Nadelgrat

Page Type Page Type: Route
Location Lat/Lon: 46.11020°N / 7.86330°E
Seasons Season: Summer, Fall
Additional Information Time Required: A long day
Sign the Climber's Log


Overview

The Nadelgrat is a fantastic climbing route with 4 (or 5) peaks over 4000 m: the Dürrenhorn (4034 m), the Hohberghorn (4219m), the Stecknadelhorn (4241 m), and the Nadelhorn (4327 m). (People sometimes count also the Lenzspitze, 4294m, as part of the Nadelgrat, compare below route variante no. 2 according to Waeber). It is a classic alpine route. You can climb this ridge in both directions:

1. FROM THE BORDIERHÜTTE:

II, maybe III at the Nadelhorn-gendarm, ice till 45°, 12 h, 1640 hm (Waeber)

    - Bordierhütte - Hohbergjoch/Dürrenjoch: ice till 45°, 4 h, G 6, 1040 hm (ascent also possible: new rock climbing route with fixed bolts on the right side of the ice couloir; infos about this route at the
    Mischabelhütten)
    - Hohbergjoch/Dürrenjoch - Hohberghorn: II, ice and snow, 1 1/2 h, G 7, 300 hm ascent
    - Hohberghorn - Stecknadelhorn: II (passages), ice and snow, 1 1/4 h, G 7, 70 hm descent, 100 hm ascent
    - Stecknadelhorn - Nadelhorn: II (passages), ice and snow, 1 h, G 6, 120 hm descent, 200 hm ascent
    - Nadelhorn - Windjoch: I, ice and snow, 1 1/4 h, G 4, 480 hm descent
    - Windjoch - Bordierhütte: 2 1/2 h, G 2, 960 hm descent

2. FROM THE MISCHABELHÜTTEN:

IV- (at Lenzspitze and Nadelhorn), ice till 45° (descent), 12 h, 1580 hm (Waeber)

    - Mischabelhütte - Lenzspitze (NE-ridge): IV- (passages), snow and ice, 4 1/2 h, G 6, 970 hm ascent
    - Lenzspitze -Nadelhorn: III, snow and ice, 2-3 h, G 6, 80 hm descent, 110 hm ascent
    - Nadelhorn - Stecknadelhorn: II (passages), snow and ice, 3/4 h, G 6, 210 descent, 120 hm ascent
    - Stecknadelhorn - Hohberghorn: II (passages), snow and ice, 1 h, G 7, 100 hm descent, 70 hm ascent
    - Hohberghorn - Hohbergjoch/Dürrenjoch: II, snow and ice, 1 h, G 7, 300 hm descent
    - Hohbergjoch/Dürrenjoch - Windjoch: ice till 45 °, 1 1/2 h, G 6, 380 hm descent, 310 hm ascent (descent also possible: new rock climbing route with fixed bolts to abseil down on the leftt side of the ice couloir)
    - Windjoch - Mischabelhütte: 1 h, G 2, 520 hm descent


3. FROM THE MISCHABELHÜTTEN:

Without Lenzspitze. Instead of Lenzspitze NE-ridge to the Nadelhorn (Stecknadelhorn - Hohberghorn - Hohbergjoch/Dürrenjoch - Windjoch - Mischabelhütten):

    - III- (passages), mostly II and I, AD, 1300 hm, 7-9h (Mischabelhütten-Dürrenhorn), (Dumler)
    - ZS, III, 9-11 h (for Dürrenhorn, Hohberghorn, Stecknadelhorn), (Biner)

Getting There

1. To the Nadelgrat:
  • a. You can come from the Mischabelhütten

  • b. You can come from the Bordierhütte
2. To the Mischabelhütten:
  • You reach the hut from Saas Fee in 4 h (on foot, 1540 hm). From Saas Fee, you go on the marked way (sign at the church) in western direction to the end of the Torrentbach. You traverse an avalanche barrier by a tunnel. You ascent over the bridge and zigzag via Trift and Schönegge to the end of the ridge which comes down from the Distelhorn to the SW (P. 2448,6m, 1 3/4 h). The wa goes up further to P. 2688m and the S-flank of the Distelhorn to the foot of the Fallglacier, about 3000m (1 1/4h). Clear signs show the way through rock, which you climb northern above the Fallglacier. Via a rock rib, you reach in zigzag the hut (1 h).


