Eiger, Switzerland

.......

 Not such an early rise as we have become used to, we needed dawn to see where we were going, but even so, we did not want to be first up the ridge. We made a mistake in choosing our departure time, and just got in behind a team or two of Italians, and would have been better off just before them, but we cannot be picky. The day was going to be fantastic, as we set off up the initial part of the ridge - fairly wide here against what we would meet later on. Looking back to the hut always gave a perspective of where we were in terms of the total traverse.


Higher up the ridge  we started to move from scrambling to rock climbing, and this came to the purer form as we reached the grand gendarme.










Here although there was a large fixed rope, as we previous found out it is better to climb than to pull up on it especially with a big heavy pack, and purely use it for occasional assistance.











Some of the steps were easier than others, but at all times you were conscious of the long drop on each side...
After all the tricky rock steps the ridge slackened off and became a snow arête, with a few rocky bits in. So after putting crampons on we "strolled" to the top.

I have to admit that the top of the Eiger was one of the summit of my life.. the views were fantastic, the situation superb, and we felt really good. we even made a brew to celebrate.



This would come back to haunt us later on... We had forgotten totally about the descent and the snow slopes yet to come!



 The initial descent was simple enough, and as the ridge got rocky we abseiled for a couple of pitches and then scrambled down to the first col.

 What we had not counted on was the length (should have checked it properly on the map), the "not so easy" traverse line, the tiredness, the heat of the sun leading to dehydration, and the softness of the snow at this time of day.
The traverse had its challenges in several gendarmes before easing off. All the time heading for the East face of the Monch.
As we cleared the mid ridge and arrived at the col below the Monch, time was passing and it was already late.

The simple snow plod across the head of the glacier to the monchjoch and the hut was never ending. Each step was difficult as we sank in through the breakable crust, but fortunately we got there with out further incident.
To cap this fantastic day we walked into the hut, just in time for dinner, which Sue and Christine had successfully booked us in for, and some cool drinks.