Eiger Week

The world famous Eiger ! The efforts to make the first ascent of the North Face have become part of climbing legend. However to stand on the summit by any route is no mean feat. We aim to make our ascent via the Mittelegi ridge which is graded AD+. This ridge is extremely narrow, and requires a high degree of competence on rock and snow. As such it is only guided 1:1.

This course is designed in order to maximise your chances of summiting. The Eiger is a technical cli and acclimatisation and prior training are essential if you are to reach this serious and famous summit. Starting in Saastal (Switzerland), we will undertake several other demanding climbs prior to the Eiger in order to be ready. The best time is once most of the snow has melted off the Mittelegi ridge - usually mid July to early August gives optimal conditions.

Standard Itinerary:

Day 1 - Meet in Saas.
Days 2-4 - Training and Acclimatisation on technical climbs in the area. We usually focus on technical peaks 3000-4000m high such as the traverse of the Dri Horlini, South Ridge of the Wiesmies, and the South ridge of the Lagginhorn.
Days 4-6 - This period is reserved for the summit. Although only two days are actually needed, we allow a spare day in case of bad weather.

The climb to the Mittelegi Hut is also graded AD, so you will have two fantastic days of climbing on the mountain. To begin the climb we will drive to Grindelwald and then take the Eiger Express lift. After changing to a train we will head to Eismeer station where we leave the tourists behind and begin our climbing journey. A descent through a long and mysterious tunnel finishes with us emerging onto the South Face of the Eiger and the glacier. After a half hour traverse of the glacier we have a few short pitches of rock climbing (UK Severe grade) on smooth limestone before we follow a faint system of ledges and tracks, eventually leading to the charming Mittelegi Hutte. This excellent refuge was renovated and extended in 2019.

The next morning we get stuck into the Mittelegi ridge. After a 5 minute traverse from the hutte we are climbing on steep limestone. It's a combination of short pitches and moving together over difficult terrain. There are often fixed ropes on the difficult sections and a pair of thin leather gloves will make your life much easier on these. For a while we move along, up, and down, before we hit the main fixed ropes and start heading skyward towards the summit. If conditions are dry then this can be quite rapid, but if conditions are snowy then it will be much slower. Often we can get to within 40 minutes of the summit before we put our crampons on. The final ridge to the summit can be a test of nerves with huge drops either side. This is why we need to know that you're good on your feet !

After summit photos the descent of the South Ridge is next. Downclimbing and lowers soon see us at the North Eiger Joch (col). Once there we traverse another fantastic rocky ridge (AD grade) to reach the South Eiger Joch and the end of the difficulties. An hour over easy glacial terrain finds us at the Monchjoch Hutte, where a pisted track leads us back to the Monchjoch station and the train.

This is a 6 day programme, but you will climb for 5 (3 day warm up and 2 days out of 3 for the summit trip).

Included:

5 days of Professional Mountain Guiding (during a 6 day period)
Trip planning and Refuge reservations
Safety equipment (carried by Guide)
Local transportation (within the course programme)

Not included:

Travel to Saastal.
Accommodation in Saastal (3 nights).
All Mountain Refuges for you and your Guide(s) (3 nights)
Insurance
Equipment Hire (you can rent most equipment from us, and boots can be hired locally)
Lift Fees for you and your Guides in Grindelwald.

NB: Refuge expenses will be met by the group, so for the first 2 nights the cost will be split between up to 2 people. For the summit trip, the guiding ratio is reduced so the cost will be paid by you.

Overall you should allow approx 1000CHF for the expenses on this trip (the lifts and trains in Grindelwald are very expensive).

Dates, Prices & Availability