This year marks the 75th anniversary of the first ascent of the North Face of the Eiger. Bernard Newman reports on how Grindelwald has marked the occasion by showcasing its offerings to tourism.
On the afternoon of 24 July, 1938 an Austro-German team of Heinrich Harrer, Fritz Kasparek, Anderl Heckmair and Ludwig Vörg reached the top of the face after an epic three-day ascent in steadily deteriorating weather. Their climb brought to a successful conclusion a series of controversial and doomed attempts by members of the German and Austrian climbing élite, the morbid details of which have become part of climbing folklore.
Over following decades the Nordwand continued to make the headlines: epic ascents, numerous fatalities, Hollywood makeovers and political revisionism. If you wanted to make your name as an alpinist, the Eiger provided the stage and the script.
It’s easy to see why the Eiger demands such attention: it’s huge, it totally dominates and defines the village of Grindelwald at its foot – a relationship not matched anywhere in the Alps. Mont Blanc by comparison is quite coy and remote with Chamonix, and the Matterhorn forms a more distant backdrop to Zermatt, but when you walk down the main street of Grindelwald, the Eiger is in your face and you crane your neck to take it all in.
The Eiger-Mönch-Jungfrau triptych was my first sight of alpine peaks as a kid: newly arrived from the flatlands of Birmingham I was totally blown away by the scale and beauty of these Bernese Oberland giants.
So it was with some relish that I accepted the invitation from Grindelwald Tourism to attend their anniversary celebrations. They say that when you revisit childhood haunts everything looks smaller, but not so the Eiger: I stepped down from the train and craned my neck and was blown away. . .
The place had changed in subtle ways though, for instance there was no mountain biking or parapenting in the early Sixties, and skiing was definitely an exclusive activity back then. There are many more outdoor shops now of course, but Grindelwald has not allowed the valley to be tainted – you have to look carefully to see the rack railway and the very few chairlifts.
What followed over the next few days was a breathless, action-packed showcase of what the Grindelwald valley and the Jungfrau Region has to offer. We were taken on the Jungfrau railway through the heart of the Eiger to the Jungfraujoch Observatory, a trip I could only dream of as a kid. You get to peer down the lower half of the Eigerwand from the railway station windows, a surreal experience only matched by the sight of milling tourists on the glacier at the top station and the variety of shops and cafes on offer. There’s even an Indian restaurant – as photographer Jon Sparks quipped, eating there you’d certainly feel the balti-tude...
From the Jungfraujoch we were guided up the lower flanks of the Mönch’s south-west ridge; I’d agonised over my choice of footwear but the guy in front of me on the rope demonstrated just how effective training shoes were for glacier travel.
Our second night was spent under canvas, courtesy of Swiss gear manufacturer Mammut, on a flat alp beneath the Rotstock at the west end of North Face. It was a chance to meet up with local superstars Ueli Steck, Stephan Siegrist, Roger Schäli and Dani Arnold, the latter having pipped Steck’s previous record time for an ascent of the North Wall at 2 hours 28 minutes, roughly the same time it took to cook and consume the fondues provided that evening. A simul-translation interview was arranged, during which they all came over as great guys: no death wish, driven only by boundless enthusiasm and relishing the physical and mental challenge of solo speed climbing. Steck was recently returned from his harrowing experiences in the Western Cwm of Everest but intimated that the episode was consigned to experience and he was moving on.
Next morning we were treated to an awesome demonstration of long-line helicopter rescue on the cliff above by the local Rega rescue teams and, as the camp was being rapidly dismantled, we set out for the Rotstock via ferrata. Now this was a first for me – climbers can be pretty snooty about via ferrati but I was hooked (if you’ll forgive the pun) – it’s instant mountaineering that takes you into some pretty spectacular situations in relative safety. Next time I go to the Alps I’m definitely taking a VF rig.
Half-way up we were treated to the spectacle of the Portaloos being removed from the campsite slung beneath a helicopter; one could only hope that they’d been checked for occupancy and that the cable release switch in the cockpit had been taped over...
So a bonzer trip all round really. Martin Strahm and his team at
Grindelwald Tourism are to be congratulated for pulling off the seemingly impossible task of shepherding an international group of adventure sports writers and journalists (and me) through a packed schedule and to the local volunteers and guides a big thank you for spoiling us rotten.
Written by Bernard Newman
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