Rottalhorn West Face first ascent by Silvan Schüpbach, Peter von Känel, Rolf Zurbrügg

Who would have thought that in 2023 there would still be some unclimbed walls in the high mountains of the Bernese Oberland? In the golden age of alpinism, climbers reached the summits of the most important mountains in the Alps. Later, all the walls and ridges of the great mountains were climbed. Regardless of whether it was the first ascent of Mont Blanc, the Matterhorn or the first ascent of the north face of the Eiger, people always spoke about "the last problem of the Alps". If you know where to look, even today you can still find challenges in traditional alpinism - far removed from speed records and absurd media spectacles. A good example is the west face of Rottalhorn. For some unknown reason, it remained untouched until today.

15 years ago, I noticed the 1000m west face of Rottalhorn for the first time. Although it lies somewhat hidden from view in the Rottal valley, it is the first rock bastion that catches your eye when you reach the Rottalhütte.

I first tried to climb the wall in August 2011 with Matteo Della Bordella, however, an approaching thunderstorm made us turn back. After many expeditions around the world, I have now realised that projects on our doorstep can be just as beautiful as exotic destinations. I decided to return.

Peter von Känel and Rolf Zurbrügg are the perfect climbing partners for such an undertaking. On 11 October we reached the Rottalhütte and the next day we climbed the face. During the first three hours we climbed in the light of the headlamp through the pillar system on the lower wall. We did not follow any specific line and the difficulties - except for two 6a pitches - were between grade III and V.

At first light we reached the steep grey rockband, where the rock changes from gneiss to limestone. Two steep and demanding pitches in the 6b range led us to the huge pillar, which in turn led imposingly to the summit roof.

From here, the rok transformed to gneiss once again. There was no clear line through the pillar. Following our intuition we progressed upwards and, if in doubt, we opted for what looked like the more demanding variant on better rock.

We reached the summit in the early afternoon, far faster than expected; 11 hours after setting off we were back at the Jungfraujoch. As we walked to the train station, surrounded by advertising billboards and selfie sticks, we couldn't help notice the stark contrast to the tranquility and wild beauty of Rottal. Having said that, we were happy to sit down and enjoy the comfortable descent by train. Herbstwanderung

Rottalhorn Westwand Route "Herbstwanderung"
Wall height 1050m, 6b, 12/10/2023 Silvan Schüpbach, Peter von Känel, Rolf Zurbrügg
Gear 50m ropes, cams 0.2-3, 0.2-0.75 double, 2 peckers. Glacier gearfor the descent Rottalsattel – Jungfraujoch.
The first climbers left a piton in a rappel traverse.
Approach: From Stechelberg to Rottalhütte and from the hut in 45 min to the base of the route.