  • If you use the cable car to Hannigalp, the ascent takes 3/4 h less. After an horizontal traverse to the Torrentbach, you go up below the Distelhorn E-flank to Schönegge, where you meet the route, described above. (3-3,5 h, 1030 hm). Pay attention at the beginning at the summit station of the cable car: Interpret the sign to the Mischabelhütten correctly and do not turn right and do not go up, but keep on the main road/way which goes horizontally at the beginning!


  • You reach Saas Fee (1790m) with car or bus from Visp/Brig. Saas Fee is a modern holiday village, surrounded by many 4000m mountains and huge glaciers. You are not allowed to drive by car through the village. You must park at the main parking place at the entrance to the village.


  • Brig is the main city of the upper Wallis and the junction of the trains:

    • a. Bern-Lötschberg-Simplon-Domodossola
      b. Furka-Oberalppass (Andermatt/Disentis, Glacierexpress)
      c. Brig-Visp-Zermatt
      d. Lake of Geneva-Milano

  • In Brig, many busses arrive as well:
    • a. Simplon-Gondo
      b. Saastal
      c. Blatten
      d. Mund
      e. Rosswald

  • You reach Visp/Brig by car:


    • a. from the West: From Geneva (airport) on the A1 to Lausanne, on the A9 via Montreux, Martigny and Sion to Sierre. From Sierre the road no. 9 with direction to Brig. But at Visp, you turn already right to the S with directin to the Saaser valley. In Stalden, you turn left and leave the Zermatter valley to the right. Here, the Saaser valley beginns. Via Saas Baalen and Saas Grund, you reach Saas Fee.

      b. from the North: from Bern on the A6 to Spiez, from here the road to Kandersteg, at Kandersteg, you drive your car on a train and go by train through a tunnel; end of the tunnel: Goppenstein; you continue the road to the S and reach the main road from Sierre. On the crossroad, you turn left (E) and reach Visp. From here, continue as route a.

      c. from the East: from Bregenz on the A13 to Chur; turn off at Reichenau and continue the road no. 19 to Brig/Visp via Flims - Sedrun - Andermatt - Gletsch - Fiesch. From Visp, continue as described in a.

      d. from the South: either from Como on the A2 via Bellinzona to Airollo, then road no.2 till Hospental and here to the left on the road no. 19 to Brig/Visp or from Arona till the end von the A26 and then the E62 via Domodóssola to Brig.


3. To the Bordierhütte:
  • You reach the hut from Gasenried in 4 h (1230m) and from St. Niklaus in 5 h (1740hm). You have to traverse a glacier which is marked in summer by poles.


  • From Gasenried, you go on the road to the chapel of Schalbettu, on the way over the Riedbach and zigzag through the forest to the moraine of Alpja (2099m). On the moraine crest, you go the way up to 2500m where you reach the glacier. You do not enter the glacier, but go up to the SW, zigzag the hang up till you reach 2700m by a traverse. Here you descent to the glacier (sign) and traverse this glacier to the E to the moraine. You traverse the moraine below the hut. On the other side (signs) you got to the hut. For the descent: the beginning of the way after the glacier is marked clearly. This is the ascent also in winter. If the conditions are good, you can also go from the summit station Seetalhorn via the ski-run and the hangs of the Riedberg to the glacier. But you have to pay attention to the traverse of the moraine!


  • You reach Gasenried via a small road from St. Niklaus. St. Niklaus is located in the middle of the Mattertal. You can go there by car, bus or train from Visp/Brig. If you come by car from Visp, turn right at Stalden and leave the Saasertal to your left. To Visp/Brig as described above.

Accomodation

1. MISCHABELHÜTTEN (3329 m):

The Mischabelhütten are situated on a rockrib, which separates the Hohblamglacier from the little Fallglacier. Since 1975 there exists a new bigger hut above the old one, which still keeps beds. From the huts you have a wonderful view to Saas Fee and the Weissmiesgroup.

