Multipitch Atlas

Ostgrat (East Ridge)

Wiwannihorn – east ridge · Wiwanni (Baltschiedertal) · Switzerland

Read the cautionsBail with caveatsBolting confidence: high

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.

The Wiwannihorn from near the hut; the east ridge is the right-hand skylinePhoto: Damien Theytaz · CC BY-NC-ND 3.0

Photo

The Wiwannihorn from near the hut; the east ridge is the right-hand skylinePhoto: Damien Theytaz · CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
Hardest pitch
5b
Pitches
17
Length
400 m
Approach
40 min
Aspect
E
East-facing
Rope
1×50 m
Read before you go

The 17 pitches are bolted with chained belays, but the first slab is run-out and the summit ridge and descent are unbolted alpine scrambling.

The route

Overview

The east ridge is the long plaisir ridge of the Wiwannihorn, the 3001 m peak above the Wiwannihütte. Its 17 pitches follow the crest closely. The difficulties are at the bottom: a delicate slab, a slightly overhanging step of 5b and another 5a pitch. After that the ridge eases to grade 3 and 4, with a short traverse left after the eighth pitch to a fine slab. Belays are chained and the pitches are bolted, but when the bolts end you still have an airy, unprotected crest to the summit cross and a scrambling descent with two abseils. Parties take between 3 and 6 hours for the route alone.

The climbing

Pitch by pitch

PitchGradeNotes
P15aA fine slab that is very much a head game: you must trust your feet, with a thin move before a clip at about two-thirds height. Several parties rate it the crux, especially in boots, and one calls the bolts very spaced.
P25bOne slightly overhanging move of 5b, on big holds. Camptocamp calls this the crux.
P35aLast of the harder opening pitches; parties change from rock shoes to boots around the fourth belay.
P44aOn the crest.
P54aOn the crest.
P63cEasy ridge, often climbed moving together.
P73cEasy ridge.
P84aThere are two belays 4 m apart before the traverse; take the upper one.
P92Short traverse to the left.
P105aA fine slab, called the classiest pitch of the route by one party and nearer 5b by another.
P113cEasier.
P124bOne party found this pitch hard work in boots.
P134bOn the crest.
P144aFirst of four easy, flowing final pitches.
P154aEasy.
P164aEasy.
P174aEnd of the bolted route. Continue along the airy, unbolted ridge (spikes for slings) to the summit cross, 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Getting there

Approach

To the parking

Take the train to Ausserberg (Lötschberg mountain line) or drive there from Visp. From the station the hut is a 4 h 30 walk. Most people drive or take a taxi-bus up the forest road to Fuxtritt (1851 m), which saves 900 m of ascent and leaves about 1 h 30 on foot to the Wiwannihütte (2470 m). The road 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; parties report 100 CHF fines for not paying. Parking at Fuxtritt is very limited (park on the verge above the timber yard and keep the turning place clear), and camping or sleeping in vehicles is banned throughout the commune.

On foot · about 40 min

From the hut follow the via ferrata path (blue-and-white marks), then a succession of boulder fields past a cross to a large red mark. Many white dots and arrows and cairns show the way. The route starts a little left of the red mark, with bolts clearly visible on the slab. Camptocamp gives 30 minutes; parties report 40 minutes to 1 hour, longer when a snow patch has to be crossed.

Map of the walk-in

  • Crag
  • Parking

Loading map

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

Coordinates · crag

46.35495, 7.85620

Parking

46.32941, 7.85531

Fuxtritt, 1851 m (camptocamp waypoint 240991): end of the Ausserberg toll road, about 1 h 30 below the Wiwannihütte

Point from camptocamp waypoint 39718 (Wiwannihorn summit, where the ridge ends)

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

From the summit follow the west ridge, marked with blue paint and with a few bolts, down to the col: exposed down-climbing at II to III that most parties do unroped or moving together. At the col make two abseils to the foot of the slab; camptocamp gives 2 × 20 m, parties measured about 25 m and 30 m, and it works with a single 50 m rope. Use the second abseil station you come to, at the lowest point, not the first. A cairned path then leads back to the hut. Allow 2 to 2 h 30 from the summit.

Retreat

Bailing off the route

Bail with caveats

No source describes a retreat. Every belay is chained with a maillon, which suggests you could abseil the lower pitches, but the route is a ridge with a traverse at pitch 9 and parties report many pitches close to 50 m, so a single rope will not reach. Once on the upper ridge the practical way off is over the summit.

Retreat from
The first three or four pitches, which are on the steep lower step (inferred).
Point of no return
Not documented; treat the traverse at pitch 9 as the point after which you continue to the top.
Carry
Two ropes to abseil full pitches; the stations already have maillons.
Basis
Inferred from the route factsCamptocamp states only that all belays are chained with a maillon. Pitch lengths near 50 m come from a 2025 report. Nobody documents abseiling the route.

Partly inferred from the route facts

Safety

Hazards

  • The bolts stop at the top of the route. The ridge to the summit cross is unprotected and exposed, and the descent ridge is grade II to III down-climbing: this is where care is needed.
  • A long day at 3000 m: parties from the valley car park report 9 to 15 hours in total. Thunderstorms are a serious matter on a ridge with no quick way off.
  • The first pitch is a bold slab with spaced bolts.
  • Rock on the crest needs some attention in places.
  • Early-season snow at the base and on the descent.

Sun and weather

Conditions

East-facing, from about 2600 m to 3001 m: sun in the morning, and cold and windy on top late in the season. Season roughly July to September. A snow patch lies at the foot early in the season and crampons can then be useful; in late June 2022 and late July 2024 the approach was clear or needed only a short crossing.

Usual season · Jul to Sep

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−8−7−3−049121284−3−8
Mean daily low °C−15−14−11−7−3133−1−5−10−14
Rain days 1 mm or more121113131616161312121313

● 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

Gear

10 quickdraws, a 50 m rope, a few slings for the ridge and the descent, helmet. No cams or nuts. Rock shoes are worth having for the first three or four pitches; the rest goes in boots or approach shoes.

Checklist

Quickdraws
10
Rope
1×50 m
Helmet
One each
Abseil device and prusik
The descent or the retreat involves abseiling
Maillons or spare karabiners
To leave behind if you retreat

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 Ostgrat (East Ridge).

Worth knowing

Tips

  • The Wiwannihütte is the base (half board 67 CHF in 2024; no drinking water on tap, so parties buy bottles or treat the fountain water). In 2026 it was wardened until 18 October.
  • Efficient parties pitch the first three and then move together with 15 to 20 m of rope between them, clipping the bolts.
  • Several parties think the grades are a little low: the first pitch nearer 5b in boots, the tenth nearer 5b.
  • Budget the summit ridge and the descent, about 3 hours on top of the route time.

Open questions

Where sources disagree

  • 2004 is given both as the year the route was opened and as the year it was re-equipped (camptocamp history against camptocamp summary).
  • Crux: pitch 2 (5b) according to camptocamp; pitch 1 according to most parties. A 2025 party would grade pitch 1 at 5b, pitch 2 at 5a and pitch 10 at 5b.
  • Approach time: 30 minutes (camptocamp) against 40 to 60 minutes in reports.
  • Abseil lengths at the col: 2 × 20 m (camptocamp) against about 25 m and 30 m (2023 report).

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.