Monch - PD+

Route:

Monch - 4107m

Category:

Mountaineering

Route Gallery:

Route description:

The Monch is the central peak of the famous Grindelwald skyline, with the Eiger and Jungfrau sitting to either side. Sitting 500m above the surrounding glacier it is climbable in a morning from either the Jungfrau railway or Monchjoch hut.

The normal route up the south-east ridge features some nice scrambling and then steeper snow slopes which are protected by metal stakes. The final snow ridge can be incredibly narrow with a fair amount of exposure too. In a good snow year and early season it can be wide, and then narrows as the season progresses and the snow melts. Many teams stop before this final section on the sub summit. You need a cool head and good crampon technique for the final ridge.

For a traverse of the mountain we often climb the south-west ridge which has some nice scrambling/mixed climbing before some broken ground and snow slopes that lead to the summit. When combined with a descent of the normal route it makes a very satisfying traverse of the peak.

Grade - Normal Route is PD+. SW ridge - AD, III.

Required experience/skill level:

Intermediate. Some rock scrambling experience useful. Good crampon skills essential for final arete.

Length (in metres):

600m from Jungfrau Station. Summit height - 4107m

Time/duration:

3.5hrs in ascent, 2.5hrs descent.

Starting point/base:

Grindelwald, Jungfrau railway to Jungfraujoch station. Often climbed from the Monchjoch hut too.

Maximum guide ratio:

1:2

Normal season:

June - October

Links/ featured courses:

Monchjoch Hute - moenchsjoch

Railway - jungfrau

Weather forecast here: meteoblue

Lifts/huts etc:

Monchjoch Hute - moenchsjoch

Comments/notes:

This route features on some of our technical Alpinism trips. And we often climb this on day three on our Eiger trips.
See our scheduled trips page for more details.

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