Gänsekragen east ridge: a wet-snow descent

Good ridge climbing, all of it free. Franzi wasn't quite on form, and the descent wasn't trivial.

Machine-translated from the German original. The German version is the one I actually wrote.

Good ridge climbing, all of it free. At that difficulty it’s the only way a route like this is enjoyable.

Franzi wasn’t quite on form that day and had to fight for it. That happens, and it’s more unpleasant on a ridge than on a face — you can’t just hang for a moment and get your breath back.

The descent then wasn’t trivial. Wet-snow avalanche risk, so the kind of terrain you move through steadily and don’t stop in to take photographs.

It all worked out, but it was a day that took more attention than usual.