Wildstrubel
3,244 m
Switzerland
Also known as ვილდსტრუბელი, ВильдштрубельAlso known as
ვილდსტრუბელი · Вильдштрубель
- Elevation
- 3,244 m
- Prominence
- 816 m
- Difficulty
- 4/10
- Alpine hike
- Best Season
- Mar–Apr
- Routes
- 2
Routes
2Sources differ: L (SAC route portal (east side from the Lämmerenhütte; L = F))
The classic glacier ascent from the Gemmi cable car above Leukerbad: across the flat Lämmerenboden to the Lämmerenhütte (2,507 m), up a cairned combe to the Wildstrubelgletscher at about 2,850 m, and in a wide arc over gentle glacier slopes to the summit cross. Grade F, about 1,000 m of ascent, often done in a day from the first cable car.
Elevation Profile
approximate line- Distance
- 8.7 km
- one way
- Ascent
- +1,033 m
- −103 m lost on the way up
- High Point
- 3,244 m
- Time Up
- 4h 44m
- DIN 33466
- Time Down
- 3h 30m
- DIN 33466 · same way back
From the Gemmipass top station of the cable car from Leukerbad, walk west down to the Lämmerenboden and along it to the foot of the terrace on which the Lämmerenhütte (2,507 m) stands, about 1¼ hours. Most parties spend the night there. From the hut follow a well-cairned path west-south-west, cross the stream on a metal ladder and climb the stony combe round the base of the Lämmerenhorn to the tongue of the Wildstrubelgletscher at about 2,850 m (in snowy conditions the glacier is joined lower, around 2,650 m). Climb the glacier in a wide arc to the left along its left-bank moraine, aiming between the spur from point 3,172 and the rock island that splits the glacier, pass above the island to the south-west, then head west up a broad shoulder from point 3,234. From there go south to the main (west) summit, the Lenkerstrubel at 3,244 m, up a fairly steep final slope, or north to the Mittelgipfel (3,243 m). Allow 2½–3 hours from the hut. The glacier has more crevasses than the nearby Plaine Morte, so rope up. There are short slopes of about 30°. The three tops (Wildstrubel, Mittelgipfel and Grossstrubel) can be linked along the crest without real difficulty; the short ridges are more impressive than difficult. Descend the same way.
Start
Gemmipass2,314 m
- Leukerbad–Gemmipass cable car
- Train to Leuk, bus to Leukerbad, then the Gemmi cable car; from Kandersteg, the Sunnbüel cable car and a 4-hour walk via the Gemmipass.
Stages
| Day | Stage | km | m ascent | m descent | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gemmipass → Lämmerenhütte | 4.3 | 251 | 62 | 1h 33m |
| 2 | Lämmerenhütte → Wildstrubel | 4.4 | 782 | 41 | 3h 14m |
Waypoints
- Lift: Gemmipass2,314 m
Top station of the Leukerbad–Gemmi cable car
- Feature: Lämmerenboden2,347 m
not on route line
- Hut: Lämmerenhütte2,505 m
- Feature: Wildstrubelgletscher3,092 m
Joined at about 2,850 m in summer
- Summit: Wildstrubel3,244 m
Key Passages
- Metal ladder over the stream above the Lämmerenhütte
- Crevassed slopes of the Wildstrubelgletscher around the central rock island
- Fairly steep final slope to the summit cross
Equipment
0/10 packedDownloads
Route confidence 80%Overview
A broad, three-topped limestone massif (3,244 m) on the Bern–Valais border between Lenk, Adelboden and Leukerbad, crowned by small glaciers and the Plaine Morte ice plateau. The easiest summit in its class: an F glacier route from the Gemmi, or a long glacier-free T4 walk from Lenk.
The Wildstrubel is not one peak but a curved crest about four kilometres long carrying three tops of almost equal height: the Wildstrubel or Lenkerstrubel in the west (3,244 m, the highest), the Mittelgipfel (3,243 m) and the Grossstrubel (3,243 m) in the east. It closes the heads of the Simme valley above Lenk and the Engstligen valley above Adelboden, and falls south to the Plaine Morte glacier plateau and the Lämmerenboden above the Gemmipass.
