From climbing up mountains to jumping off them
It’s fair to say lock down has effected us all. The most important lesson I learnt while serving in the Royal Marines is to adapt, improvise and overcome. My international travel plans and work had been cancelled for the year. I was fortunate to be stuck in Switzerland with it’s lax lock down rules. It was time to focus on the climbs and flights I had my eye on for years but had been too distracted before.
The Eiger presents me with challenges at my limit. It’s a mountain which hosts multiple demanding routes in all of the mountain disciplines: alpine and rock climbing, skiing, and alpine wingsuiting. A mountain everyone has heard of. The playful alpine meadows below completely contrasting the steep ice shadowed on the North face. Three years ago I woke up on the summit of the Eiger. I shuffled around in my sleeping bag to feel the fresh air on my face while I looking down the West flank. My eyes focused on 2 figures. I watched them swap their crampons for skis and ice axes for poles. My new Eiger challenge would be a ski descent.
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James and I went to school together, where I remember the first time I found out he climbed and I asked if my trainers where good enough to climb in. 10 years later having never climbed a single route together, we are bivied out at the base of the North Face about to attempt the infamous Heckmair route.
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