Switzerland · Grimsel
Sagittarius
A Grimsel granite classic: low-angle slabs lead to the famous 6a+ crack pitches and a thin 6b traverse, then steeper, sculpted ground. Sustained at 5c/6a throughout.
6b13 pitches400 m
Tim und Struppi
Räterichsbodensee – Seeplatten · Grimsel · Switzerland
Read the cautionsEasy to bailBolting confidence: high
Ten pitches of smooth granite friction slab straight above the lakeside path of the Räterichsbodensee, a little easier than its neighbour Grimselstrom. The climbing is almost effortless physically and entirely in the head, with stiff Grimsel grading. A few faint cracks break up the slab.
- Hardest pitch
- 5c
- Pitches
- 10
- Length
- 400 m
- Approach
- 20 min
- Aspect
- E
- East-facing
- Rope
- 2×50 m
Read before you go
Partly rebolted in 2024 and 2025 and declared climbable, but the sector suffered a rockfall in 2022 and debris still lies on the ledges.
The route
Overview
Tim und Struppi (the German name of Tintin and Snowy) is one of the long plaisir slabs on the Seeplatten, the granite sheets that drop to the path along the west shore of the Räterichsbodensee. It has ten pitches up to 5c, with an easy start, a walking transition and then six pitches of sustained friction. The sector was hit by a rockfall in June 2022 and the lakeside path was closed in summer 2023; Filidor reported in June 2025 that the path is open and that this route has been partly re-equipped and can be climbed again. At the top you can cross right to Lady Mary for six harder pitches.
The climbing
Pitch by pitch
4a4b2c5a5b5b5c5a4c5b
| Pitch | Grade | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| P1 | 4a | Easy slab. |
| P2 | 4b | Slab. |
| P3 | 2c | A transition pitch with two or three bolts for direction, which can be moved together. Take care crossing the gully. |
| P4 | 5a | A very attractive, varied pitch. |
| P5 | 5b | Proper climbing now, ending with a thin traverse right to the belay. |
| P6 | 5b | More slab. |
| P7 | 5c | A shade steeper; the crux. |
| P8 | 5a | Slab. |
| P9 | 4c | Slab. |
| P10 | 5b | Slab to the top. Lady Mary (6a, 6a+, 6a+, 6b, 5b, 5b) starts to the right. |
Getting there
Approach
To the parking
The Gerstenegg and Räterichsbodensee slabs lie beside the Grimsel pass road, between Guttannen and the pass, reached from Meiringen and Innertkirchen on the Bernese side or over the pass from the Valais. The road is open roughly from May or June to October or November, depending on snow. There are car parks at Chüenzentennlen (1596 m), about 1 km below the Räterichsbodensee dam between the hairpins and the tunnel, and at the dam itself (1767 m). A PostBus runs from June to October and stops at both. Hotel Handeck, a few kilometres down the valley, has rooms and a dormitory; discreet bivouacs are tolerated at best.
On foot · about 20 min
From the car park at the Räterichsbodensee dam, cross the dam and follow the path cut into the rock along the far shore of the lake; the routes start directly from the path after 15 to 20 minutes. The name is painted in red at the start, discreetly and only in part ('Tim...'). Filidor's 2025 topo also marks an older start beside the present one.
Map of the walk-in
- Crag
- Parking
Loading map
The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.
Parking
46.59062, 8.32794
Räterichsbodensee dam (camptocamp waypoint 133701)
Point from camptocamp waypoint 41600 (Grimsel, Räterichsbodensee, Seeplatten)
For your phone or watch
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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: 46.58285, 8.32338 (crag) · Parking: 46.59062, 8.32794
Getting down
Descent
Abseil the route with 2×50 m ropes; the second abseil is exactly 50 m, so knot the ends. Filidor warned in 2025 that rubble from the rockfall still lies on the ledges and asks for particular care when abseiling and pulling ropes.
Retreat
Bailing off the route
Easy to bail
Abseiling the route is the normal descent, so you can retreat from any belay with two 50 m ropes. Since the 2022 rockfall there is loose rubble on the ledges, so abseil and pull ropes carefully, above all with parties below.
