Jegihorn – south face (Kreuzboden / Weissmieshütte) · Saas Valley · Switzerland
Bail with caveatsBolting confidence: high
The left edge of the Jegihorn's south face: a 1922 ridge climb turned into a bolted outing of many short pitches, mostly grade 3 and 4. The one real step is the red gendarme, a well-bolted pitch of 5a. More varied than Alpendurst, with slabs, a short steep wall and narrow sections of crest, and a summit finish at 3206 m.
The route
The Südkante follows the left-hand edge of the Jegihorn's south face over a prominent red gendarme to the summit cross. It was first climbed solo in 1922 and bolted in 2003, and it is now one of three easy bolted routes on the face, with Alpendurst and Panorama. The climbing is mostly grade 3 and 4 in short pitches, with two harder passages: the gendarme at 5a (some sources say 5a+) and a second 5a higher up that can be avoided by a gully on the left. A mountain guide who published a topo in 2024 rates it the best of the three for its variety and its views from the crest. Belays are close together and are often skipped.
The climbing
| Pitch | Grade | Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | 3c | 25 m | Dark slabs below the gendarme. |
| P2 | 3a | 25 m | Easy. |
| P3 | 3a | 15 m | Short pitch, then a walking transition up the grassy ramp that rises below the gendarme. |
| P4 | 3a | 20 m | Easy pitch after the ramp. |
| P5 | 4c | 25 m | The hardest pitch below the gendarme. The 2024 topo mentions a pale slab on the step leading to the gendarme, which can also be used as a direct start. |
| P6 | 3b | 22 m | Easier again. |
| P7 | 4b | 22 m | The pitch before the first 5a. |
| P8 | 5a | 20 m | The red gendarme: the crux, steep and very well bolted. Camptocamp's text and Summitpost call it 5a+. Several parties put rock shoes on for this pitch only. |
| P9 | 2 | 15 m | Narrow, exposed crest just after the gendarme. |
| P10 | 4a | 25 m | Continue up the ridge. |
| P11 | 5a | 28 m | On the crest at 5a, or avoid it by the grade 3 gully on the left. |
| P12 | 4a | 18 m | Short pitch. |
| P13 | 4a | 15 m | Short pitch. |
| P14 | 4a | 15 m | Short pitch. |
| P15 | 4a | 20 m | Pass an intermediate belay. |
| P16 | 3c | 18 m | Easier. |
| P17 | 4a | 18 m | Short pitch. |
| P18 | 3c | 15 m | Last pitch; about 30 m of rock steps lead to the summit. |
Getting there
Saas-Grund is in the Saas Valley above Visp (Valais); postbuses run from Visp station. Take the Hohsaas gondola from Saas-Grund to its middle station, Kreuzboden (2397 m). The lift is included in the SaastalCard that overnight guests in the valley receive (the valley campsite counts), and parking at the valley station was 12 CHF a day in 2022. Parties report the first cabin at about 7:30 in high summer. The alternative is to sleep at the Weissmieshütte (2726 m), about 30 minutes above Kreuzboden.
As for Alpendurst: from Kreuzboden follow the piste left and then the signposted Jegihorn path (JH arrows, blue-and-white marks), 1 h 15; from the Weissmieshütte about 30 to 45 minutes. The route starts on dark slabs in the fall line of the gendarme, before the path swings clearly left into rock steps; the bolts are easy to see. You can also start higher, directly up the pale slab of the step leading to the gendarme. Do not confuse it with a bolted line at the same height as Alpendurst and about 50 m to its left: a 2022 party found that this leads in one 50 m pitch to a grass slope, which you then have to climb leftwards to reach the proper starting slab.
Loading map
The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.
Parking
Kreuzboden gondola station, 2397 m (camptocamp waypoint 465854): the top of the lift from Saas-Grund, where the walk starts. Cars stay at the valley station in Saas-Grund.
