Schweiz extrem Ost

It has already been 24 years since Jürg von Känel first introduced in 1989 a small selection of “extreme” climbing areas in Central and Eastern Switzerland in a guidebook. Since then, not only have the climbing standards risen considerably, but thanks to the growing flux of busy route developers we have numerous new areas to climb in. Jürg wrote in 1994, “I wonder when the first 9a will be climbed”. Then in 2011, Cedric Lachat sent “Speed Integrale”. The most beautiful of these crags and big walls I visited and climbed over the past year and present here in this New Edition. Next to the very well known areas such as Ratikon and Voralpsee, we also introduce a number of relatively unknown destinations, some that hold still huge potential. One example is the steep North Face of Titlis with its demanding cutting edge modern routes that will whet the appetite of every climber of the extreme grades for years to come. Fortunately, you don’t have to be a super hard climber in order to enjoy the climbing in this wild ambience. As long as you can climb 7a, you are in, but of course you can’t be afraid of heights! Without the support of the many locals and friends in the climbing community this Guidebook would never have come to fruition. Special thanks go to Marcel Dettling who sent me new route beta and was kind enough to double check the accuracy of my topos. I would also like to extend my heart felt gratitude to Dani Scheuber, Stephan Schibli, Mike Schwitter, Daniel Benz, and Kurt Winkler for helping me so much with this project. I thank Christine Kopp for the very appreciated editorial assistance. Finally, thanks to James Garrett who I am sure had to miss out on a few desert climbs in Utah while doing the English translation. I hope to inspire you with this Guidebook for the coming season and wish you an “extreme” amount of fun climbing! Reichenbach, February 2013/Sandro von Känel