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| Page Type: Trip Report Location: Switzerland, Europe Lat/Lon: 46.55131°N / 8.04749°E Date Climbed/Hiked: Aug 7, 2009 Activities: Mountaineering Season: Summer | Page By: sergio Created/Edited: Aug 11, 2009 / Aug 16, 2009 Object ID: 539642 Hits: 3210 Loading... Page Score: 91.17% - 60 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
It all started a long time agoThis obsession of mine had followed me for many years, just another fixation with another mystic mountain, the (in)famous Eiger. Sometimes I wondered why and how this obsession started. Who knows, maybe it was just another mountain I wanted to scratch off my list of 'to do' peaks, maybe not. All I knew is that the Eiger obsession grew inside my mind stronger and stronger and I knew that the only way to get over it was to set my feet and hands on her.
Back in the 70's I watched a Clint Eastwood movie, the Eiger Sanction and nobody knew, including me, that one day I would have been the one instead of Clint standing on the summit.
Since I told my climbing buddy Mark about the movie, he said 'hey, I have that movie on a DVD, and you can borrow it anytime'. Ok, thanks Mark, you just made me drool like an idiot all over again as I watched Clint pretending to be in action on the North Face.
I always prepare for a serious climb by collecting as much beta and info as I can. Sometimes I do it "ad nauseam", and I almost feel like I have already climbed the mountain. This time was no exception, I knew every step of the route.
In 2008, I had attempted to solo climb the Eiger by the Mittellegi ridge but a summer storm and a good layer of snow brought me back to reality and told me to stay put for another shot at it. Last year I climbed the Monch with fellow Sp'er Snowflake and attempted the Jungfrau which I failed to summit. Although those climbs were exceptionally good, the obsession was always there, the Eiger couldn't leave me alone.
I arrived in Grindelwald on a rainy day, snowy above 2500 mt. My lucky lady did not want to help me out again. I patiently waited three days in town for conditions to improve. This time I was determined to get it done, regardless how long I had to wait. My patience paid off at last.
The location The Eiger is located in the Jungfrau region looming above Grindelwald, a touristy village of the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland. The first thing you'll notice upon entering town is the Eiger's massive North Face. Grindelwald became quite famous after the movie 'The Sound of Music' was filmed here in the 50's. Go to www.Grindelwald.ch to learn more about the town and the region. The most famous mountains of the Bernese Oberland are the Monch, the Jungfrau and the Eiger. While there are plenty of other beautiful peaks in the area, these three are known as the "Bernese trio" as they are all overlooking Grindelwald on one end and on the opposite side of the valley, the quiet village of Lauterbrunnen.
Grindelwad is easily reached through the excellent Swiss highway system, by train or by bus. Needless to say, Swiss are famous for their timeliness so you don't have to worry about missing any connection. Timetables are easily found on the Internet by Googling Grindelwald or by going to http://www.sbb.ch/en/A little history  The Mittellegi hut and the ridge
I wrote this trip report to tell you about my personal experience of climbing the Eiger but at the same time, I wanted to provide you with some useful beta that could make your life much easier should you decide to give it a shot.
The Mittellegi ridge was first climbed in 1921 by Yuko Maki, a Japanese climber who, while vacationing in Grindelwald, thought that the Eiger could be climbed by a different route than the West flank. Accompanied by local Swiss guides, he reached the summit but he recognized that the climb was extremely challenging and that there was a need to build a hut half way to make the climb safer and more accessible. In 1924, thanks to a $10,000 grant from Yuko Maki, the Mittellegi hut was built at a total cost of $14,000. The hut is perched atop the east ridge in a very precarious location. The original hut has served thousands of climbers until 2001 when it was replaced by a stronger and better structure, thus allowing a full service kitchen and bunk beds for almost 30 climbers (12 more climbers can sleep in the emergency shelter outside.
I tried to find a solid partner for quite some time but I could never find anyone who could commit or was willing to partner with me. The only way was to use a local guide. I am glad I used a guide as the South Ridge descent, unlike other descents, is not straightforward and requires a lot of route finding, especially if the conditions are not optimal. I'll tell you more about the descent in a little bit.
Day oneThe Eiger can climbed by many routes. The most common are the North Face (more than 30 routes are open), the Mittellegi ridge (full or via the Eismeer train station), the West flank or the South ridge. I chose the Mittellegi ridge via the Eismeer station as this route was more suitable and in line with my skills.
The full Mittellegi ridge starts in Grindelwald, requires an initial ride in the cable car, then a glacier crossing and a steep climb to the hut. Estimated time to reach the hut is 8-12 hours. The Mittellegi Ridge via Eismeer is done by boarding the train in Grindelwald to Kleine Scheidegg (you can also do the hike, est.time is 3 hrs.), then board the Jungfraujoch train system that will take you to the Jungfraujoch observatory and glacier.
