Take the larger figure in full
Of height (in hours at 400 m) and distance (in hours at 4–5 km), take the larger one in full.
Alpine · planning
Tour planning
Time, maps, your own crags and the next step after the course — so the tour doesn’t fail on the approach.
In short
- Approach and descent often take longer than the climbing — work time and weather beforehand, not at the car park.
- Topo + map + weather. White Risk for Switzerland, Outdooractive almost everywhere, Swiss Topo when it has to be exact.
- After the course: climb guided-style tours, build experience, then ask your section about Trainer C alpine climbing.
1 · Tour length
Length of the tour
Short days need precise planning.
What’s the maximum number of pitches or vertical metres my tour can have?
Typical
20–30min/pitch
Beginners
40–60min/pitch
Guidelines including changeovers — plus approach, descent and rappels. Set daylight and the weather window first, then work backwards.
Approach & descent
Timing the ascent
A typical walker: about 400 m of ascent per hour, 4–5 km of distance. Combine distance and height — don’t add both in full.
Add half of the smaller
Add half of the smaller figure. Result ≈ ascent time without breaks.
Example
800 m of height and 6 km: 800 m = 2 h, 6 km ≈ 1.2–1.5 h. Larger in full (2 h) + half of the smaller (~0.7 h) ≈ 2.5–2.7 h.
Descent
On the descent: 600–700 m of height per hour, distance stays the same (4–5 km/h). Again the larger in full, half of the smaller.
On foot only
This is only the walk-in and walk-out — climbing time is above under length of the tour.
2 · Base of the wall
Before you start
Don’t rack up right at the base of the wall — stay clear of rockfall zones!
Rockfall clue
Fine small stones on the boulders at the base are a hint of rockfall. Helmet stays on; don’t belay needlessly under loose ground.
Rope team
Roles in the rope team
Leader
Clips the protection and reaches the stance first.
Second
Follows, dismantles the stance and takes the protection with them.
Calls and sequence under Rope commands →
Navigation
Maps & tools
Swiss Topo / map.geo.admin.ch
Official Swiss national map — contours, paths, rock. Accurate, free, in the browser.
Open ↗Outdooractive
Approaches, tracks, times. Good for a first pass — always cross-check with topo and map.
Open ↗White Risk
Avalanches and alpine weather (SLF) — relevant as soon as there’s snow, couloirs, or early/late season.
Open ↗Logbook
My crags
Where I’ve been — and what’s next. Green is climbed, blue is planned. Click a pin or a card to zoom in.
Where to
Practice crags & tour areas
Practise cams and nuts on crystalline rock first — granite, gneiss, porphyry cam more honestly than smooth limestone. Why is under Rock types. Then Plaisir tours, then more serious.
Baden-Baden
PracticeBattert
Good in the easy grades for practising cams and nuts — close, readable, forgiving if a piece doesn’t sit.
Murgtal
PracticeGernsbach — Ergenfelsen
A hidden crag with two cracks. Practise cams on crystalline rock (gneiss, granite, porphyry) — it cams more honestly than smooth limestone.
Northern Black Forest
PracticeBrettfels
Pumprisse — classic crack ground for placing and climbing.
Schwäbische Alb
TourDonautal
Limestone, often sport or mixed. Good day trips when the high mountains don’t play along.
- Alte Hausener Wand
- Eigerturm
- Schaufels
- Schreyfels (Opakante)
Switzerland
Bad-weather plan BSwiss Jura
A fair-weather magnet — when the Alps are in cloud or storm, the Jura is often still dry and climbable.
Appenzell
TourAlpstein
A compact range with short approaches and lots of rock. A good next step after Plaisir starter tours.
Montafon / Rätikon
TourRätikon
Limestone, long walls, classic alpine routes. More serious than the Jura or Donautal — take weather windows and rappels seriously.
- Saulakopf
- Zimba
- Sulzfluh
Uri / Wallis
TourFurkapass
Granite at pass height — short approaches, cam terrain, often used as a trad and multi-pitch playground.
Topo & guidebooks
What you take
Plaisir selected guidebook (Panico)
The classic for well-protected pleasure multi-pitch in the Alps. First filter: protection and approach, not the crux grade.
Read the first-ascent year
From about 1980 a line is usually “modern” (bolts, clearer line). Older than about 1950: often the big features, where you could protect then — the line can wander.
Grades, obligatory and p.a. are under Grading systems →
After the course
Next steps
Climb in the lead
Next step after the multi-pitch course: lead yourself, build stances, rappel in real conditions — start on well-protected Plaisir lines.
Trainer C Alpinklettern
Ask at your DAV section. Requirement: documented climbing experience, typically from the last 3–5 years — not just gym metres.
Food at the crag
Course guideline: 4 kabanos and 2 bars per day sits well. 2 kabanos and 2 bars works — but it’s lean once the day gets long.
Full list under Packing list →
Gear and sequence: Packing list → · Rappelling → · Trad →
Area and timing tips from the DAV multi-pitch course — always check weather, approach and local conditions afresh.