Climbing days
Eifel & Sauerland
Germany

The Sauerland and the Eifel are ideal for day trips and short breaks lasting several days, as you can be there in under an hour from almost anywhere in NRW and the journey from Frankfurt and large parts of Hesse takes less than 2 hours. The Sauerland is better known for winter sports or hiking and is wrongly regarded as rather unspectacular in terms of climbing – a favorable circumstance that leads to fewer crowds at the crags. And if you know where to go, there is a lot to discover here!

To avoid overloading the climbing areas and ensure a relaxed atmosphere, our climbing days take place in small groups and are accompanied by 1 to 2 trainers, depending on group size. This way, we make sure we can split up perfectly on site, have enough pairs of eyes to look after your safety, don’t block individual sectors for longer than necessary—and, most importantly, that you get plenty of climbing time yourself, for as long as you like.

The climbing and bouldering days can be booked as a complete beginner, with previous experience or even as a semi-professional with special technical questions – we make sure that everyone finds climbing or bouldering routes for their own level, can climb and boulder in their comfort zone and we also have challenges ready if you need one. If you indicate your experience when booking, we can look at which area and which sector we can go to, so that everyone is challenged but not overwhelmed.

Participation is possible as an independent group as well as in pairs or without a climbing partner.

Even if our climbing and bouldering days are not primarily intended as a course, our beginners’ concept comes very close. In any case, we will teach you everything you need to know to spend a relaxed day on the rock and you will be amazed at how quickly you will make progress and feel safe.

First, we will familiarize you with the equipment and teach you the first belaying techniques for belaying as a team. Then we’ll head to the wall and you can try your hand at climbing and practise belaying. This is all done according to the principle: “everything can, nothing must” – so you can always decide for yourself how far you want to go or how high you want to climb. As a beginner, you will always climb in the “toprope”, i.e. you will always be secured from above with a rope, and our trainers will provide you with tips and tricks throughout the day and keep a constant eye on your safety. If you are interested in a sophisticated teaching concept, then one of our courses rather than a climbing day is the right choice.

No previous experience is required for our climbing and bouldering days, just a love of exercise, fun in the great outdoors and some basic fitness. The aim for this day is a fear-free, safe climbing adventure on natural rock – without stress and with plenty of space to try things out.

If you already have some previous experience on the rock (tying in figure of eight knots, belaying in top rope or lead climbing is no problem), then you’ve come to the right place. We will choose the area, adapt the planning to the conditions and, if necessary, bring all the equipment you need for a little climbing adventure. What’s more, one of us is always with you so that you always have someone to talk to, can step out of your comfort zone and always get a few technical tips.

Even for very experienced climbers, it’s great to spend a beautiful, relaxing day in nature and go climbing together with a small group. The experience and safety of our climbing instructors are also included. This means you can simply sit back and let us clip in the more difficult routes or pick up a tip from time to time to help you make progress on the crux. The main aim of the day is to climb a lot together and leave all the organization to us.

We know (almost) all areas of NRW, northern Hesse and northern Rhineland-Palatinate and are always looking for a new and exciting challenge for you. So you are welcome to join us, even if you just want to get to know a new area.

In the North Eifel lies the Rurtal climbing area, stretching along the river Rur. The majority of the climbing crags are located near the town of Nideggen, which is home to the National Park Gate—making the town the northern “entrance” to the Eifel National Park. The red sandstone cliffs with their strikingly prominent rock faces boast over 100 years of climbing history; in fact, climbing began here as early as the beginning of the 20th century. Thanks to this long tradition, the Rurtal crags are well-known among climbers throughout Germany.

Thanks to their easy accessibility, the Rurtal crags are especially well-suited for day trips. In the Effels sector, you can first get acquainted with the conglomerate-studded red sandstone that is characteristic of the region. Here you’ll find many easy routes to help you get comfortable on the rock, which is why we particularly like to choose these sectors for beginners. Novices benefit throughout the entire North Eifel from the fact that the distinctive pebbles are easy to recognize as holds and footholds, so you spend less time searching for grips than in other areas. At the same time, the North Eifel also offers advanced climbers plenty of challenges—for example, in the Hirtzley sector, you’ll find longer routes where you can climb up to 40 meters high.

The southeastern Eifel offers several climbing areas that are best explored with us over the course of a multi-day short break—there’s so much to discover! Here you’ll find black basalt columns in the climbing areas around Mayen, Ettringen, and Kottenheim. In Gerolstein, beautiful limestone walls await, and in Glees, there are some not-quite-as-tall basanite crags of volcanic origin, which are also ideal for bouldering.

To combine different areas, a weekend or long weekend is ideal for the Southern Eifel, if you can find the time. Otherwise, you can also make great day trips here, which usually start a little earlier so that you can use the whole day. For example, we like to go to Kottenheimer Winfeld, a former quarry that was discovered by climbers in the 1980s. The basalt rocks here are of particularly good quality and as the rocks are not very high (usually around 15 meters) you have a very good overview when climbing. There are many rocks with routes for all levels – it certainly won’t be boring here and in addition to the climbing routes, there are also numerous bouldering rocks.

