Granite at three thousand metres, with snow peaks on the horizon and a glacier or two underfoot. Shorter routes than the Salbit, in a bigger setting.
The Furka sits higher than the valleys on either side of it, and you feel it from the first pitch. You climb with snow peaks across the horizon, sometimes after a short walk over a glacier to reach the foot of the route, and the rock stands comparison with the north side of the Chamonix Aiguilles — on a good day with the south side too. The routes are a little shorter, which at this altitude is often exactly what you want.
It is also the most varied of the three Uri granite areas. Four-hundred-metre walls, alpine ridges that need a glacier crossing, fully bolted plaisir pitches within sight of the bus stop, and a couple of genuinely hard sport crags on the Chli Bielenhorn where the grades run to 8a. That range makes it the easiest area to build a week around whatever the weather is doing.
Getting there and where we stay
From Zurich, train to Realp or Andermatt and then the yellow PostAuto over the pass — it stops at the col itself and at the approach paths to the huts, by the Hotel Tiefenbach and at Sidelenbach. The pass road is closed through the winter; alpenpaesse.ch has the opening dates. In the mountains we base at the recently extended Albert-Heim-Hütte, close under the Graue Wand, or at the private Sidelenhütte for the Bielenhorn side. Lower down, Obergoms is a pleasant valley base and the campsite at Unterwassern also puts the Grimsel within reach.
Guidebooks
No single guide covers everything, and they overlap awkwardly. Dreams of Switzerland is the most inspiring, with 40 routes between 4c and 6b. Uri Excellence covers the canton, roughly half granite and half limestone, taking in the Furka, Göschenen and the Salbit. Filidor splits the ground by difficulty across its Plaisir and Extrem series, and the German Topoguide topos cover the area as well.
The Furka is the high, airy end of the Uri granite. For the long ridges see Salbitschijen; for friendlier, sunnier rock see Göscheneralp. All three sit under Swiss Granite & Limestone.
Trip options
Requirements & gear
Several of the best objectives are reached across a small glacier, so we carry crampons and an axe; if roped glacier travel is new to you, I will teach it as part of the trip.
- Harness, helmet and climbing shoes
- Crampons and a lightweight ice axe for the glacier approaches
- Rack of nuts and cams for the trad lines — I bring it
- Warm layers; the pass sits at 2,429m and the weather turns fast
- Full list on booking, rental available
Included
- Professional guiding from an IFMGA-certified guide
- Tailored itinerary to your skills and goals
- Technical equipment (ropes, protection; harness and helmet rentable on request)
- Safety and technical support throughout
- Arrangement of accommodation to your comfort and budget
Not included
- Transport (arranged to suit the objective)
- Drinks, lunch and snacks
- Insurance (accident, mountain rescue, travel, illness) is the participant’s responsibility — we recommend membership of the Swiss "Rega" rescue service.
Costs
Price is set by the objective; daily rates start around 650 CHF. Multi-pitch climbing is done with one or two clients; cragging days can take up to six.
Photos
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Göscheneralp — Plaisir Granite at the Bergseehütte
Sunny, well-bolted granite at the end of the Göscheneralp road — the friendliest rock in Uri, and the right place for a first multi-pitch route.
Salbitschijen — Granite Spires & Ridges
A crown of granite towers above Göscheneralp, split by three of the finest ridges in the Alps — long days on immaculate rock, with a hut at the foot of them.
Urner Haute Route — Andermatt to Engelberg
A wilder, more demanding alternative to the classic Haute Route, through the remote Urner Alps from Andermatt to Engelberg.