Five Alpine tours involving climbing – combining rock and ice

Bild einer Hochtour: Eine Gruppe Menschen in den Bergen.

Published on: 25.06.2023Updated on: 20.11.2024

You don’t need to choose between Alpine touring and climbing: we’ve put together five tours that give you both. Ascending via a glacier, climbing over a mountain ridge – they’ve got it all!

Love climbing multi-rope routes, but also love Alpine tours over glaciers? If that sounds like you, combined Alpine tours on rock and ice will be right up your street! Lots of traditional Alpine touring peaks, like the Grassen in the Meiental valley or the Lagginhorn in the Saastal valley, offer more varied cliff routes alongside the normal routes through firn and ice. Here’s a more detailed look at a few options.

Man sieht Felsen, im Hintergrund liegt Schnee.

Galenstock, SE pillar

Galenstock is on the border of the cantons of Uri and Valais. This tour is rather more moderate in nature – making it perfect for mountaineers keen to give Alpine climbing a go. Key positions are well-secured and the final ascent to the peak of the Galenstock is an impressive experience. You can descend via an abseiling route or the northern ridge.

Fletschhorn-Lagginhorn extension

The Weissmieshütte hut is located above Saas-Grund in Valais. From there, you continue to the Lagginhorn via the Fletchhorn. This extended tour can be challenging at times, especially on the lengthy, exposed northern ridge of the Lagginhorn, which is not overly secured. You descend via the usual route.

Ein Kletterer mit Helm, man sieht nur seinen Oberkörper, seine Hand greift in einen Felsspalt. — Photo © Jonas Jäggy

Gletschhorn southern ridge

You access the route via the Albert-Heim-Hütte hut on the Furka Pass. Just a small part of the tour passes over Tiefengletscher glacier. You’ll climb over a ridge made from gorgeous granite, where you can secure yourself easily en route. The posts have been bored in. Tricky key spots have a difficulty level of 4c at most.

Berglandschaft aus Fels und Schnee, klein sieht man darin einige Kletterer.

Grassen south face

Ideally, you’d start this tour from the Sustlihütte hut, located in the Meiental valley in the canton of Uri. The route starts on the southern face before continuing on to the southern ridge. You descend via clearly visible remnants of a trail, some via the Firnalpelifirn, via the ENE ridge to the Stössensattel peak and back to the hut.

Gross Diamantstock eastern pillar

Many people consider the Gross Diamantstock to be the Mittellegigrat ridge of the Haslital valley. If you’re comparing their rock quality, though, the Diamantstock would come out tops. This is a long route with lots of opportunities to stop before you reach the push up to the peak. Plenty of climbing parks near the Bächlitalhütte hut offer scope for practice.

The proper equipment for Alpine touring

You need more than just sturdy shoes and crampons. Having the proper equipment for Alpine touring determines whether you’ll make it to the top or if you’ll need to turn back early. So, check over your kit with a fine-tooth comb. Your clothing also has a key role to play: while you may be warm enough at lower levels, this might change as you ramp up the elevation.

If you don’t have your own equipment, you can hire certain pieces of Alpine touring equipment from us.