The train stop before reaching the Jungfraujoch is the Eismeer, right inside the Eiger. From here there are various options to reach the glacier. You could rappel off the windows overlooking the glacier, descend into a short tunnel and then rappel onto the glacier or continue down into the tunnel and hope to downclimb the final steps before hitting the glacier. Please keep in mind that if you need to rappel to reach the glacier, it's going to be a one way ticket to the summit as you will not be able to climb back up to the windows and the options to get out of the glacier are not easy ones.  The windows of the Eismeer train station can be seen in the far background. Enlarge the picture to see the climber on the ridge. It will give you a good perspective of the size of the area
From here, an easy glacier walk takes you to the slabs that wil eventually lead to the hut.
The views here are fantastic and I recommend taking some time to enjoy them. The slabs start with a low fith class climb for the first pitch, then it gradually eases up to fourth and third class ledges all the way to the hut.
 The first pitch on the slabs
Rock fall is always a major hazard on the Eiger, and this section is no exception to it. With clear weather, the hut is always on sight so route finding is not a problem. Time to reach the hut is between 2 and 2 1/2 hours.
Once at the hut, the warden Corrinne will welcome you with a cup of hot tea. She is a very gracious and hospitable lady and most of all, a great chef. You will have plenty of time to enjoy the views all around from the hut balcony. To the north, the North Face stands below your feet while Grindelwald is still basking in the sun, some 6500 ft. further down the valley. To the east, the Wetterhorn. The the south, the Ischmeer glacier and the Swiss alps. And to the east, the next day's work was similing and winking at me. The Mittellegi ridge was in full view, just like a lady who was calling me to get closer.
It was beautiful and scary at the same time. Was this the reason why the Eiger (Ogre) had been named as such? Was it going to scare me away or to embrace me by allowing me to safely climb it? I was a little worried but I didn't tell anyone and I made sure to appear as confident as always. I was on a mission. I had promised myself that I would have safely stood on the summit, one way or the other. Good thoughts came back to my mind as I thought of the Eiger as Shrek, a benign type of ogre.
With a full hut, dinner is served in two sittings. I took the second as after dinner you get to hang out at the tables rather than moving outside or in the bunk room. Corrinne made a great dinner, actually it was amazing considering the location and the facility. Drinks are available but they are not cheap. All sodas and small water are 5.50 SF ($5.50) while beers are 6.00 SF ($6). Bring plenty of water with you from the valley as the only water available at the hut is expensive. Dinner is always a team effort, Corrinne cooks but everybody else has to set tables, do dishes, pots, clean tables, etc.. I offered to help by drying dishes and silverware.
After dinner we watched two climbers being rescued by elicopter from the Lauper route - a few hundreds feet east of the North Face. We couldn't tell if they were injured or just had to retreat. The Lauper route is a very challenging route so we assumed they were experienced climbers.
Day two
Sunrise |
Wake up call is usually 4am, followed by a great breakfast made by the tenacious warden Corrinne. What a treat is to wake up to find the table ready to go with fresh coffee, tea, cheese, jellies, butter, bread, o.j., and much more. Yep, no need to fire a stove and melt in the Swiss Alps....
445am. Time to face reality. Bruno struck me with something I'll never forget. He got close to me and said "Sergio, my wife is pregnant with my first child who is due in October. I want to be there to see him. And you have two daughters who you want to see again as well. From now on, let's be very careful". Wow, I was speechless for a couple of seconds. I nodded back and smiled. I said "don't worry, you're going to have a big party in October". We were on.
The climb starts right off the back door of the hut, and it gets very steep right away. You better be fully awake before you set your foot on the ridge. I read somewhere that the early start on the Mittellegi Ridge is always preferred to a late one because darkness hides the abyss that lays on both sides. Daylight would probably make people think twice before stepping onto the knife edge ridge, or maybe not. The headlamp is constantly aimed towards your toes as the width of the ridge varies anywhere from a foot (yes, I said one foot = 12") to several feet. After a series of walls and once the sun is coming over the horizon, you should almost be at a major feauture of the ridge called Grossen Turm. 
Climber on top of Grossen Turm |
Grossen Turm is a prominent wall followed by a short rappel before climbing back up the highest continuous wall of the entire climb. The following wall is approximately 80 mt. (250 ft.) and there are fixed ropes that you can use to help the climb. I rarely used them and when I did, I used one hand on the rope and one on the rock. The key is to continue using your legs to push you upward.
 Climbers on the top right corner of the wall
The rock sections are in my opinion anywhere from low fifth class to 5.6/5.7'ish, nothing really technically difficult if climbed with rock shoes. Despite that, my Baturas did just fine. My experience on the Lion's Ridge of the Matterhorn taught me a lesson, don't use your arms as the only mean to pull yourself up as you won't get very far. If free from ice, the rock offers plenty of holds, there is no need to use the fixed ropes. Anyone planning to climb the Mittellegi ridge should already be proficient in rock climbing up to grade V with a pack and boots (crampons could be used in the lower sections as well). If you ask me, some walls were equipped with fixed ropes when I thought they were not necessary at all.