Point from camptocamp waypoint 43177 (Jegihorn summit; the routes climb the south face directly below and finish at the summit cross). Summitpost gives 46.1513, 7.9712 for the same point.
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: 46.15146, 7.97017 (crag) · Parking: 46.13903, 7.96333
Getting down
On foot by the blue-and-white marked normal route from the summit, the same descent as Alpendurst: about 1 hour to the Weissmieshütte or Kreuzboden for a fit party (camptocamp allows 2 hours).
Retreat
Bail with caveats
No source describes abseiling the route. The belays are close together, but each is two unlinked bolts with no abseil hardware mentioned, so retreating means leaving your own gear. A September 2024 party did come down from pitch 4 when it started to snow; they do not say how. The lower pitches are easy-angled grade 3 with a grassy ramp alongside.
Partly inferred from the route facts
Safety
Sun and weather
South-east to south facing, 2900 m to 3206 m. Season roughly July to September. In late June 2024 there was still a modest snow patch at the foot of the face, passable without trouble; in late September 2024 one party was snowed off pitch 4 and came back the next day to rime in the morning, starting at midday. The same gondola timetable governs the day as for Alpendurst.
Sun on the wall · SE-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.
Climate figures for Saas Valley are not available yet
What to carry
10 quickdraws, a couple of slings to link the two-bolt belays, helmet. A 30 m rope is enough if you stop at every belay; with 50 m and a few extra quickdraws you can run pitches together. No cams or nuts. Mountain boots suit the route well; rock shoes help on the gendarme.
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 Südkante (South Ridge).
Worth knowing
Open questions
Provenance
Same area
Switzerland · Saas Valley
Fourteen pitches of steady 4b and 4c on good gneiss that finish at the summit cross of a 3206 m peak, reached from a gondola. It is the best-known plaisir route on the Jegihorn, closely bolted with chained belays, and often climbed in mountain boots as a first long alpine rock route. Expect company: it is very busy in high summer.
4c14 pitches350 m
Switzerland · Saas Valley
The right-hand of the Jegihorn's three easy bolted routes and the quietest. Ten long pitches up low-angled slabs and then a steeper, airy central section on sharp flakes and edges, finishing along a short crest to the 3206 m summit. Bolts are further apart than on Alpendurst and the belays are unlinked, so it suits a leader who is steady at 4c.
5a10 pitches360 m
Read the cautionsCommitting
Switzerland · Saas Valley
The 'digestion route': four 20 m pitches of grade 3 and 4 on solid gneiss, fifteen minutes above the Almagellerhütte at 2900 m. Very closely bolted, with iron rods to stand on at the two steepest steps, and well suited to practising in mountain boots or to a first multipitch after the walk up to the hut.
4b4 pitches80 m
Switzerland · Saas Valley
Ten short pitches of grade 4 on superb red-brown gneiss at 2900 m, ten minutes from the Almagellerhütte. Steep little slabs with good holds, closely bolted, and often climbed in mountain boots. An ideal first high-mountain multipitch or an afternoon route after the walk up to the hut.
4c10 pitches150 m
Around 5a · about 18 pitches
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
France · Chamonix valley
Nineteen very short pitches of easy slab above Les Bois, never harder than 4b and bolted like a climbing school. It is the standard first multipitch of the Chamonix valley, long enough to feel like a real outing and finishing at a mountain café with a view of the Mer de Glace.
4b19 pitches260 m
Italy · Arco & Valle del Sarca
This is the archetypal long, easy Arco slab, first climbed in 1971. It wanders up the lower bands and then improves into a superb water-worn chimney system in the upper half. It is very polished and very busy, so start early. Original grade 6- UIAA per bergsteigen.com; gulliver gives 5c max.
5c16 pitches400 m
Read the cautions
Italy · Val d'Ossola
A long, sunny friction-slab route of about 35 m pitches on excellent rock, ideal for learning footwork. The hardest move is a short crack-and-chimney finish on the last pitch. Allow about 3 h up and 1 h down.
5b13 pitches430 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.