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Gimpilator infinity/21M
Joined: 12 Oct 2006 Posts: 1684 | TRs | Pics Location: Edmonds, WA |
I've seen the movie Nordwand (North Face) and also read several bits of mountaineering literature about the history of climbing on the Eiger. Since my plans for Mont Blanc were destroyed, I thought it would be fun to do a hike below the north face as a sort of consolation prize. Studying maps on the internet in my hotel, I saw that there were actually two peaks right under the north face of Eiger. Lauberhorn (8110 feet) seemed to be a fairly popular little hike but Tschuggen (8271 feet) was less common even though it was higher. I decided to do both.
Tschuggen seen from Männlichen Swiss Cow And Jungfrau Mönch And Tschuggen Tschuggen
I took the cable lift up to Männlichen as a staging point. The plan was to climb Tschuggen first and then traverse the ridge between the two peaks. I didn't have much beta to go on. As soon as I got off the lift I could see that the south ridge of Tschuggen was not an option. The south face was a series of cliffs. I followed the trail around to the northwest side and hiked off trail up to the top of a ski lift which was closed for the summer. Here I found a climbers trail. The trail led up to some short easy scrambling and then the summit.
Eiger From Tschuggen Summit Lauberhorn From Tschuggen Path On Lauberhorn
Views of Wetterhorn, Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau were astounding, not to mention the surrounding valleys with small villages. I could see that following the ridge over to Lauberhorn would not be an option either as its south face also had cliffs. Bummer. I would have to descend all the way to the trail again to traverse around to the northwest side. I did that and found an easy trail to follow up. The views got even better as I was closer to the big peaks. Amazing to think that Jungfrau was the first 4000 meter peak to be climbed in the Alps. It looked like a tough climb.
Tschuggen From Lauberhorn Wetterhorn And Grindelwald Eiger From Lauberhorn Summit North Face Detail
When I was done taking it all in I hiked down to Kleine Scheidegg and took the train to Grindelwald to check out the Eiger Museum.
Bonus photos from a short hike I did on Schilthorn (9744 feet) the previous day:
Breithorn From Schilthorn Eiger, Mönch, Jungfrau Birg Poking Through Clouds Schilthorn Summit And Restaraunt The Ridge I Hiked Up Another Cloud Shot (notice the cable lift from Birg)
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Magellan Brutally Handsome
Joined: 26 Jul 2006 Posts: 13116 | TRs | Pics Location: Inexorable descent |
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Magellan
Brutally Handsome
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Wed Aug 22, 2012 9:30 pm
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Thanks for sharing!
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Bloated Chipmunk Cock Rock Searcher
Joined: 29 Jan 2007 Posts: 2993 | TRs | Pics Location: Margaritaville |
Wow, those pics look a lot like mine when I was there in '05....swiss cows & everything! The whole time we were hiking we heard the jingling of bells....
Home is where the hiking is.
"Peaks that have come and gone four times should halt a man in his steps." -- William O. Douglas
A balanced diet is a margarita in each hand.
Home is where the hiking is.
"Peaks that have come and gone four times should halt a man in his steps." -- William O. Douglas
A balanced diet is a margarita in each hand.
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twodogdad Member
Joined: 21 Nov 2006 Posts: 846 | TRs | Pics Location: seattle |
I was waiting for your report--and the sequel. Thanks.
Gimpilator wrote: | Amazing to think that Jungfrau was the first 4000 meter peak to be climbed in the Alps. It looked like a tough climb. |
It's climbed from the other side--the train dumps you on the glacier between the Monk and the Jungfrau--and the route not that hard, especially if you are with a guide. I must confess, though, that I ran out of gas a few hundred feet below the summit--altitude sickness?--and decided to conserve my energy for Mont Blanc. But I vowed to return to the Jungfrau. The Monk is a gem of a climb.
tdd
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Redwic Unlisted Free Agent
Joined: 23 Feb 2009 Posts: 3292 | TRs | Pics Location: Going to the Prom(inence) |
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Redwic
Unlisted Free Agent
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Thu Aug 23, 2012 4:18 am
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It looks like a beautiful area!
60 pounds lighter but not 60 points brighter.
60 pounds lighter but not 60 points brighter.
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kiliki Member
Joined: 07 Apr 2003 Posts: 2310 | TRs | Pics Location: Seattle |
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kiliki
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Sat Aug 25, 2012 7:43 pm
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Have you ever watched the Lauberhorn (World Cup) ski race? I've hiked in that area and cannot for the life of me understand where they ski. Well, I do, but I don't understand how they ski it. Anyway, if you've seen it it's neat to try to pick out the route when you're hiking there.
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Tigerotor77W Member
Joined: 16 May 2009 Posts: 776 | TRs | Pics Location: Charleston, SC |
Another awesome TR!
I'm going to stop posting now... just bask in the memories of that area. I still prefer Rainier spiritually but there's something undeniably magical about the Swiss Alps.
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