The Eiger, Alps, Switzerland
The Eiger is a mountain in the Alps of Switzerland. It is the easternmost peak of a ridge-crest that extends to the Mönch (4,107 m) and across the Jungfraujoch to the Jungfrau (4,158 m). The peak is mentioned in records dating back to the 13th century but there is no clear indication of how exactly the peak gained its name. The three mountains of the ridge are sometimes referred to as the Virgin (German: Jungfrau, lit. "Young Woman" - roughly translates to "Virgin" or "Maiden"), the Monk (Mönch) and the Ogre (Eiger). The name has been linked to the Greek term akros, meaning "sharp" or "pointed", but more commonly to the German eigen, meaning "characteristic".
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 Jungfraubahn railway runs in a tunnel inside the Eiger, and two internal stations provide easy access to viewing-windows in the mountainside. The railway terminates at Jungfraujoch, the highest railway station in Europe, located in the col between the Mönch and the Jungfrau.
In July 2006, a piece of the Eiger, amounting to approximately 700,000 cubic metres of rock, fell from the east face. As it had been noticeably cleaving for several weeks and it fell into an uninhabited area, there were no injuries and no buildings were hit.
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Sir Ranulph Fiennes video
The North wall
The Nordwand, German for "north wall", is the spectacular north (or, more precisely, north-west) face of the Eiger (also known as the Eigerwand, "Eiger wall"). It is one of the six great north faces of the Alps, towering over 1,800 m (5,900 ft) above the valley in the Bernese Oberland below.It was first climbed on July 24, 1938 by Anderl Heckmair, Ludwig Vörg, Heinrich Harrer and Fritz Kasparek of a German-Austrian group. The group had originally consisted of two independent teams; Harrer (who didn't have a pair of crampons on the climb) and Kasparek were joined on the face by Heckmair and Vörg, who had started their ascent a day later and had been helped by the fixed rope that the lead group had left across the "Hinterstoisser Traverse." The two groups, led by the experienced Heckmair, co-operated on the more difficult later pitches, and finished the climb roped together as a single group of four. A portion of the upper face is called "The White Spider", as snow-filled cracks radiating from an ice-field resemble the legs of a spider. Harrer used this name for the title of his book about his successful climb, Die Weisse Spinne (translated into English as The White Spider: The Classic Account of the Ascent of the Eiger). During the first successful ascent, the four men were caught in an avalanche as they climbed the Spider, but all had enough strength to resist being swept off the face.
Subsequently the face has been climbed many times, and today is regarded as a formidable challenge more because of the increased rockfall and diminishing ice-fields than because of its technical difficulties, which are not at the highest level of difficulty in modern alpinism. In summer the face is often unclimbable because of rockfall, and climbers are increasingly electing to climb it in winter, when the extreme cold solidifies the crumbling face.
Since 1935, over fifty climbers have died attempting the north face, earning it the German nickname, Mordwand, or "murder face", a play on the face's real German name Nordwand.
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- Review: Stölzl wisely leaves behind politics in 'North Face'
- ASPEN ? The German film ?North Face,? based on the true story of the 1936 attempt to climb the North Face of Switzerland's Eiger massif, sprinkles politics, ...
Eiger gifts
Eiger Dreams: Ventures Among Men and Mountains
Amazon Price: $10.17 (as of 12/31/2009) 
The Eiger Sanction
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The Eiger Obsession: Facing the Mountain That Killed My Father
Amazon Price: $11.53 (as of 12/31/2009)
Eiger Solo
Eiger Solo
Amazon Price: (as of 12/31/2009)
Widely acclaimed by serious climbers as a masterpiece of a mountaineering film. Winner of 5 major film awards: "Best Mountaineering Film" at Telluride Mountain Film Festival and at Trento Mountain Film Festival in 1982, "Best Film" at the Kendal Mountain Film Festival and San Sebastian International Film Festival and "Grand Prize" at the Gravity Sports Film Festival.
"Eiger Solo" is a documentary of the first British solo ascent of the Eiger North Face. Welsh mountaineer Eric Jones' ultimate dream was to climb the notorious North Face of the Eiger, alone. The film also skillfully blends in expertly done reconstructions of the dramatic epics and tragic history of the Eiger North Face: the pioneering attempt by Sedlmeyer and Mehringer; the epic rescue of Tony Kurz; Harrer and Heckmair's first ascent. The climax of the film recreates John Harlin's 5,000 ft fall during the historic winter ascent of the Eiger Direct in 1966. Filming Eric Jones on his solo climb was almost as great a challenge to cameraman and filmmaker Leo Dickinson, who had to be lowered from a helicopter to Death Bivouac, high on the mountain to capture Eric's progress on film. This film also contains rare interviews with Heinrich Harrer, Anderl Heckmair, Don Whillans and Adolf Rubi. "Eiger Solo" is probably the best of its genre on the subject and thoroughly deserves to be! regarded as a masterpiece of a mountaineering film, it will thrill and inspire both serious climbers and armchair mountaineers alike.
This DVD is region free and can also be played outside the U.S. and Canada so long as your equipment can play NTSC - most of the recently made set top players in Europe can do that.
Eiger Photos
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Eiger links
- EigerWand North Face Ascent, March 1997
- Winter ascent of the Eiger North face in 1997. With 13 full size picturesand a further 57 thumbnail pictures.
- Swisspanorama.com - live webcam Jungfraujoch, Schilthorn, Maennlichen
- The world highest webcams in the alps of switzerland. See live panorama pictures of Jungfraujoch, Schilthorn and Maennlichen / kl. Scheidegg the Location of the Ski WorldCup Lauberhorn / Wengen.
- BBC News | EUROPE | Eiger's grim reputation
- As the team recreating 19th Century climbing techniques prepares to make a webcast from the summit of the Eiger, BBC News Online charts the grim history of the fearsome north face.
- Eiger 1938 Route
- 1938 route
- Matterhorn
- Information on the Matterhorn, Swiss/Italian border, Europe.
Orbitz Eiger
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Comments
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Reply
- vivarbon vivarbon Jan 28, 2008 @ 3:27 am
- Hi
You are cordially invited to join the 'Switzerland' Group, your lens will make a great addition to this group!
http://www.squidoo.com/groups/switzerland
Have a great day!
Viva
BYE!
Hope to see you again sometime...
HILLANDGLEN 
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