Welschenrohr – Glatti Flue · Grand Val Jura (Grandval & Welschenrohr) · Switzerland
An aesthetic pillar above Welschenrohr in the Solothurn Jura: six pitches of technical, old-school Jura climbing on stainless bolts, saving the best for a steep, sustained 6c last pitch. Pitch 2 is 7a by the left-hand variant or 6c on the right. Closed April to June for chamois.
Climbing mode: Big type, screen kept awake, tick pitches as you go.
Highest point 1075 m above sea level (camptocamp route 1366535).
Excellent stainless bolting, but stonefall at the base and a seasonal climbing ban from April to June.
7aVIII5.11d6 pitches · 140 mEasy to bail
Hydra climbs the pillar of the Glatti Flue above Welschenrohr, north of Solothurn, in six pitches of about 20 to 35 m. The first ascent was in 1985 and it was rebolted around 2018 with stainless bolts. The grades are old-school: a 2023 party found it hard for the numbers and recommends a solid 6c level, with 6b obligatory on the last pitch. The first half is less interesting climbing on fair rock; the top pitch, a steep wall in a big setting on near-perfect rock, is the highlight.
The atlas doesn't show topos: they are the work of the people who bolt and document these routes. See the topo in Kletterführer extrem Jura.
| Pitch | Grade | Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | 6aVI+5.10a | 25 m | Fairly short and easy along a line of weakness; rock a bit doubtful (2023 party: 5c/5c+). |
| P2 | 7aVIII5.11d | 20 m | Left-hand variant: up, then along under an overhang before crossing it on big, spaced holds with friction feet. The right-hand variant shares the start, hooks right then traverses back left at 6c. |
| P3 | 6a+VII-5.10b | 25 m | Technical slab, a bit dirty and lichenous, on friction and poor edges (2023: 6a+/6b). |
| P4 | 5cVI5.9 | 20 m | Transition pitch on good holds up a vegetated slab; a favourite of the 2023 party. |
| P5 | 6b+VII+5.10d | 20 m | Physical, technical oblique crack on good but spaced holds with few footholds, then the crest of the pillar (2023: 6b+/6c). |
| P6 | 6cVIII-5.11b | 35 m | The key pitch and the best: a steep, sustained vertical wall with some slab moves and some obligatory moves, in a great position. |
Drive to Welschenrohr (canton Solothurn), enter the village at the church and follow yellow hiking signs to the cemetery car park; the road is closed beyond. Parking is limited to 4 hours with a disc; if you need longer, park about 200 m lower opposite the church.
About 30 minutes (1 km). Follow the road towards the cliff through a large farm. About 60 m past the fence above it, take a faint tractor track left across the meadow for about 300 m, through one fence and along a second to a turnstile. Continue on the track, bearing slightly right, for about 200 m to a wooden bench; just before it take the hairpin right to the foot of the scree. Climb the scree, best keeping to the right, to a cairn and a faint path that leads to the foot of the pillar; a green stone marks the start.
Loading map
The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.
Coordinates · crag
Point from camptocamp waypoint 1366525 (Welschenrohr)
Contains the route point.
Points from published sources, not surveyed.
Coordinates: 47.28884, 7.52789 (crag)
Abseil the route. With 50 m ropes: belay 6 to 4 (can be split in two to limit the risk of jamming), belay 4 to 2 straight down the slab, belay 2 to the ground (re-clip a bolt or two to avoid the trees). With 35 m: 6 to 5, 5 to 3, 3 to 1, 1 to the ground.
Easy to bail
Abseiling the route is the normal descent, in three 50 m or four 35 m abseils, so you can retreat from any belay. The 2023 party advises splitting the top abseil to avoid jamming.
Switzerland
1414Rega air rescue
Rega air rescue
In Valais call 144.
Position of the crag
47.28884, 7.52789
Marks the crag, not the route: give route and pitch.
Say what happened, how many are hurt, and where you are. Checked October 2026 (sourceofficial sources).
10 quickdraws plus belay gear. Double ropes 2×50 m, or a single rope of at least 70 m for the abseils.
South-facing at about 1000 to 1100 m. Climbing is banned from April to June to protect chamois; autumn is the best time, and summer is very hot. Do not go during freeze-thaw or when there is snow on the mountain: a February 2023 party retreated after one pitch under constant stonefall.
Forecast · next 7 days · 1075 m
Loading the forecast.
| Measure | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High °C | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Low °C | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Rain mm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Chance of rain % | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Strongest gusts km/h | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Model forecast for 1075 m. It cannot tell you whether the rock is dry. Data: Open-Meteo, CC BY 4.0.
Time plan · 6 pitches
Working out sunrise and sunset.
An estimate. Queues and route finding cost time, and shaded walls go dark before sunset. Local time (Central European time), flat horizon.
Sun on the wall · S-facing
Working out the sunlit hours for this month.
Sun on the wallDaylight, wall in shade● Usual season
From the aspect alone; terrain is ignored. Local time, 15th of each month.
| Measure | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul (usual season) | Aug (usual season) | Sep (usual season) | Oct (usual season) | Nov (usual season) | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean daily high °C | 2 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 15 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 16 | 12 | 6 | 3 |
| Mean daily low °C | −4 | −4 | −1 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 8 | 4 | −1 | −3 |
| Rain days 1 mm or more | 13 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 14 |
● usual season. 1991-2020 averages at about 936 m; rain is for a 10–25 km grid cell. Weather and climate data: Open-Meteo, CC BY 4.0.
Straight-line distances, up to 30 km.
No reports yet.
Around 7a · about 6 pitches
Greece · Leonidio & Kyparissi
The route that opened Kokkinovrachos to sport multi-pitch climbing: six long pitches up the centre-right of the red wall, sustained at 6b+ to 6c with one technical 7a crux that can be aided on two bolts. Rated three stars locally and more sustained than Aramis.
7aVIII5.11d7aVIII5.11d6 pitches180 m
Morocco · Todra Gorge (Todgha)
Steep, fingery wall climbing that starts with your feet almost in the stream at the gorge entrance. The 7a second pitch is hard for only 2 to 3 metres and can be swapped for a 6b pitch on the neighbouring route, after which three pitches of 6b+ to 6c+ on pocketed and edgy rock lead to the top. Abseil descent.
7aVIII5.11d7aVIII5.11d6 pitches200 m
Read the cautions
France · Baou de Saint-Jeannet
A modern bolted line up the left side of the Baou, starting beside the Péril Jaune cave: six varied pitches on unpolished rock, with a steep 6c wall and a fine crack and corner finishing with one hard move (7a on the topo, 6c or 6c+ to most parties). Two walking transitions through scrub break the climbing, so it has less exposure than the routes on the main face.
7aVIII5.11d7aVIII5.11d6 pitches230 m
France · Vanoise (Grand Bec)
A short, wild, modern route on the grey limestone of the Petite Aiguille de l'Arcelin, in two halves: thin, technical slab low down, including a sustained 6b+ with obligatory moves, then steep walls with a very sustained 7a pitch of two bouldery cruxes. Seldom climbed for its quality.
7aVIII5.11d7aVIII5.11d6 pitches190 m
Read the cautions
Researched and aggregated by AI from published sources, last compiled October 2026. It can be wrong, and bolts, anchors and access change: check a current guidebook and read the disclaimer.