Dammastock
3,630 m
Switzerland
Also known as Дамащок, დამასტოკიAlso known as
Дамащок · დამასტოკი
- Elevation
- 3,630 m
- Prominence
- 1,467 m
- Difficulty
- 5/10
- Easy alpine
- Best Season
- Jun–Jul
- Routes
- 1
AdvisoryReported 8 Jun 2026
Condition reports from May 2025 and June 2026 describe the descent from the Belvédère onto the Rhone Glacier as harder every year, with rockfall around the ice grotto; on 8 June 2026 workers were clearing loose rock above the access path without closing the glacier side. The glacier was bare to about 2,800 m in early June 2026.
gipfelbuch.ch
Routes
1Sources differ: WS- (ski tour WS) (SAC route portal / gipfelbuch.ch)
A long, technically easy glacier walk up the full length of the Rhone Glacier from the Belvédère on the Furka road to the Grossfirn and the gentle west flank of the highest summit in Central Switzerland. 1,410 m of ascent, 5–6 hours up; the awkward, rockfall-prone descent onto the glacier beside the ice grotto is the first crux.
Elevation Profile
approximate line- Distance
- 10.2 km
- one way
- Ascent
- +1,413 m
- −60 m lost on the way up
- High Point
- 3,630 m
- Time Up
- 6h 07m
- DIN 33466
- Time Down
- 4h 18m
- DIN 33466 · same way back
Start at the Belvédère bus stop and car park (2,269 m) on the Furka pass road. Pass the souvenir shop on its right (east) side, which is closed early in the morning and must be bypassed, and descend the path towards the ice grotto. Getting past the grotto onto the ice is awkward and exposed to rockfall on the east side; it can also be bypassed on the lake (west) side on iron pegs and fixed ropes. Then step onto the Rhone Glacier and put on crampons. Follow the glacier to about 2,520 m, then leave it on its eastern edge to avoid the heavily crevassed zone around 2,700 m, following faint traces and cairns towards point 2,769 m before returning to the ice. Continue into the upper basin of the glacier, the Grossfirn, and climb the gentle glaciated west flank to the summit. Descend the same way, 3–4 hours. With poor snow cover or late in the season the crevasses make the route considerably harder. In recent years the glacier has been bare ice to about 2,800 m by June, and climbers report the approach onto the ice getting harder each year as the area around the glacier lake drops away. Most people do it as a long day from the road; in spring it is one of the most popular ski tours in Central Switzerland.
Start
Belvédère2,277 m
- Summer PostBus over the Furka pass between Oberwald and Andermatt to the Belvedere Furka stop.
- Parking at the trailhead
Stages
| Day | Stage | km | m ascent | m descent | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Belvédère → Dammastock | 10.2 | 1,413 | 60 | 6h 07m |
Waypoints
- Parking: Belvédère2,277 m
PostBus stop (summer only) and car park on the Furka pass road
- Feature: Eisgrotte2,246 m
Access onto the glacier beside the ice grotto; rockfall
- Feature: Grossfirn2,910 m
Upper basin of the Rhone Glacier
- Summit: Dammastock3,630 m
Key Passages
- Bypassing the souvenir shop and ice grotto onto the Rhone Glacier (iron pegs and fixed ropes on the lake side)
- East-side bypass of the crevassed zone at about 2,700 m via P. 2769
- Grossfirn upper basin
- Glaciated west flank to the summit
Equipment
0/8 packedDownloads
Route confidence 80%Overview
At 3,630 m the Dammastock is the highest peak of the Uri Alps, of the canton of Uri and of Central Switzerland. Steep walls drop east to the Göschenertal; to the west the Rhone Glacier gives a long, gentle glacier walk to the top.
The Dammastock is the highest point of the Winterberg chain, known locally as the Dammakette, which dominates the head of the Göschenertal. To the east its walls fall steeply to the heavily crevassed Damma Glacier; to the west the broad Rhone Glacier, the source of the Rhône, forms a flat incline up to the summit. From the north the mountain is only reached by climbing of grade III–IV.
The normal route is a glacier walk rather than a climb: about 1,400 m of ascent from the Belvédère on the Furka pass road, almost all on ice and snow. Its difficulties are length, crevasses late in the season, and the access onto the glacier beside the ice grotto, which has become steeper and more exposed to rockfall as the glacier has thinned. In spring the same line is one of the most popular ski tours in Central Switzerland.
On the Göschenertal side the SAC Dammahütte (2,438 m) on the south ridge of the Moosstock serves the harder east rib, and in summer parties also traverse from the Trift hut to the Furka.
Climbing Notes
Needs basic glacier skills (roped travel, crevasse rescue) and fitness for a 9–10 hour day with 1,400 m of ascent on ice and snow. Altitude is modest. Go in a roped party of at least two, or with a mountain guide. Start before dawn from the Belvédère so that snow bridges are still frozen on the return. In late summer the lower glacier is bare and crevassed and the route takes longer.
In spring (April to early June) most ascents are on ski from the Belvédère once the Furka road is open, or from the Trift hut. Check the latest condition reports for the access onto the glacier beside the ice grotto, where rockfall and changing terrain are the main objective hazard.
History
The first ascent was made on 28 July 1864 by Albert Hoffmann-Burkhardt with the guides Johann Fischer and Andreas von Weissenfluh, by the Rhone Glacier side.
Season
Best Jun–Jul- January: Not advisable
- February: Not advisable
- March: Possible
- April: Possible
- May: Good
- June: Best (best window)
- July: Best (best window)
- August: Good
- September: Good
- October: Possible
- November: Not advisable
- December: Not advisable
- Jan
- Furka pass road closed; access only by long ski tours
- Feb
- Furka pass road closed
- Mar
- Ski tour from the Trift hut or via the Furka railway area for experienced parties
- Apr
- Ski touring; road access depends on Furka opening
- May
- Classic ski tour from the Belvédère once the pass road opens
- Jun
- Late ski tours and early summer ascents; lower glacier already bare in recent years
- Jul
- Summer glacier walk; good snow cover higher up
- Aug
- Crevasses more open; longer route-finding
- Sep
- Possible, but icy and crevassed; short days
- Oct
- Until the Furka road closes
Access & Permits
- Rules
- Access to the Rhone Glacier beside the ice grotto passes the private souvenir shop at the Belvédère; it is closed early in the morning and must be bypassed
- Getting There
Oberwald (Goms) and Realp/Andermatt (Urseren)
Zurich Airport (ZRH)
- Summer PostBus over the Furka pass between Oberwald and Andermatt, stop Belvedere Furka
- By car over the Furka pass road (open in summer only) to the Belvédère car park
- Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn to Oberwald or Realp/Andermatt for the bus connection
Hazards
- Glacier
- Crevasses
- Rockfall
- Weather
- Avalanche