Multipitch Atlas

Sven Glückspilz

Sustenpass – South Slabs (Steingletscher) · Susten · Switzerland

Read the cautionsBail with caveatsBolting confidence: medium

An easy slab route on the right-hand part of the Platten, a grade harder in feel than its neighbours. A small pillar and flakes lead to slabs, a slanting quartzite vein, a crack and a final short wall on big holds. Some passages are surprisingly sustained for 4c.

Photo-topo of Sven Glückspilz on the right side of the Platten, with the five belays markedPhoto: Fabien Pierre · CC BY-SA 3.0

Topo

Photo-topo of Sven Glückspilz on the right side of the Platten, with the five belays markedPhoto: Fabien Pierre · CC BY-SA 3.0
Hardest pitch
4c
Pitches
5
Length
200 m
Approach
20 min
Aspect
S
South-facing
Rope
2×50 m
Read before you go

Listed as fully bolted, but equipped in 1985 with no recent report on the state of the bolts or belays.

The route

Overview

Sven Glückspilz is one of the three easy multipitch lines that make the Platten a favourite first-multipitch venue, alongside Jugendweg and Plattenweg. It starts on the right-hand (east) side of the slabs and gives five pitches of 4b and 4c on gneiss with small edges, flakes and one quartz vein. The route finding is obvious and you abseil the line. Protection details are thin: the route dates from 1985 and the sources read do not say when it was last re-equipped.

The climbing

Pitch by pitch

PitchGradeNotes
P14bStart up a small pillar that borders a steep slab on its left: flakes, a crack, then a delicate slab on small edges.
P24bA slab climbed diagonally up to the right.
P34cFollow an inclined quartzite vein, then a short steep step on a flake and the slab above.
P44bA crack, then slab. You cross a small grassy gully half-way up.
P54cA short vertical wall on big holds.

Getting there

Approach

To the parking

The slabs are above the Susten Pass road on the Bernese side, just above Steingletscher. Drive from Innertkirchen through Gadmen, or from Wassen over the pass. Park at the hairpin marked 1946 m (Himmelrank), about 3 km west of the pass. A seasonal postbus from Meiringen serves Steingletscher. The road is normally open as far as Steingletscher from mid-April and the pass itself opens later; when the road is still closed at Steingletscher you walk up it to the hairpin.

On foot · about 20 min

From the parking at point 1946 m a path leads to the foot of the slabs. It drops a little at first and passes two short rock steps fitted with chains (SAC grade T3). The SAC portal gives 20 minutes, or 35 minutes if the road is closed and you start from Steingletscher. The route starts on the right-hand (east) part of the slabs, with its name written at the foot.

Map of the walk-in

  • Crag
  • Parking

Loading map

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

Coordinates · crag

46.73555, 8.41077

Parking

46.73089, 8.42769

Steingletscher access point (camptocamp waypoint 117538); the lay-bys used for the crags are a little further up the pass road

Point from camptocamp waypoint 187365 (Sustenpass – Dalles S – Platten)

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

Abseil the route. Camptocamp gives 50 m abseils, so take two ropes.

Retreat

Bailing off the route

Bail with caveats

The normal descent is by abseil down the route, so retreat from any belay should work with two 50 m ropes. What is not confirmed is how the belays are rigged: on a neighbouring route in 2016 the belay bolts were not linked, so be ready to leave a maillon or cord.

Retreat from
Any belay, abseiling the line.
Point of no return
None documented.
Carry
Two 50 m ropes, plus a couple of maillons and some cord in case a belay has no abseil ring.
Basis
Part stated, part inferredCamptocamp states the abseil descent; the belay hardware is inferred from a 2016 report on the neighbouring Hörnligödel.

Partly inferred from the route facts

Safety

Hazards

  • The age and state of the bolts on this route are not confirmed by any recent report. On the neighbouring Hörnligödel a 2016 party found a mix of new hangers and old bent-plate ones and no linked belays.
  • Camptocamp notes passages that are sustained for the grade; the slabs rely on friction and small edges.
  • A party abseiling the next-door Plattenweg in 2009 got a rope stuck on the third abseil and had to climb back up.
  • The Platten are crowded on fine days, with parties abseiling over those climbing.

Sun and weather

Conditions

South-facing slabs at about 2000 to 2200 m beside the pass road, climbable roughly June to October once the road is open and the snow at the base has gone. Parties on neighbouring routes report dry rock into early November in a good autumn. The slabs are in full sun and dry quickly.

Usual season · Jun to Oct

Sun on the wall · S-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−4−31381215151171−3
Mean daily low °C−10−10−7−404774−0−6−9
Rain days 1 mm or more141315151821222016141515

● marks the usual climbing season. Averages for 1991-2020 at about 2008 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

Camptocamp lists a 50 m abseil rope and 10 quickdraws. Take two 50 m ropes for the abseils and slings in case the belay bolts are not linked. Helmet.

Checklist

Quickdraws
10
Rope
2×50 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
Cord
Mentioned for 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 Sven Glückspilz.

Worth knowing

Tips

  • It combines well with Jugendweg in a day, as the 2009 party did.
  • If you want a route with a documented recent rebolt at the same grade, Jugendweg (re-equipped 2015 according to the SAC portal) is the safer choice.

Open questions

Where sources disagree

  • Overall difficulty: the camptocamp photo-topo is labelled AD+ and 200 m; the route header gives the same. No source gives pitch lengths.
  • The SAC route portal entry is behind a login, so only its headline grade (4c) could be checked against camptocamp.

Provenance

Sources

Same area

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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.