Climbing Mülloch direct on the Stockhorn North Face

John Thornton (Go Vertical Athlet)

I’d heard many times about how good the mixed climbing at Stockhorn was. A mini north face located just 30 minutes drive from my house and a mixture of bolted and trad routes. The climbing is accessible by taking the Stockhornbahn and a 10 minute approach by foot; with this in mind I was extremely eager to check it out.

Our aim was to climb the route Mülloch and given enough time, finish direct via the last 2 pitches (M5, M6) of Mottes au neige. Climbing direct makes the route more homogeneous and all in all, equates to M3, M5, M5, M5, M6. Looking at the guidebook, these last two pitches differed in style, requiring more trad protection with a few bolts in blanker sections. I was very excited to see how this would be.

We made quick progress up the first pitch (M3) which has its own little tricky sections. From here the climbing gets more difficult, but also much more enjoyable. As the face steepens in Pitch 2 (M5) you are treated with fantastic corner climbing with crack systems. The rock here is immaculate and its safe to say, I’ve never had so much fun shuffling my body up rock before! This soon lead up to a comfortable plateau where Pitch 3 (M5) begins.

Having had a decent amount of snow recently, it took a while to wade through the beginning of Pitch 3. However my efforts were rewarded. Yet again, some brilliant climbing through a steep corner. With spindrift coming down it was awkward to see where to hook, but once figured out, it was incredible to climb. One caveat however would be the rope drag on this pitch. Having later spoken to others it seems they also had the same problem – so worth keeping that in mind!

At the end of Pitch 3 we were met by the other rope team who had decided to do the classic Tschabold. From here, the standard finish of Mülloch joins this route with 3 more pitches (M2, M2, M4). However we had our eyes fixed on going directly up.

Until this point navigation had been fairly obvious. But these final two pitches are far less frequented. After some time we could figure out where Pitch 4 (M5) actually started and with that, my climbing partner, Lulu was on her way.

This pitch was tricky with far fewer obvious placements both for protection and the tools. It forced more attention and care to be taken – making it much more engaging than the previous pitches. Lulu did a great job and I was happy to second my way up. Looking up it seemed like we would need more than one pitch to finish this route. We were unsure (and still are) if we had stopped too early on this pitch, and if there was a slightly higher anchor lurking above us somewhere.

It was getting late and I set off on the final pitch (M6). I questioned whether I should already prepare my head-torch, but instead set off – only to later regret that decision. Immediately the climbing was far more committing and steeper. With an old piton and a mediocre Cam placement, I stepped over a small roof relying entirely on small patches of frozen turf. It was brilliant! Questing some 6 metres or so from the anchor, I could stand on a large chunk of turf and see the first bolt of the route. Typically (for a short person), I couldn’t reach the bolt from this comfortable position, and instead had to commit to doing another few moves.

The pitch continued in similar style and soon I found a ledge to balance on, where I could remove the head-torch from my backpack. In the dark I continued up, finding and placing protection where I could. Climbing each section cleanly and also managing the risk, I soon realised how much satisfaction it gave me.

Continuing up in the darkness I climbed out of the face, heading up the final slope towards the ridge. I got within a meter or so before running out of rope – perhaps confirming that we had stopped too early on the previous pitch. Lulu began climbing and I could quickly make an anchor over the ridge. Before long she joined me and we could make our way to the summit.

We had missed the last gondola to the valley but we didn’t mind. The idea of climbing on the Stockhorn is to practice for the big north faces. That often means big approaches and as well, walk-outs.

I can definitely recommend this finish of Mülloch since the climbing is fantastic and makes for a more sustained, complete route. I would recommend having a solid head and good experience placing and trusting your own gear. We found these final two pitches to be a step-up from the beginning of the route.

• Instagram
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• YouTube
• WhatsApp
• TikTok
• Google