The SAC calls it a summit that is fairly easy to reach from every side. All routes except the one from Lenk cross glacier or firn: from the east the Wildstrubelgletscher from the Lämmerenhütte, from the west the Glacier de la Plaine Morte from the Plaine Morte cable car above Crans-Montana or the Wildstrubelhütte. From Lenk a long, steep path via the Simmenfälle, the Siebenbrunnen springs and the Flueseeli climbs over 2,100 m without touching ice. From the top the view takes in the Bernese Oberland, the Pennine Alps and Mont Blanc.
The massif is a classic ski-touring area in late winter and spring, with traverses between Lenk, Adelboden, the Gemmi and Crans-Montana, and it lies on the multi-day Tour du Wildstrubel.
Climbing Notes
From the Gemmi, the glacier route is short enough for a long single day from the first cable car, but most parties sleep at the Lämmerenhütte and start early: about 1¼ hours to the hut, then 2½–3 hours to the summit. Basic glacier skills and full kit are needed; the Wildstrubelgletscher is more crevassed than the Plaine Morte. In mist the broad, featureless glacier and summit plateau make navigation difficult. The glacier-free route from Lenk is a very long day (7–8 hours up, over 2,100 m) and is better split with a night at the self-catering Flueseehütte; it needs sure feet on exposed, partly chained cliffs and good visibility on the scree above. The summer season runs from about July to September; from February to April the massif is a popular ski tour.
History
Camptocamp records a probable ascent of one of the tops in 1855 by Dr M. Schmid and Jakob Tritten, and the first confirmed ascent on 16 August 1856 by Edmund von Fellenberg with Jakob Tritten. On 8 September 1857 Thomas Woodbine Hinchliff and Eaglesfield Bradshaw Smith with Zacharie Cachat made the second known ascent, the first by the north-west couloir and the first of the Mittelgipfel; Hinchliff described it in Peaks, Passes, and Glaciers (1860). Another Camptocamp entry credits the first ascent to Hinchliff and Leslie Stephen with Melchior Anderegg on 11 September 1858, which may refer to their Gemmi–Lenk crossing.
Season
Best Mar–Apr- January: Possible
- February: Good
- March: Best (best window)
- April: Best (best window)
- May: Possible
- June: Good
- July: Best
- August: Best
- September: Good
- October: Possible
- November: Not advisable
- December: Not advisable
- Jan
- Ski touring; Lämmerenhütte staffed from late January
- Feb
- Ski-touring season
- Mar
- Classic ski tours and traverses
- Apr
- Spring ski touring; hut staffed until mid-April
- May
- Spring snow; hut closed
- Jun
- Hut opens mid-June; snow on the approach and the Lenk cliff path
- Aug
- Bare glacier; crevasses visible
- Sep
- Bare ice; shorter days
- Oct
- Hut closes mid-October; first snow
- Dec
- Hut open over the Christmas holidays
Access & Permits
- Hut Booking
- Lämmerenhütte SAC: book online via hut-reservation.org, by phone (+41 27 470 25 15) or email (info@laemmeren.ch). Flueseehütte: private self-catering hut, booking required (fluhsee.ch).
- Fees
- Leukerbad–Gemmi cable car fare if used
- Getting There
Leukerbad; Lenk im Simmental
Bern (BRN); Geneva (GVA); Zurich (ZRH)
- Train to Leuk, bus to Leukerbad, cable car to the Gemmipass
- From Kandersteg, the Sunnbüel cable car and a walk over the Gemmipass (about 4 hours to the Lämmerenhütte)
- Train to Lenk im Simmental, then bus to the Simmenfälle for the route via the Flueseeli
- Crans-Montana–Plaine Morte cable car for the western routes over the Glacier de la Plaine Morte
Hazards
- Glacier
- Crevasses
- Rockfall
- Avalanche
- Weather
- Exposure
Huts & Shelters
2- 2,049 m
FlueseehütteHutUnstaffedBooking required
- 2,507 m
LämmerenhütteHutStaffedBooking required
96 beds · Staffed 11 June–11 October 2026; 26 December–5 January and 21 January–18 April in winter 2026/27; 10-place winter room