- Retreat from
- Any belay.
- Point of no return
- None.
- Carry
- 2×50 m ropes with knotted ends; the second abseil from the top is a full 50 m.
- Basis
- Stated in the sourcesCamptocamp gives the abseil descent and Filidor's 2025 news warns about debris when abseiling.
Safety
Hazards
- Rockfall in June 2022 damaged routes in this sector and loose debris remains on the ledges. Check for current notices on the Filidor site and at the dam before going.
- The lakeside path was closed for rockfall risk in summer 2023; it was reported open again in June 2025.
- Bolts are spaced on the easier slab and falls on friction slab are long slides.
- The second abseil uses the full 50 m.
- Take care in the gully crossing on pitch 3.
Sun and weather
Conditions
East facing slab from about 1790 m, in the sun in the morning. Friction climbing needs fully dry rock, and lichen on the Seeplatten is slippery. Low cloud often sits in the valley in the morning and lifts. The pass road normally opens in late spring and the bus runs June to October.
Usual season · Jun to Sep
JFMAMJJASOND
Sun on the wall · E-facing
Working out the sunlit hours for this month.
- January: not yet worked out
- February: not yet worked out
- March: not yet worked out
- April: not yet worked out
- May: not yet worked out
- June (usual season): not yet worked out
- July (usual season): not yet worked out
- August (usual season): not yet worked out
- September (usual season): not yet worked out
- October: not yet worked out
- November: not yet worked out
- December: not yet worked out
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 (usual season) | Jul (usual season) | Aug (usual season) | Sep (usual season) | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean daily high °C | −3 | −1 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 17 | 17 | 13 | 8 | 2 | −2 |
| Mean daily low °C | −8 | −8 | −5 | −2 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 5 | 1 | −4 | −8 |
| Rain days 1 mm or more | 14 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 18 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 15 |
● marks the usual climbing season. Averages for 1991-2020 at about 1777 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
12 quickdraws are enough according to Filidor's 2025 update, and 2×50 m ropes. Before the rebolt some belays offered only the abseil maillon to clip, so carry a couple of slings and screwgates. Helmet essential.
Checklist
- Quickdraws
- 12
- Rope
- 2×50 m
- Helmet
- One each
- Abseil device and prusik
- The descent or the retreat involves abseiling
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 Tim und Struppi.
Worth knowing
Tips
- The obligatory grade is given as 5a to 5b, and a 2022 party found that severe for the number.
- Parties often climb it in a morning and add Lady Mary or a neighbouring route in the afternoon.
- Grimselstrom, just to the left, is slightly harder and has one point of aid.
Open questions
Where sources disagree
- Obligatory grade: 5b on camptocamp, 5a on Filidor's 2025 topo.
- All trip reports on camptocamp (2014, 2018, 2022) predate the 2024 to 2025 partial rebolt, so their comments on spacing and on belays with only a maillon may be out of date.
- The camptocamp access page still carries the 2023 notice that the lakeside path is closed; Filidor's June 2025 news says it is open.
- Pitch grades are camptocamp's; the grades printed on Filidor's 2025 topo could not be matched to pitches reliably from the PDF text.
Provenance
Sources
- Camptocamp – Grimsel, Räterichsbodensee, Seeplatten: Tim und StruppiUsed for: pitch grades and notes, descent, history, link to Lady Mary
- Filidor – Update Räterichsbodensee 2025 (topo PDF)Used for: partial rebolt in 2024 and 2025, climbable status, quickdraws, grade, first ascensionists
- Filidor – Bernese Oberland new routes and rebolting news, 20 June 2025Used for: path reopened, debris on ledges
- Camptocamp – trip reports 2014–2022 (outings 1448368, 1032039, 561815)Used for: bolt spacing, grading, belay hardware before the rebolt, gully crossing
- Camptocamp – Seeplatten crag and Räterichsbodensee access pagesUsed for: approach, 2022 rockfall and 2023 closure notices
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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.