Meeting point
OUTDOOR - Shop and Café Grindelwald
Dorfstrasse 103, 3818 Grindelwald
Drytooling Grindelwald
4 - 5 hr
Climbing with ice axes and crampons on rock
Introduction to drytooling for the curious
Challenging routes for experts
Season:
January December
Departure Times
Requirements
Good physical fitness
Climbing experience is beneficial but not required
Interest in trying something new
Overview
Recommended for:
Anyone who trades comfort for the view.
Drytooling is wild, unique, and demanding: crampons on rock, ice axe in hand: A completely new way of climbing.
Drytooling is a mix of rock climbing and ice climbing without ice. With crampons on your feet and ice tools in your hands, you move up a rock face: it requires precision, balance, and strength. Whether as a beginner or as a new climbing challenge, in the Glacier Canyon in Grindelwald, you will find the perfect conditions to try it out and train.
Itinerary
Meeting points Approach
Before we set off, we meet at the outdoor shop in Grindelwald. Here you’ll receive a brief introduction to dry tooling techniques. We then check the equipment — crampons, ice tools, helmet, and harness — before heading together to the Gletscherschlucht. After a short walk of around five minutes, we reach our climbing area.
Dry Tooling
You will learn the fundamentals: how to place ice tools correctly and how to weight your crampons safely and efficiently. Initial attempts on top rope allow you to develop a feel for the unfamiliar movement on rock.
Depending on your level of experience, you will gradually progress to more demanding routes. While beginners focus on practising the basic movement patterns, more advanced climbers can test themselves on routes at higher grades. The rock offers a wide variety of placements and features — but making effective use of them requires sound technique and sustained concentration.
An intensive training session full of new movements, challenges, and moments of success is guaranteed.
What's included
Guiding from a licenced mountain guide/ aspirant guide
Expenses of the mountain guide
Not included
Costs for cable cars and travel expenses of the guest
Snacks
Technical equipment
Costs for a taxi if needed (guests pay for the guide's share)
Pack list
Backpack
Backpack 30-35 l
Clothing
Warm, functional clothing
Rain jacket
Rain pants
Mountaineering or winter hiking pants
Gloves (ideally one thin and one thick pair)
Beanie or headband
Thermal underwear
Footwear
Crampon proof mountaineering boots
Technical Equipment
Crampons with anti-snow plates
Harness
Locking carabiners, approx. 3
Helmet
2 ice climbing axes
Basics
Thermos flask, drink bottle
Camera and binoculars (optional)
Snacks
Backpack 30-35 l
Warm, functional clothing
Rain jacket
Rain pants
Mountaineering or winter hiking pants
Gloves (ideally one thin and one thick pair)
Beanie or headband
Thermal underwear
Crampon proof mountaineering boots
Crampons with anti-snow plates
Harness
Locking carabiners, approx. 3
Helmet
2 ice climbing axes
Thermos flask, drink bottle
Camera and binoculars (optional)
Snacks
Weather info
General weather info
Weather can influence any tour, and a clear decision is often only possible on the day itself. We review conditions carefully and remain within our safety limits, and bad weather alone does not mean we have to stop.
Make sure we can reach you with current contact information in case your booking changes. Silence from us means your tour is still planned or the final call is not yet made. If we need to cancel, you can rebook, choose another activity, or get a full refund.
For detailed advice on how to prepare for (and enjoy!) bad weather days in Interlaken, check out our weather blog
Meeting points
Meeting point
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