The climb continues on the proper ridge until you have to move onto the North Face. It is generally icy and with little footholds. With no crampons on, it was not very easy but we managed to make it through just fine. One picture of this section on the Eiger page here on SP was stuck on my mind. It depicted two climbers just prior to silently falling to their deaths over the North Face while climbing this section. "Go away, go away" I thought of that picture while I was climbing this icy 100 ft.
I am not a chicken by any means but I am not a warrior either. I think carefully about what I do and Bruno's reminder two hours earlier was still with me. Not too long after this section, we took a short break. It was crampons time. I actually was looking forward to wear crampons. Some earlier sections could have been a little easier if I had them on. The amazingly beautiful icy ridge that leads to the summit was in full view now. Three climbers were 200 ft. below us at the exit icefield on the North Face preparing their simulclimb to the ridge. We started moving very slowly on the knife edge ridge, carefully placing one step after the other. I strongly recommend avoiding looking to your right.
The three climbers emerge from the North Face and reach the icy ridgeline |
I remember that at one point I noticed Bruno stopped in front of me and I almost bumped into him. Before I could ask him why he had stopped, he said "congratulations Sergio!". I raised my eyes from my toes to see that there was nothing else above me, no more uphill, no more climbing to do. I was on the summit.
Summit at last |
I am sure you all know what it feels like and I would love to tell you how I felt, but I can't really find the right words to do it. All I know is that I dropped my ice axe and I took in a very long breath to absorb it all. Wow, I had done it. I couldn't believe that an average Joe Climber like me was standing on top of the Eiger, the mountain whose name alone brings back tales of heroism, passion, adventure and life and death. I think I just ought to leave it at that.
It was 930am, a little later than normal so there was no too much time for celebrations. We were not even half way as the descent is long and difficult. Like I anticipated earlier, the descent we chose was over the South Ridge rather than the West flank. While the west flank offers a straight shot down the mountain to Kleine Sheidegg, it can only be done in certain conditions. It is long, difficult and scary at the same time, rockfall is a major danger here.
 The Monch north face and the Jungfrau in the distance
At the same time, calling the South Ridge a descent is in my opinion a mistake because it's everything but a descent. Maybe they should call it an exit route rather than a descent. I'll tell you why. From the summit, the South ridge is in plain view but it is very deceptive. What looks like a descent is actually a long and challenging climb, at least on the second part of it. We downclimbed some really steep sections to a 75 ft. rappel, the only one required on the descent. From here, I could see that the gendarmes of the South Ridge were very high and rocky. The lower I was descending, the higher they were rising. I thought "Shit, do I really need to climb the Eiger all over again?". It sure felt like it, especially after the long climb to the summit.
The South ridge descent leading to the Monch east face |
The South Ridge is beautiful, a true alpine climb. Long, varied, over granite and mixed with icy cornices. If I wasn't that tired, I would have enjoyed it a little more. The climb continues until you reach the East Face of the Monch. From here it is an easy walk on the glacier back to the Monchjochhutte. Or so I tought.
We were still roped up while crossing the glacier. The snow was slushy and I was postholing quite often. It was sunny, hot and I just couldn't wait to get over the hill. At one point, I punched through the snow with my right foot and I sank to my crotch while my left leg was still bent on the snow. Dammit, I was having problems getting back on my feet. Something felt different. I punched through the snow many times but I never had these kind of problems in getting back on my feet. I tried to put weight on my right foot when I realized my foot was dangling in space below the snow. A strange eerie feeling hit me. Why was my foot dangling? Somehow I managed to pull my leg halfway out of the hole and to my disbelief (mixed with fear, and lots of it) I saw total darkness below my foot. It didn't take too long to realize that I had punched through a snow bridge and I was on top of a crevasse and the bottom was nowhere in sight. I tried to contain my panic while trying to SLOOOOWLY get out of the hole by pushing on my left foot. I placed my axe horizontally on the snow and after a few struggles my right leg came out. I stood back up and tip toed forward to get out of there. Bruno was 100 ft ahead looking at me probably thinking "what the hell is this guy doing??". Sweating abounded on my forehead and I am not sure it was because of the August sun. Oh well, I was out of the hole (literally!) and I never said anything to him.
The final walk to the hut was short and from there I retraced my steps to the Jungfraujoch train station where a few hundreds of tourists with umbrellas and shiny jackets were pushing each other around to board the train.
Damn, I was already missing the Ogre.
The East Ridge of the Monch |
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Alps - Western Part
