Fliegender Teppich - Magic Carpet Ride

Typical slab climbing on Fliegender Teppich

At the end of August, Lena and I took the last of the good weather in Switzerland to do a quick half day slab climb. We used the great new 'plaisir SELECTION' guide book to find 'Fliegender Teppich' in Gerstenegg, just down from the Grimslepass. The slabs in the area are stunning, perfect granite.

Lena walking up the slab on the first 5a pitch

Lena setting off on the next slab pitch

Lena smearing up on the next 5a pitch

Lena on one of the last pitchs

With a little trust in the friction on the rock the route was easy - and a bit like a steep walk! After a couple of hours we were off and planning our next friction slab climb - when it started to rain!
It rained and rained. The rain was the onset of a thunder storm. The rain continued for almost 3 days. On the 1st Sept the snow ploughs had finished opening up the Grimselpass, so we went for a drive to escape - the weather was due to be better at a lower altitude in Italy. The hire car had standard tyres, so I was glad that the temp only went down to 0.5 degrees at the top of the pass, so we didn't have to deal with icy roads.

The slabs had all changed by the 1st Sept - the storm had ended and the snow line was below 1500m