Bouldering guide to the Northern & Central Alpine regions of Switzerland.

Building on the success of recent titles such as Ibloc – Bouldering in Northern Italy and Ebloc – Bouldering in Spain, Gebro Verlag return to where it all began with their latest bouldering title, Swiss Bloc 1 – Schweiz North.

It was Hary Röker's 2004 publication (via publisher tmms-Verlag), Blocheart – Bouldering in the heart of the Alps which first gave foreign visitors a simple, multilingual one-stop-shop title to the now world famous destinations of Chironico, Cresciano and of course Magic Wood, and Blocheart remained the only print guide covering Magic Wood for some 5 years or more. Of course their were other guides available to many of these areas at the time, however these were often only locally available, unilingual, and covered only specific areas. To this end one could argue that the Blocheart guide was one of the originating catalysts to ignite world interest in Swiss bouldering, and if nothing else opened up destinations like Magic Wood to the masses.

So six years on, and after producing over ten ever improving tomes to both route and bouldering destinations, Gebro Verlag and more specifically Hary and Ulrich Röker have come full circle with this guide to the best “boulder hot spots” of northern and central Switzerland.

This volume covers the areas most in need of up to date information as well as a number of newly developed areas; in total the book covers 12 areas:

• Kesslerloch - Problems 19
• Magic Wood - Problems 583
• Engleberg - Problems 179
• Blattiswald - Problems 60
• Morschach - Problems 26
• Gotthardpass - Problems 447
• Sustenpass - Problems 183
• Steingletscher - Problems 51
• Grimselpass - Problems 342
• Fuxenstein - Problems 30
• Kandersteg - Problems 251
• Goppenstein - Problems 20

Whilst many of the location names above will be unfamiliar to even the well traveled boulderer, I can assure you that some of these lesser known areas are well worthy of inclusion, with the likes of the Grimselpass and Engleberg being prolific in both quality climbing and the stunning scenery we have come to expect from Alpine bouldering locations. If the idea of checking out these ‘new’ areas doesn’t float your boat, then rest easy as the Röker brothers have done a stand up job of extensively covering the better known areas, such as Magic Wood, Gotthardpass and Sustenpass. As with most modern bouldering guides, Swiss Bloc 1 utilizes photo-topos throughout whilst also incorporating accurate overview maps (for orientation purposes) where applicable. Of the venues most dramatically transformed by the photo-topo method, Magic Wood benefits vastly, with the area feeling far less foreboding to climbers new to this massively complex labyrinth of blocks. The format in general mirrors that of the Ibloc and Ebloc guides, but for the benefit of those unfamiliar with these works here’s a rundown of the layout formula.

Layout
First off the most notable feature of the guide is its trilingual approach, with nearly all information displayed in German, English and French – in that order. The guide starts with the standard intro sections, including an index of areas, forward (in German only), and some general information on accommodation, supplies, best times to visit, grading and basic equipment required. Finally, a useful grade spread table covering each venue is included and a handy lexicon of bouldering terms in each of the guide’s purveyed languages marks the start of the climbing areas…

As you would imagine each venue included offers an almost identical layout of information, incorporating an introduction to the crag, how to get their (there is also a large scale overview map on the inside back cover displaying the locations of all venues included), on foot approach info, rock type, climate & altitude specs, and some details on the aspect of the area, including the type of landing’s you’ll likely encounter.

Overall this, like all the Gebro Verlag works, is a simple but effective guide book with a solid multilingual format, and whilst it may lack the slick graphically superior finish of other guides, and most specifically the recent Alpen en Bloc 1 guide by Panico (which covers many of the same areas), Swiss Bloc’s raw information is generally far more extensive and is comprehensively given in English. As an aside, the Panico book only offers basic crag intro information in English and also has some major flaws in the Magic Wood section. One slight let down in Swiss Bloc is the lack of inspiring action photographs, an area where the Panico guide is superior. In summary, when it comes to depth of info, usability and functionality Swiss Bloc 1 is the best choice for anyone visiting the areas included in the guide.

Purchase Swiss Bloc Volume 1 here.