Intro
The Eiger is one of, if not the, world's most famous mountains. Certainly the most famous north face! We climb this mountain via its beautiful Mittellegi Ridge.
Eiger, whose name means Ogre, is appropriately named for the severity of its towering north face. The first ascent of the Eiger was made by Swiss guides Christian Almer and Peter Bohren and Irishman Charles Barrington who climbed the west flank on August 11, 1858.
The Eiger North Face towers over 5,000 feet. There are several routes to the summit of Eiger, but all are serious, even those which do not ascend via the North Wall.
This is a six (or seven) day trip, enabling the necessary acclimatisation as well as giving you a chance to refresh some of your climbing skills before the actual ascent.
Difficulty: Extreme
Duration: week
Quick Facts
- 6 days guiding by qualified mountain guides.
- We provide technical equipment (crampons/ice axe/ helmets/harness + group gear).
- Accommodation provided in the valley as well as mountain huts.
- We run this trip between mid July and early September due to weather and snow conditions.
- Provided as a bespoke course for individuals.
- Many years experience in providing alpine courses.
- You need to have good fitness, have a head for heights and be technically coordinated.
- You need to have previous alpine mountaineering experience and rock climb to a certain standard.
Join us for a unique challenge!
Typical Itinerary
We run a 6 day course, which, with an arrival and departure day, is an eight day round trip (Sunday - Sunday). We run the course over this duration because it provides the best chance of your trip meeting the necessary criteria (weather, acclimatisation, ability, fitness) to maximise your summit chances.
During your trip you will meet your mountain guide on the morning of the first guiding day. You should arrive the afternoon/evening before this for you to be ready for the start of the course, and if possible a day or two earlier than this to enable you to do some walking/acclimatising on your own.
We will meet you at your accommodation on the Monday morning (it is recommended that you arrive on the Saturday so that you can spend a day acclimatising on your own in preparation for the event). During the rest of the week we will have the chance to check and improve your rock climbing skills, as well as attempt peaks such as the Fründenhorn, which in itself is a substantial peak, before attempting the mighty Eiger itself!
A typical tour itinerary may look like this:
| Day | Activity |
| Sunday | Travel to your accommodation in Kandersteg Valley, Switzerland. We recommend you arrive a day earlier for some acclimatisation on walking routes on your own. |
| Monday | Meet your guide and ascend to the Fründenhütte - this is not such a long ascent (2.5hrs), with beautiful scenery and perfect for acclimatisation. |
| Tuesday | Climb the Fründenhorn (3369m) via its South West ridge. 5h climbing of alpine grade III-IV, followed by descent by the North West ridge and West flank and into the valley via the hut and by train. Transfer to Grindelwald and overnight. |
| Wednesday | Cable car/train to the Jungfraujoch - either traverse the Mönch (West to East) or South East ridge. |
| Thursday | Cable car/train to Station Eismeer and ascend to the Mitteleggi Hut (3355m). |
| Friday | Ascent of the Eiger (3970m) via the Mittellegi ridge (grade 3 alpine with fixed rope) with descent to the Eigerjöcher - Mönchjochhütte/descent into valley. |
| Saturday | Spare day to be used as necessary during the course (Alternatively Jungfrau normal route from the Mönchsjoch hut). |
| Sunday | Depart & travel home. |
We also recommend an additional day within the programme to enable better acclimatisation. In this case your guide would meet you on the Sunday morning. The extra day would most likely be taken on day 3 where we would overnight at the Mönchsjochhut.
Please note: This itinerary is a guide only. It can be subject to change dependent upon viability, course members' fitness, weather conditions or for any other reason the guide may deem necessary.
Course Requirements
To take part in this course you must have previous alpine climbing experience, be confident in the use of crampons and be proficient at climbing an alpine grade III-IV (British D/VD, USA 5.6). In addition you need stamina for a day on the move of up to 9-12 hrs. If you send us a CV of your climbing experience then we will gladly tell you whether your experience is sufficient.
We recommend that you follow a fitness plan in preparation for your challenge, an example of one will be sent to you when you have confirmed your booking.
Although the fitness plan we will send to you has been devised by a fitness professional, this is only provided as a guide and you should seek professional advice before starting your own fitness regime.
Dates
Weather and snow conditions permit us to run this course anytime from mid July to early September.
As this course is guided on a 1:1 ratio please get in touch with us to enquire about your preferred date by clicking on the link below.
All requested dates are unconfirmed until Maximum Adventure's terms and conditions have been met.
Create Your Own Trip Dates
Price & Inclusions
- Professional event organisation.
- Qualified mountain guides.
- Accommodation bed and breakfast in the valleys and mountain hut accommodation, bed and breakfast.
- All technical equipment such as crampons, ice axe, helmets, harness + group gear.
- Group first aid kit with qualified first aiders.
- Completion certificate to prove you did it!
2010 price - £2490pp
Price for an additional day is £350 which includes accommodation and guiding.
Below is a list detailing the approximate costs of what to budget for within the week:
| Evening meals in the valley | £50 |
| Lunches, snacks, drinks, etc. | £100 |
| Cable Cars | £100 |
| Personal Travel Insurance | £45 |
| Transfers during the course | £100 |
| Flights and airport transfers both on arrival and departure | £200 |
| Total Approximate Costs | £595 |