(According to Waeber:)
- 120 beds from June to October
- 60 beds in the old hut from November to May (open)
- serviced from June to October
- phone: ++41/27/9571317
- internet: Mischabelhütten
- Email: mischabelhuetten@ssf.ch
- in 4 hours from Saas Fee on foot, 1540 hm (you can take the cable car from Saas Fee to Hannigalp, 2340m, then 3/4 h less on foot)
- to Saas Fee by bus or car from Brig (trainstation)



2. BORDIERHÜTTE (2886 m):

The Bordierhütte is situated above the Riedglacier.
(According to Waeber:)
- 43 beds
- serviced July till middle of September
- winter room open all the year
- phone: ++41(0)27/9561909
- Internet: Bordierhütte
- from Gasenried in 4 h on foot (1230 hm), from St. Niklaus in 5 h (1740 hm)
- from the cable car station Seetalhorn (2870 m), the ground station of which is in Grächen, in 3 1/2 h, on the Färichpfad.



Good and cheap tourist camp for example in Saas Grund:

Saaser Hütte Adler
Email: weissmies@rhone.ch
Phone: ++41(0)279571440
Internet: www.weissmies.ch



Camping

There exists a camping ground in Saas Grund.





When To Climb

  • June until september

  • Infos

    1. GENERAL INFOS:
    2. WEATHER
    3. BUS BRIG-SAAS FEE:
    4. TRAIN
      - Internet: www.sbb.ch
      - Phone:++41(0)900300300
      - Travel agency: ++41(0)512258444

    Maps

  • Schweizer Landeskarten:
    • 1:25000 no. 1327 Evolène
      1:25000 no. 1328 Randa
      1:50000 no. 5006 Matterhorn-Mischabel
      (to order at DAV Service)

    Books

  • Hermann Biner, Hochtouren im Wallis. Vom Trient zum Nufenenpass. 2nd ed. 1996.
    ISBN 3-859022-160-5


  • Helmut Dumler/Willi P. Burkhardt, Viertausender der Alpen. 11th ed. Munich 1998.
    ISBN 3-7633-7427-2


  • Michel Vaucher, Walliser Alpen. Die 100 schönsten Touren. 2nd ed. Munich 1990.
    ISBN 3-7654-2124-3


  • Michael Waeber, Walliser Alpen. DAV-Gebietsführer. 12th ed. Munich 1999.
    ISBN 3-7633-2416-X

  • Additions and CorrectionsPost an Addition or Correction

    Viewing: 1-10 of 10
    Rahel Maria Liu

    Rahel Maria Liu - Jan 9, 2002 12:51 pm - Hasn't voted

    Untitled Comment

    Hi David,

    the Nadelgrat really does not fit to the Dom, since the Dom is not one mountain of the Nadelgrat.

    But I think, it is better to have the Nadelgrat as independent page because of 4 reasons:

    1. The first reason is the same like the argument for the Monte Rosa page: people simply look for such a page. They do not want to look for every part of the ridge separately.

    2. People look for this ridge because they find it in books descibed like a massif or a mountain.

    3. If you want to add it as route to the mountains, you have to devide the description in many parts, because the Nadelgrat simply does not belong to one mountain but includes many mountains. So people, how are looking for the Nadelgrat, had to combine many little infos of the part of the Nadelgrat (like the part (Stecknadelhorn-Hohberghorn and Hohberghorn-Dürrenhorn etc.). Such a division would not be user-friendly at all.

    4. We had to create mountain-pages on each "little" mountains of this ridge (like Stecknadelhorn or Dürrenhorn). But the tendency of the discussions of this forum is just the opposite: rather to make a mountain-page on a group of mountains instead of every single mountain (compare the discussion of the "Engelhörner": there especially alpenkalb stresses the method not to make too many single pages on each mountain). It would be the same here: we had to create pages on the Stecknadelhorn and the Dürrenhorn, which are not interesting for climbers at all except if they want to climb the Nadelgrat.

    Regards, Rahel

    David P.

