"Uristier" (WI6+/M8) - Schöllenen Gorge, Andermatt

The Schöllenen Gorge: the narrowest and steepest part of the north-south connection. The granite there is one of the hardest in the whole Alps. In summer there are already some rock routes for climbing. Now there is also a whole new line in the ice and rock: the Uristier!

I don't know how many years my gaze has wandered to the same place again and again. There it should be possible to open up a mixed route. But it must be in high winter, because as soon as the sun level is a little higher, it goes very quickly and the ice comes off the rock and the route is then no longer possible to climb. In 2018, together with Martin, I made the first attempt. Great disillusionment! The rock is very strongly closed, only very rarely can normal hooks and clamping devices be laid for protection. Therefore, we could not climb the second pitch. We decided to postpone the whole thing until next winter. Luck was on our side this year. Although the weather was almost always bad, enough water came from above to freeze the whole line more or less to ice. With Martin, Mario and André I was on the route for six days in January. A very big challenge was the logistics, after we had set up four pitches we left some ropes hanging so we could start at the top next time. But where a lot of water and snow falls, it is quite bad, because it goes very quickly and everything is frozen under a layer of ice and snow. This ice then had to be removed each time. This is not without danger, because while we were on the free-hanging rope, above us we used the sharp ice tool to unpick the loaded rope.

In total, our new route is nine pitches long. The difficulty is, as always, very much dependent on the conditions. From "very easy" to "impossible", only a few millimeters of ice thickness decide. In many other places there are still some small hooks or footholds from time to time, but not in the Schöllenen! This circumstance makes the Uristier something very special. For repeaters, patience is important to catch the right moment. Then the day in the Schöllenen Gorge will be a very great adventure. 

Have fun!
Dani