Christoph Hainz alone on the Eiger North Face

Christoph Hainz is one of the strongest and most complete mountaineers of the Alps. Since ever the strong alpine guide from South Tyrol has made “all roundness” the main objective of his professional career. Extreme rock routes, climbing and ice climbing competitions, modern mixed climbing and technical mountaineering represent the aspects of this versatility. The solo ascent of the North Face of the Eiger, mythical mountain of European alpinism, represents its symbol. Rock, ice, cold and speed the ingredients of the ascent, realized by Christoph almost by chance and, exactly for this reason, greatly satisfying. We have been told about the ascent by Christoph himself, who describes the concepts in a simple and synthetic way. A style that describes well the person, somebody who cares more about the facts and less about the words.

The idea

After having climbed on March 23rd, together with Konrad Renzler, the 3614-meter-high Tödi, in the Glarner Alps, I decided to try to climb alone the Eiger North Face the next day. The weather conditions were ideal, the same I wished for the conditions of the wall.

The report

Sunday, 24.03.2003
7.20 AM: Start from Grindelwald toward the Eiger glacier.
8.15 AM: I reach the glacier and approach the base of the wall.
8.50 AM: Start of the climb of the North Face.
Shortly afterwards I see a team high up, after the hard cracks. They are two Germans that I pass an hour later, just before the Hinterstoisser traverse (“Hinterstoisser-Quergang”). I continue to climb; near the “Iron” (“Bügeleisen”) I reach and pass another team from Austria. At 11.50 AM, when I reach the “gods’ traverse” (“Götterquergang”) I can see only one of the teams.
1.20 PM: The North Face is behind me!
1.30 PM: I’m sitting on the top of Eiger, I drink the leftover of the tea and eat the chocolate, I don’t have anything else with me. I‘m happy for the successful “hike”.
1.45 PM: descent to the Eiger North Col, traverse of the South Ridge until the Eiger South Col. I cross some big crevasses under the Mönch North-East ridge, until the Mönchsjoch Hut, where I begin to be troubled by the first cramps in the legs. I think about bivouacking in the winter section of the hut. When I reach the Mönch Col I see the small train. “Ok”, I think, “I will try to arrive there in time to get the last train to the valley”. In the same moment I hear Konrad’s voice, he is calling me. He is also coming back from a solo ascent, to the summit of Jungfrau; but with the skis. He tells me that I still have ten minutes to reach the last train. I barely manage it. Inside I find Konrad in the middle of a group of Japanese people.
4.45 PM: on the Eiger glacier again! After having enjoyed the well-deserved beer, we reach Grindelwald by ski.


Details

Elevation of the base of wall 2.320 meters
Summit of Eiger 3.970 meters
Eiger North Col 3.614 meters
Eiger South Col 3.760 meters
Descent to the “Ewig-Schneefeld” 3.500 meters
Climb to the “Mönch” Col 3.629 meters
Traverse to the railroad tunnel 3.460 meters

2.000 meters vertical gain.
The route on the North Face is 2.5 kilometers long.