    David P. - Jan 10, 2002 9:02 am - Hasn't voted

    Untitled Comment

    Hi Rahel,

    Yes, for the most part I agree with you. Just a couple of minor points.

    Some consider (maybe very few) the "Nadelgrat" to include Dom. Specifically, read the description of the Nadelgrat at the end of the Lenzspitze page.

    Regardless, the route description for the NE face of the Lenzspitze should probably not be placed on the Nadelgrat page, when a Lenzspitze page exists and the NE face is not part of the Nadelgrat (although one could arguably start it that way....).

    I think that for many people (myself included) the climb of the beautiful NE face of the Lenzspitze is a primary objective, not necessarily the ridge connecting it to the Nadelhorn (or connecting it to the Stecknadelhorn, Hohberghorn or Dürrenhorn).

    It would be great to return and do it though!

    Maybe there should just be a page for the Mischabel peaks and include the Nadelhorn, Lenzspitze, Ulrichshorn, and the Nadelgrat there?

    It's fun just thinking about those nice places.

    All the best,

    David

    Rahel Maria Liu

    Rahel Maria Liu - Jan 11, 2002 12:07 pm - Hasn't voted

    Untitled Comment

    Hi David,

    I have read the Lenzspitze page and could not find any passage which says that the Dom is part of the Nadelgrat. Have I missed anything?

    But besides this, the Dom is in no way a summit of the Nadelgrat.

    The route discription of the Lenzspitze northface should, of course, remain on the Lenzspitze page, since the northface is also not part of the Nadelgrat. Only if we had no page on the Lenzspitze this would be a question. But because we have one, the northface route belongs to that page.

    And your last point: Yes, we could think about creating a massif page on the Mischabel massif (as we have one page about the Monte Rosa massif) in addition to the single mountain pages (not as replacement as the Monte Rosa page also does not replace the other pages on the different Monte Rosa peaks).

    Well, yes, the NE face of the Lenzspitze as well as the Nadelgrat are great. I wanted to climb the face last summer. But the conditions of the rigde between Lenzspitze and Nadelhorn were not so good (too much snow). So instead we did the Fletschhorn northface - maybe this is even more beautiful than the Lenzspitze NE face.

    Regards, Rahel

    Rahel Maria Liu

    Rahel Maria Liu - Jan 11, 2002 12:13 pm - Hasn't voted

    Untitled Comment

    I am really confused now: A few weeks ago, I read the Lenzspitze page. And if I remember correctly, the NE-face route of the Lenzspitze was attached to that page. Therefore, when I wrote the statement above, I had this in mind. But now, I have just seen, that the route discription is attached to the Nadelgrat page. Alpenkalb, have you changed it? I think it is better, if the route discription is attached to the Lenzspitze page, because people look for this route on that page, not on the Nadelgrat page. Maybe, you could move it!

    Regards, Rahel

    David P.

    David P. - Jan 9, 2002 8:02 am - Hasn't voted

    Untitled Comment

    The info on this page is great, but should be incorporated into existing pages - the Lenzspitze (the NE face route) and the Nadelhorn (for the Nadelgrat information under routes). It seems like the elevation given to "Nadelgrat" is that of the Nadelhorn, so I would suggest putting the information on that page. Another alternative would be on the Dom page as a route.

    All the best from the flat Midwest,

    David P.

    Rahel Maria Liu

    Rahel Maria Liu - Jan 9, 2002 12:51 pm - Hasn't voted

    Untitled Comment

    Hi David,

    the Nadelgrat really does not fit to the Dom, since the Dom is not one mountain of the Nadelgrat.

    But I think, it is better to have the Nadelgrat as independent page because of 4 reasons:

    1. The first reason is the same like the argument for the Monte Rosa page: people simply look for such a page. They do not want to look for every part of the ridge separately.

    2. People look for this ridge because they find it in books descibed like a massif or a mountain.

    3. If you want to add it as route to the mountains, you have to devide the description in many parts, because the Nadelgrat simply does not belong to one mountain but includes many mountains. So people, how are looking for the Nadelgrat, had to combine many little infos of the part of the Nadelgrat (like the part (Stecknadelhorn-Hohberghorn and Hohberghorn-Dürrenhorn etc.). Such a division would not be user-friendly at all.

