North Face of the Eiger: Who's done it?

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Messages 21 - 40 of total 90 in this topic << First  |  < Previous  |  Show All  |  Next >  |  Last >>
WBraun

climber
Dec 9, 2013 - 12:54pm PT
Keith Lober did it ....
snakefoot

climber
cali
Dec 9, 2013 - 01:01pm PT
how about who knows anyone that has fallen off the nordwand? I fell off the mushroom in 2011, thank heavens my wingsuit saved me (ha). as i looked at the routes from above and flying by, thinking to myself....this rock is choss and I'm glad i will never try to climb this wall
rottingjohnny

Sport climber
mammoth lakes ca
Dec 9, 2013 - 01:12pm PT
Hilden..Would that have been Hampsten..?
steveA

Trad climber
Wolfeboro, NH
Dec 9, 2013 - 01:17pm PT
John Bouchard has done it twice, once with Rick Sylvester and a fast time with Mark Richey.
bhilden

Trad climber
Mountain View, CA/Boulder, CO
Dec 9, 2013 - 01:19pm PT
Rottingjohnny:

yes, it was. We were living in Switzerland(Yverdon-les-Bains) at the time. Andy was riding with Bernard Hinault and Greg LeMond on La Vie Claire. I was struggling mightily just to survive the 5-6 hour training rides.
tonym

climber
Oklahoma
Dec 9, 2013 - 01:22pm PT
One of my goals...

~TM
JEleazarian

Trad climber
Fresno CA
Dec 9, 2013 - 01:29pm PT
Eric Perlman climbed it in the 1980's, and wrote an article about it (together with climbs of the other North Faces mentioned by Rebuffat) in, of all places, a Sports illustrated swimsuit edition.

The article was easy to overlook. . .

John
bhilden

Trad climber
Mountain View, CA/Boulder, CO
Dec 9, 2013 - 01:38pm PT
I think Perlman did it with Bradley and Twight.
dave729

Trad climber
Western America
Dec 9, 2013 - 01:40pm PT
Choss I tell you!
Although it is world class -you'll die fer sure- choss.
And no...
Never.
rottingjohnny

Sport climber
mammoth lakes ca
Dec 9, 2013 - 01:41pm PT
bhilden...Lucky you...great time to be in the American cycling scene while getting to see the eiger...That was right before gap-tooth Bob lived here..Did some running , pedaling with the maniac and got some hand-me down 7-11 clothing...Thread drift.. oops..
bhilden

Trad climber
Mountain View, CA/Boulder, CO
Dec 9, 2013 - 01:52pm PT
Thread drift on:
Rottingjohnny,

I emceed a fundraiser with Bob a few weeks ago. He is doing well splitting his time between Durango and the Bay Area. Still riding his bike.

Thread drift off:

Did Lober do the Eiger with Harry Kent? Not Sure.
steve shea

climber
Dec 9, 2013 - 02:00pm PT
Snakefoot, we found part of a body in the ramp icefield. The upper torso an an arm. After we got down we visited the keepers of all things Eiger, the Von Allmen family. We reported the body. Interesting that there were still missing climbers on that wall at the time. We found out our body was that of a Swiss Air Rescue pilot who rotored in to the wall by the Ramp icefields. He was attempting an evac of two Austrians caught out out in a big storm. We found scrape marks, paint, rivets and pieces of alu in area. I cant believe he did not fall off. The ramp icefield is super steep. The Austrians died. The Eiger is long 6000' high X 13,000'+ on the '38 route. Lots of time to get in trouble if the weather comes in.

I think Harry did do it with Lober.

In retrospect, and being a student of european alpine history, I can say that the climb gave every experience I could have wanted. I'm glad there was no climate change. The alps were the alps in those days. 70's
snakefoot

climber
cali
Dec 9, 2013 - 02:05pm PT
^^^Wild. heard ivo talking about the winter is the time to do it when we were hiking the west ridge to get to the exit...
jopay

climber
so.il
Dec 9, 2013 - 02:15pm PT
Early in my climbing, I too read White Spider,also Wall Of Death and have always been fascinated with the Eiger, such a history with so much drama played out on that face. I have a VHS of Eric Jones soloing it, and I wonder if anyone knows how old he was at the time.
knucko

climber
Dec 9, 2013 - 02:20pm PT
My buddy Tony did it a few years ago. He had never been to Europe before the trip nor since then either.

Flew over, jumped on a train, met two friends and climbed the Eiger. Took a train back to the airport and flew home. Roundtrip I believe was 6 days!

Tony is a regular ole' family man that when he gets time to go do something, he makes the most of it. His first trip to the Valley he did the Rostrum, and I believe it was the second trip when he did NIAD. 17 hours with 4 hour wait near the King Swing for a helicopter rescue above them.
steve shea

climber
Dec 9, 2013 - 02:21pm PT
jopay, we worked on that film a bit. During my second go, with D. Jackson, they were in the Alpiglen making the film and needed some load help. I think Eric was 40 or so.
bhilden

Trad climber
Mountain View, CA/Boulder, CO
Dec 9, 2013 - 04:26pm PT
This thread has given me a bit of impetus to find the compression bolt I found at the foot of the face. If I can find it I will post a pic.

We know what Steve found on the face:-( Anybody else have any interesting relics from the Eiger?
JEleazarian

Trad climber
Fresno CA
Dec 9, 2013 - 04:45pm PT
Anybody else have any interesting relics from the Eiger?

That question brings to mind "A Short Walk With Whillans" from One Man's Mountains by Tom Patey. When Patey calls out to Whillans "Look! Here's a boot," Whillans replies "See if there's a foot in it." Patey: "I pciked it up; I put it down!"

This is from memory, so please forgive my paraphrasing.

John
hobo_dan

Social climber
Minnesota
Dec 9, 2013 - 06:08pm PT
Dave Pagel
Chris Jones

Social climber
Glen Ellen, CA
Dec 9, 2013 - 06:49pm PT
The Eiger put the fear of god in us during the 1960s. How I wish I could say that I had climbed it, or even climbed on it, or even gotten up close to the damn thing.
In 1969 Mick Burke spotted me as a likely warm body, and suggested we team up for the Eiger. He would, of course, have been an excellent partner, having climbed the north face of the Matterhorn in winter, and attempted Cerro Torre among other exploits. As a professional climber, his motivation for picking the Eiger had much to do with building up his resume. We were variously hanging out in Chamonix, where the weather was generally atrocious, and Leysin, where we could pick up a couple of dollars guiding for Harlin's International School of Mountaineering. Harlin, a former US Air Force pilot, would call up the Geneva airport to get the latest weather information; he was way ahead of others I knew in this important regard. This Eiger business was a bit scary, and so it was with some relief that the weather window never seemed to open up. Mick wasn't too phased. We then opted for the Brandler-Hasse on the Cima Grande. Not so good for the resume, but we had a great time. The Eiger would have been in a totally different league.
Messages 21 - 40 of total 90 in this topic << First  |  < Previous  |  Show All  |  Next >  |  Last >>
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