The Swiss town of Interlaken is a sporting utopia of sorts. From sky diving and mountaineering to sailing, the options cover the gamut of air, ground and water activities. Nestled in between some of the most imposing and famous mountains of the Swiss Alps and with a direct view of the infamous Eiger, it also makes and ideal starting point to reach various climbing locations across the Canton of Bern.
One area next to Interlaken itself contains a number of climbing walls including sector Neuhaus, which offers some great climbing on limestone rock with hassle free access. Neuhaus lies just on the West of the town outskirts, and underneath Beatenberg. The area has some nice hiking trails and walks, and provides free parking for tourists. From the carpark, the sector can be reached via a short 15min walk, leading to a clearly marked trail that then climbs a steep hillside for 5 minutes. Climbing access rarely is this easy!
The sector itself is home to roughly 60 climbing routes that spans a number of bigger walls. Mostly in the shade and ideal for summer activity, this area caters for climbing in the range of 6a to 7a and provides medium length routes up to around 20 metres.
The routes are well secured, however a number of them can test your lead climbing head with some challenging sections and are a great place to put your skills to the test. I particularly enjoyed the style of routes here, reminding me of the slab like climbing found in coastal England: lots of cracks, lean backs and distinct sections allowing for variety within the routes. Additionally the top of most routes are well bolted with some combination of carabineers and chains, perfect for setting up top ropes if needed.
Apparently the area can get quite full, however we visited on a sunny weekend and saw maybe 5-10 climbers, nothing to worry about. As with almost everywhere in low lying areas in Switzerland, bring some mosquito spray or you’ll be eaten alive!
Grab yourself a copy of the climbing book Extrem West which has a detailed break-down of all the climbing in this area, as well as some other sectors close by, like Lehn, in-case you feel the itch to try something harder.
What I liked:
+ Quality of some of the routes
+ A lot of problems
+ Easy approach
What I disliked:
– Exposition and shade can make the area feel a little
– Rock has taken a fair beating from lots of usage
– Can get full during peak climbing season
GPS coordinates for the wall: 46.685501, 7.822178
GPS coordinates for the car park: 46.687008, 7.831414