    4. We had to create mountain-pages on each "little" mountains of this ridge (like Stecknadelhorn or Dürrenhorn). But the tendency of the discussions of this forum is just the opposite: rather to make a mountain-page on a group of mountains instead of every single mountain (compare the discussion of the "Engelhörner": there especially alpenkalb stresses the method not to make too many single pages on each mountain). It would be the same here: we had to create pages on the Stecknadelhorn and the Dürrenhorn, which are not interesting for climbers at all except if they want to climb the Nadelgrat.

    Regards, Rahel

    David P.

    David P. - Jan 10, 2002 9:02 am - Hasn't voted

    Untitled Comment

    Hi Rahel,

    Yes, for the most part I agree with you. Just a couple of minor points.

    Some consider (maybe very few) the "Nadelgrat" to include Dom. Specifically, read the description of the Nadelgrat at the end of the Lenzspitze page.

    Regardless, the route description for the NE face of the Lenzspitze should probably not be placed on the Nadelgrat page, when a Lenzspitze page exists and the NE face is not part of the Nadelgrat (although one could arguably start it that way....).

    I think that for many people (myself included) the climb of the beautiful NE face of the Lenzspitze is a primary objective, not necessarily the ridge connecting it to the Nadelhorn (or connecting it to the Stecknadelhorn, Hohberghorn or Dürrenhorn).

    It would be great to return and do it though!

    Maybe there should just be a page for the Mischabel peaks and include the Nadelhorn, Lenzspitze, Ulrichshorn, and the Nadelgrat there?

    It's fun just thinking about those nice places.

    All the best,

    David

    Rahel Maria Liu

    Rahel Maria Liu - Jan 11, 2002 12:07 pm - Hasn't voted

    Untitled Comment

    Hi David,

    I have read the Lenzspitze page and could not find any passage which says that the Dom is part of the Nadelgrat. Have I missed anything?

    But besides this, the Dom is in no way a summit of the Nadelgrat.

    The route discription of the Lenzspitze northface should, of course, remain on the Lenzspitze page, since the northface is also not part of the Nadelgrat. Only if we had no page on the Lenzspitze this would be a question. But because we have one, the northface route belongs to that page.

    And your last point: Yes, we could think about creating a massif page on the Mischabel massif (as we have one page about the Monte Rosa massif) in addition to the single mountain pages (not as replacement as the Monte Rosa page also does not replace the other pages on the different Monte Rosa peaks).

    Well, yes, the NE face of the Lenzspitze as well as the Nadelgrat are great. I wanted to climb the face last summer. But the conditions of the rigde between Lenzspitze and Nadelhorn were not so good (too much snow). So instead we did the Fletschhorn northface - maybe this is even more beautiful than the Lenzspitze NE face.

    Regards, Rahel

    Rahel Maria Liu

    Rahel Maria Liu - Jan 11, 2002 12:13 pm - Hasn't voted

    Untitled Comment

    I am really confused now: A few weeks ago, I read the Lenzspitze page. And if I remember correctly, the NE-face route of the Lenzspitze was attached to that page. Therefore, when I wrote the statement above, I had this in mind. But now, I have just seen, that the route discription is attached to the Nadelgrat page. Alpenkalb, have you changed it? I think it is better, if the route discription is attached to the Lenzspitze page, because people look for this route on that page, not on the Nadelgrat page. Maybe, you could move it!

    Regards, Rahel

    wouterdev - Mar 31, 2009 4:38 pm - Hasn't voted

    integral nadelgrat

    Hello, Last summer we did the integral version of the nadelgrat. Starting at the windjoch going all the way to the Galenjoch (at the other site of the Durrenhorn). I think this route also deserves attention on this page. It is signifficantly different from the routes described. Further, since the Durrenhorn couloir gets worse every summer, this might be more and more the safest and best route in the future. If the editor wishes, I can provide information. Nice page by the way! Regards, Wouter

    Viewing: 1-10 of 10