80 years of the first climb of the Eiger North Face: the solution to the last problem

Max Sedlmayer: frozen. Anderl Hinterstoißer: mortally crushed. Bertl Gollackner: death of exhaustion. They all tried to solve it: the last problem of the Alps. In the thirties, all the great northern faces of the Alps were already rising, new heroes were born, their return from "hell" was frantically celebrated. Only one rampart at that time was considered indomitable: the north face of Eiger in the Bernese Oberland. 1800 meters high, more than four kilometers long, great danger of falling rocks, avalanches and inclement weather.

It was even forbidden to climb because of the many deaths, the vernacular called them "Mordwand" and the population of Grindelwald his black shadow can never cover his village.

The Eiger as "political mountain"

Despite all the warnings, eight dead mountaineers and great objective dangers, in July 1938 two cliques stand at the foot of the Eiger.

Anderl Heckmair and Ludwig Vörg of Munich followed the deadly call of the mountain as well as Heinrich Harrer of Carinthia and Fritz Kasparek of Vienna. Most likely because of the fame that was promised to them. As early as 1936, the National Socialists instrumented Eiger at 3967 meters altitude. At the Olympics, Adolf Hitler promised a first gold medal to the climbers of the north face. Finally, Vörg and Heckmair could afford the modern and expensive equipment only through a grant from the National Socialists.

The Eiger Raiders After Their Top Victory (Left to Right) Heinrich Harrer, Ludwig & # 39; Wiggerl & # 39; Voerg, Andreas Heckmair and Fritz Kasparek

Image: EPA

Success Without Crampons

It was they too who entered the wall on July 21, 1938 as the first rope team. A nascent storm forced her to return a few hours later. Harrer and Kasparek had climbed, but only moved slowly. They lacked the right equipment.

Fritz Kasparek had only ten spikes with twelve spikes instead of ten, Heinrich Harrer had none at all. In a minute mini-job, the two Austrians had to hit the ice in stages to go forward. This benefited Heckmair and Vörg, who took to the wall on the morning of July 22nd and quickly overtook the Austrians. Because of the bad weather, which was badociated with many avalanches, the two cliques met and agreed to reach the summit together. They had to spend two more nights camping in the wall before finally being safe on Sunday, July 24: the north face of Eiger is conquering. The last problem of the Alps has been solved. The allegation of being cleared of the wall for Hitler was refused by the first winners until their death

Eiger Border Crossing

• 1961: First winter climb by Toni Hiebeler, Walter Almberger, Toni Kinshofer and Anderl Mannhardt
• 1963: First solo attempt of Michael Darbellay
• 1964: First ascent with a woman, Daisy Voog
• 1974: First climb of the wall in less than ten hours by Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler [19659019] 1983: Thomas Bubendorfer and Reinhard Patscheider climb the wall alone during the summer in five hours
• 1992: First solo ascent A woman in winter by Catherine Destivelle
• 2003: New speed record by South Tyrol Christoph Hainz, who alone mastered the Heckmair route in four and a half hours.

Interview with Stephan Siegrist: Never Facing the North

Stephan Siegrist has already crossed the Eiger North Face 39 times. With first aid equipment, on its own roads and at a record speed. He is not yet satisfied.

He is a kind of janitor from the north face of Eiger. Stephan Siegrist had just turned 20 when he climbed for the first time in a cold winter. The extreme mountaineer of 45 years made 38 more times. Although he managed his first ascents on the seven continents, Eiger never let go of him.

OÖNachrichten: 39 successful inspections. Looks like you like this wall.

Siegrist: This wall has unlimited possibilities. She constantly changes her face. Once it is relatively easy to climb it, another time, when all the rocks are covered with ice, you are at the limit. Just last Wednesday, I was still on the road. Although only for a photo shoot, but this feeling of being so close to civilization and yet so high above things, is always nice.

Stephan Siegrist Mountain Guide

Image: Visual Impact

You managed to get through the equipment of the first climbers. Was it hard?

I had a lot of respect for this front rope team. But after that, he has reached the limit. The movement with the material of yesteryear is completely different. With the shoes you could not go to the friction, the ropes were designed only for 30 meters. We had knowledge about the wall and a reasonable weather report in our re-enactment.

Is there a section on the road of the first arrivals that you would clbadify as particularly difficult?

Be aware that the Eiger North Face is not extraordinarily demanding when it comes to climbing. The first aid route never exceeds the fifth level of difficulty. These are only the conditions that make this wall so unpredictable. The waterfall fireplace is definitely a tricky business. When thin-skinned water ice forms here, it becomes difficult.

What was your biggest experience on Eiger?

I badociate so many beautiful moments with the Eiger North Face. But the most impressive experience was certainly the basic jump of the wall. We climbed the route "Magic Mushroom", which leads to a snow mushroom in the western part of the north face of Eiger. For the first time without technical aids. Then he went over 1000 meters in depth.

For a long time, she was called "Murder Wall". She is always infamous. (19659034) "Mordwand" is certainly more up-to-date. In addition, the rescue of the wall is now much easier than before. It is still underestimated, but I see a new problem. If someone reports on social media good conditions, three days later, international mountaineers are there and want to ride. There are often ten teams at the same time.