Luigi and I drive up the Sustenpass where we meet up with Felipe and Leslie (who live nearby in Andermatt!). Our goal is a granite spire and ridge up to the Undertalstock (2799m). Hiking in is a bit sobering - we've been in the area at the same time last year and there was way more snow then. This year's draught leaves only a sea of rock.
Luigi and I choose the route "Oktober Sunna", graded 6b+. Felipe and Leslie go for the neighboring "Ostwand", 5b+. The routes are barely 10m away from one another and merge up again after the first 70m of climbing. Thus this setup allows for a nice joint climbing experience. Felipe gets me hook line and sinker when he gives a life-like imitation of a goat's cry. At that point he's just out of sight around the corner and the accoustics are such that to everybody's delight I absolutely believed hearing a real animal. Joke's on them though as a few hours later, on our rappel, we do in fact meet a capricorn in the middle of the steep rock face ;-P
It's a clean on-sight for all of us and super fun climbing on beautiful granite. Thoroughly enjoyable experience all around. If there's anything to complain about, it would be that the route could have been a bit longer. The difficulties are concentrated on the first one hundred or so meters before it turns into an easy ridge scramble. But then the first two pitches really did pack a punch - protection is sparse and the grading stiff.
We have beers at a hut right next to the pass road and admire a cyclist who's absolutely racing up the pass. No idea how one can maintain that kind of speed on such an incline. Chapeau. Luigi and I head back to Zürich where we meet up with the wives and kids who spent the day at the Badi at lake Zürich. After a quick swim it's time to end the day at a beautiful pop-up outdoor pizza place in Horgen. Great day!
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