EIGER, BY BIKE [See pictures here]

Earlier this summer I had the chance to go to Grindelwald, Switzerland for a couple of days of R & R. The area around Grindelwald is famous for spectacular scenery, including the well known mountains, Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau, each at about 4000m high. The Eiger North Face (Nordwand in German) in particular has played host to some of the most dramatic climbing tragedies and adventures and it's famous worldwide. Any picture of the mountain couldn't do it justice - the mountain rises 3000m above the village of Grindelwald, and the north face itself is a single cliff 1900m tall (about 3.5 times the height of Toronto's CN Tower).

Since visiting Grindelwald the first time in 2003, I've wanted to ride the trail up to Kleine Scheidegg which gains about 1/3 of the height to the Eiger peak. This time I had the chance. Except for the first 1km from the hotel down to Grund, the ride was 1100m uphill, with virtually no break from uphill pedaling. I managed the ride in about 2hr 10m from hotel to the top, then about 40mins down, including fixing a popped tire from the overheated brakes.

I didn't venture onto the Eiger North Face, and I don't have the skills nor the kahunas to likely ever do so but it's always fun to dream. In the summertime it's virtual suicide to be on the face, since the warm summer weather sends a constant volley of the loose limestone raining down the face. It's climbed almost exclusively in the cold months, and it's interesting to note that the face was solo climbed in a record 3:54 this past winter by Swiss guide Ueli Steck. Given the technical nature of the face, that's an absolutely stunning time! But speed = safety on this kind of mountain...