Appenzell
Next on my mini van tour I picked up Amy in Konstanz, Germany and headed back to Switzerland (1hr 30min drive) to an area called Appenzell in the NE which is mostly known for its cheese!This area is not well known for it's climbing but the guidebook (Plaisir Extrem Ost) indicated some high mountain cragging and short multipitches (2-4 pitches) in a nice looking setting. Amy was keen not to miss out on cows with bells and mountain air.
The Appenzell mountains were super beautiful, a fantastic area for walking and with lots of undeveloped rock, there was literally limestone crags everywhere! We climbed on the line of cliffs called Ascher below Ebenalp peak. The climbing was actually quite good, 1-3 pitch routes with good bolts on compact solid limestone. The walk-in was about 1hr 30min of steep uphill, or a 20 euro each way lift option. We got the lift up the first day, stashed gear up at the crag then walked up the other days.
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| Ebenalp |
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| Being an area popular with walkers had the advantages of some pretty amazing alpine huts for a post climbing beer. However, it's best not to get too carried away before the 1hr descent in the dark! |