Strahlengrätli
Enjoyable granite climbing above the Furka region — grade 3, with an approach the retreating glacier is making steadily trickier.
Granite above the Furka valley
The Strahlengrätli is a climb in the Aar granite high above the Furka region. Grade 3 means: good-natured throughout, rough rock, holds where you need them — a route you climb because it is beautiful, not because it is hard. The starting point is either the Albert Heim hut or the Furka pass itself.
The catch is the approach. The glacier has retreated far and left freshly bared slopes with nothing holding them together yet: loose blocks, scree and plenty of rockfall to match. Cross that early, quickly and with a helmet on.
Tip: better in spring. While there is still snow up there the loose stuff stays bound and the approach is far friendlier than in high summer, when everything thaws and starts moving. The Furka pass road is still closed then, though — so the way in is from Realp.
On my list but not yet climbed myself — a personal report will follow.
Hero image: Whgler, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