If you’re exclusively interested in bouldering, the southeastern Eifel is also a top choice – for that, we usually head to Glees, where a rock-strewn forest offers countless opportunities to let loose, while also providing a beautifully enchanted backdrop.

The location
The Glees bouldering area is our second selection of bouldering areas in Germany. It is located in the East Eifel and is actually the name of an entire local community in the district of Ahrweiler. It is located about halfway between Nürburg and Koblenz. Immediately south of Glees is the Laacher See, which is the largest lake in Rhineland-Palatinate.

The Boulders
The rocks consist of volcanic rock, more precisely basanite. In total, there are currently nearly 900 different routes. Especially in recent years, new routes have been continuously developed – meaning they have been cleared of moss, cleaned, and first ascended.

We regularly travel to Glees and Kottenheim and also offer day trips.

Special features
In Glees, rocks with a long-standing bouldering tradition alternate with untouched boulders that have been covered in moss for a long time. So you have the opportunity to try out existing routes and at the same time watch or even help to open up new crags. Die “Gleesards” des Boulderverein Eifel liefern hier vorbildliche Arbeit bei der kontinuierlichen Erschließung neuer Boulder sowie der Pflege der bestehenden Wege.

Interesting naming
Fans of “The Lord of the Rings” and “Monty Python” will be familiar with sector and route names such as Mordor, Orthanc, Romani ite domum and Rübennase.

The Sauerland is a low mountain range region in the eastern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, an idyllic landscape in the middle of Germany characterized by mountains and valleys, rivers, meadows and forests. Well-known winter sports resorts such as Winterberg and Alt- or Neuastenberg as well as popular hiking destinations such as the mountain peaks of Langenberg, Hegekopf and the Kahler Asten attract tourists from all over Germany.

For us climbers, the Sauerland has 14 climbing areas with a wide variety of climbing to offer, and even if the name Schiefergebirge (Slate Mountains) suggests that slate is predominant, the name belies the local conditions. In fact, the Sauerland offers climbers a whole range of different types of rock.

Thanks to its central location, the Sauerland is ideal for day trips or weekend excursions from all over NRW – from Cologne, Düsseldorf or Essen, for example, you can be at the crag in under an hour and even from Frankfurt it only takes just under 2 hours. We organize climbing days, climbing courses and short breaks lasting several days, which take place at regular intervals and mainly at weekends.

The Sauerland is incredibly versatile when it comes to climbing and offers a wide range of different rock types. Around Olpe, for example near Scharpenbeul, we mainly find sandstone. We get limestone under our fingertips in Elberskamp, while the Lenneplatte is home to karst rock and greywacke.

It is particularly interesting that in the Sauerland you climb exclusively in quarries, which makes the areas look similar to each other – but above all, there is usually only one access route, so that we often have the sometimes well-hidden sectors to ourselves. It looks as if the rock has been carved into the hill or mountain, which means that the routes are rarely very exposed. Overall, the Sauerland is much more beginner-friendly than the red sandstone, Elbe sandstone or, in some cases, the Eifel. At the same time, the Sauerland also had the most difficult route in Germany until the mid-1990s, so there should also be enough difficult climbing for the tough climbers among you. Technically, there is both friction climbing (e.g. in the Steinschab or Lenneplatte area) as well as overhanging or small-grip ledge climbing, so that even advanced climbers can have a great time here – you just have to know where to go.

As we have different offers in the Eifel and can do individual climbing days, short breaks lasting several days as well as different types of courses with you, there is no standard meeting point for all offers. We also try to determine the exact climbing area at relatively short notice so that we can react as flexibly as possible to the weather forecast. If you decide on one of our offers, you will always know in advance whether we will be in the North or South Eifel – we will then determine the exact climbing area approx. 1 week in advance and of course let you know these details in good time.

If you come by train, Nideggen-Brück station is a good starting point in the northern Eifel and Andernach station in the southern Eifel. We can almost always meet here – but please contact us before you book a train ticket so that we can arrange a meeting point/time with you if necessary.

If you come by car, we will send you a Google location with GPS coordinates so that you can get to the meeting point on your own.

As we have different offers in the Sauerland and can do individual climbing days, short breaks lasting several days as well as different types of courses with you, there is no standard meeting point for all offers. We also try to determine the exact climbing area and sector at relatively short notice so that we can react as flexibly as possible to the weather forecast – we determine the exact climbing area approx. 1 week in advance.

If you are coming by train, Attendorn, for example, is a good starting point. However, we ask you to contact us first before booking a train ticket so that we can arrange an alternative if necessary. Depending on the area, the meeting point may vary considerably. .

If you come by car, we will send you a Google location with GPS coordinates so that you can get to the meeting point on your own.