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On the fringes of the Oberland Massif and in the Cantons of Vaud,
Fribourg and
have had their potential for rock climbing realised. The climbing is
generally on sound limestone or on excellent quality granite, and
many of the routes will be as good as are found anywhere else in the
On most of the cliffs described the routes are equipped with
pitons and/or bolts and it is left to the climber whether or not to use
the in situ gear for aid. Sometimes it is essential to use aid but at
other times, by doing so, it will bring many of the routes into the
realms of the possible for the average climber who does not
normally attempt E grade climbs.
Of necessity only a selection of climbs are described on a
selection of cliffs, most of which are fairly easily accessible. Most of
the routes do not have a written description but a topo diagram, and
usually a photograph, is used to indicate the line of ascent. On some
of the cliffs there have been so many routes developed that care
must be taken to avoid taking the wrong line. A line of pitons/bolts
does not always mean that the route you are climbing goes that way.
It is not uncommon for a route to finish below the top of the cliff.
Usually in these circumstances there will be an equipped abseil
descent line. This is also the case on many routes which do climb to
the top where the descent might otherwise be tedious or difficult. It
is not uncommon, especially among continental climbers, for only
one pitch of a climb to be done before abseiling back to the ground.
On practically all the cliffs described, new routes are
continually being developed and the use of aid on existing routes is
being eliminated.
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