Climbing in Gastlosen

The Gastlosen are a 12 km chain in the Swiss Prealps, straddling the cantonal borders of Fribourg, Bern and Vaud and culminating near the Dent de Savigny at about 2,252 metres; the range’s jagged skyline and compact alpine rock make it a natural venue for long, exposed pitches and multi‑pitch itineraries. Those geographic facts sit behind the filmic sequences collected in the catalog, which emphasize sustained climbing on big faces rather than single short boulder problems.

Swissway to Heaven pairs athletic, multi‑pitch sport and trad climbing with interviews that locate contemporary ascents in a longer history. The film follows Cédric Lachat and several peers across the Gastlosen and other Swiss venues, and it highlights long pitches in the 8a+ realm alongside conversations with earlier-generation climbers such as Beat Kammerlander and Claude Remy. The result is a portrait of place and continuity: the footage foregrounds ropework, route-finding and the muscular endurance needed on long faces, while the commentary traces how gear, ethics and ambition have shifted in Swiss big‑wall and alpine climbing without turning the sequence into a how‑to.