UKC

Hi All,

Next weekend I'm heading to Zermatt. If the weather is good we will aim for a 4000m peak but if conditions don't allow it'd be nice to do a bit of cragging in the area. I believe that there is a topo guide that can be purchased in Zermatt and that there is a small crag (Beehives) in the town centre vicinity.

For the routes in the guide (Beehives, Rifflehorn etc) what length rope would you recommend (will 60m suffice?). Additionally, how many quickdraws would be needed as a max and is any trad gear required?

I'm packing this weekend so trying to figure out what would be useful to pack gear wise. Basically, what rack would you recommend?

Thanks

Gavin

Any ideas? Cheers

Rifflehorn is mainly bolted routes but I’ve taken and used a set of nuts in the past. Always used a 60m rope which has been fine.

You can pick up a topo at the guides office. 

Riffelhorn is basically a small trad peak. Find it hard to believe it is now "mainly bolted". Are we talking about the same Riffelhorn, above Zermatt?

My experience is on the south face (best view), the routes I did had fixed belay stations and sparse but bolted pitches. 

It used to be that the only routes on the Rifflehorn were the short ones I think you're referring to, on the Zermatt/railway side but there's now a whole clutch of long routes on the Gornergletscher side which are bolted or semi bolted. They're not too hard but they're quite spectacularly situated opposite the Breithorn N face.

Thanks everyone. Useful info.