Ochse Gemsgrat + Klettersteig Gantrisch

So... my first "official" T6. As always when taking things to a new level, there is the anxiety of the unknown: "how hard will it really be?" With T6 especially, there still seems to be a lot of variation in difficulty. Sometimes it looks "just like T5, only a bit more exposed"; yet other T6 routes appear more like "bloody hell, have you gone completely mental?" (the Girenspitz pyramid in the Alpstein, to give a notable example). The Gemsgrat between Osche and Gemsflue in the Gantrisch area is luckily still more of the former. And sure, I have already overcome the odd bit on T6 terrain erring off route on a couple of hikes. Moreover, I have gained considerable confidence on alpine routes over the past year. Yet still, "how hard will it really be"? I was glad that I could convince David to come along, pretty much the only person I know in Switzerland who I can trust 100% on an exposed ridge such as the Gemsgrat.

 

The plan didn't end with the Gemsgrat, though. There's also the Gantrisch Klettersteig just a little further. In my process of ticking off all the via ferratas in Switzerland, I couldn't miss this opportunity. Doing the via ferrata first and then the Gemsgrat would involve considerably less ascent, but several reports here on Hikr advised against doing the Gemsgrat in this direction. So we decided to start with the ascent of Osche, do the Gemsgrat from west to east, and add the Gantrisch Klettersteig as the icing on the cake (speaking strictly figuratively; literally I like my cake better without icing).

 

Final element of the challenge: doing all of this using public transport. There is a mere 7 hours between the first and the last bus on the Gurnigel road. The tight schedule got even tighter at Thurnen Railway station, where a throng of more around 100 hikers got off the train simultaneously. Two Postautos, already half full, were waiting. As these filled up quickly, the drivers reassured us that a third bus was coming any minute. The driver had overslept, or something. "Any minute" turned into twenty minutes before the third bus finally arrived, and we finally got on our way. We had actually squeezed onto the "Beiwagen" that took the lead of the caravan. Our bus regained some time by racing up the pass without halt, but this was of no use to us since our extra coach didn't go any further than Waterscheide. We had to wait for the "official" bus, the last one of the three, to catch up and take us two stops further to Schwefelberg Bad. There, we arrived with a 20 minute delay, and hence we had just 6h40 to complete our ambitious route.

 

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Only three other people get off the bus at Schwefelberg Bad, a stark contrast with the millions that got off at Waterscheide. Still, the path over the Louigrat is relatively busy. We keep a good pace going uphill. Around the 2000m contour, we take a clear path that goes directly up, rather than following the marked path which makes a detour to P. 2016. We hit the marked path again on the Ochse south ridge, at the very point where the Gemsgrat branches off towards the east. Before going there, we visit the summit of Osche, reached from this point in 5 minutes over some rocky terrain (T3+). It's quite crowded on the summit, around 10 other hikers are already there. So after a drinking some liquid courage (still water in this case, but it works just the same) we head back down to the more exclusive terrain of the Gemsgrat.

 

We descend on the ridge over steep grass/schrofen terrain. At times, the terrain gets more rocky. A few rock outcrops are traversed on the left or on the right, but we never stray from the ridge itself for more than a couple of metres. The ridge gets ever sharper, and the most exposed sections are towards the lowest part of the ridge. The crux for me is crossing a plate that drops off steeply to the north, with only small holds and lots of nothingness underneath! Definitely T6 here, and maximum concentration required. Soon after, the ridge becomes more grassy and considerably easier. The fun is not over though, as there is some scrambling to be done onto the Gemsflue. This turns out to be easier than it appears form the distance. At the bottom of the crag, climb towards the right in the direction of a distinct rock pillar, Before reaching the pillar, turn back towards the ridge again. As soon as you reach the ridge itself again, most of the difficulties are already over, and they weren't more than an easy-ish grade II anyway. Soon, we are on the Gemsflue, congratulating each on completing a great ridge.

 

The next summit is the Bürgle. Here, we find the masses from the bus again. It becomes a veritable challenge to pass and overtake the hundreds of much slower tourists on the paths, without getting slowed down too much. At the Morgetenpass, there is a little stall selling alp cheese and drinks. We thankfully buy some Schörle - we have already been sweating quite a lot in the surprisingly hot September sun. Then we continue to the over the Schibespitz to the Leiterepass. The start of the via ferrata is clearly visible and quickly reached from the pass.

 

Doing the Gantrisch via ferrata in this afternoon is certainly a good choice. It's in the shadow by now. The cooler temperatures are very welcome. Also, the route is certainly less busy compared to the morning. We can keep a good pace without having to overtake anybody. Overtaking would have been quite difficult indeed, because the via ferrata keeps a very vertical route (K4+). It's pretty much all artificial steps all the way up. Mostly iron rungs, also a few aluminium ladders. Even the more earthy sections are covered by some sort of ladders with peculiar L-shaped steps, presumable to prevent excessive erosion. The most interesting twist on the whole ladder theme is that longer sections of rungs go up rather diagonally. A few pegs provide extra footholds below the diagonal, but the lean still makes things more challenging. The best part of the via ferrata are the views behind: the beautiful shape of the Nüneneflue in the foreground, and the snowy 4000ers of the Berner Oberland, with the famous triple of Eiger-Mönch-Jungfrau, in the background. If only one could do the via ferrata with one's back turned to the wall...

 

We take a break on the Gantrisch summit and then descend over the normal route. This briefly involves rocky terrain where a cable provides some extra protection (T3+). We get a little held up here by inexperienced ramblers who are so scared that they can hardly move. Shortly before reaching our route from earlier, we turn right onto an unmarked (but indicated on the map) path that descends directly down to P. 1811. This steep path is only advisable in dry conditions, but otherwise unproblematic (T3). It's certainly much quicker than the marked path via the Morgetepass, which is about a kilometre longer and also involves an additional ascent onto the Schibespitz. From P. 1811. there's an unpaved road all the way down to the Untere Gantrischhütte, which we reach exactly six hours after starting our hike. Six hours for 1350 metres of ascent, including a T6 ridge and a via ferrata. We are both pleasantly surprised at our pace. I must be in better condition than I thought I was! We feared having to resort to hitch-hiking, but instead there's even time for a relaxed celebratory beer before the bus comes along.

 

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A perfect day; things could not have worked out any better. Okay, maybe there were a few too many tourists on the hills. Or rather, there were way way wààààày too many tourists on the hills. But the weather was extraordinary, the Gemsgrat a great introduction into T6 hiking, we did the via ferrata without being stuck in any queues, and kept a very satisfying pace all day. Can't complain, really. Bring on the next T6!