitches 1 and 6, are the only real difficulties; the rest is steps and short walls at grade 3 to 4. Ideal for a first multipitch, and you can step off rightwards onto ledges almost anywhere.
5a7 pitches200 m
Austria · Grazer Bergland
An easy ridge route up the left-hand end of the Rote Wand, first climbed in 1982. The rock is completely solid and the climbing uneven in difficulty, mostly UIAA 4 with a few moves of 4+ and 5. The hand-traverse on the penultimate pitch is the highlight. Somewhat polished.
5a7 pitches225 m
Read the cautions
France · Chamonix valley
Seven easy pitches up a string of separate buttresses east of the Brévent face, with a short walk between most of them and one 10 m abseil. Slabs, a corner-chimney and a couple of cracks at 4b to 5a, and you can walk off after almost any pitch. It is the usual first multipitch at the Brévent, so expect company.
5a7 pitches200 m
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.