From climbing up mountains to jumping off them
Attempt 1
On route to the Dolomites we took a short detour to the Italian side of the Matterhorn. The weather and conditions gave us slight hope of a quick ascent and even quicker descent with our wingsuits. Covid restrictions meant that the hut was now booked at full capacity even this late in the season. We started from the valley floor and went for the summit in one continuous push.
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I drove into Chamonix past the familiar branded roundabout. Two alpinists had their heads down, fully kitted up and clearly just finished some adventure. I secretly wished I was them, having just finished their objective; worn out but content. When they freshen up with a burger in their stomachs they will revel in what they have just achieved. But for now they walked slumped, tired and hungry with a heavy pack digging into their shoulders. In 48 hours I would still be on the mountain wishing I was back down in the valley .
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The Eiger is an extreme playground that I’ll keep on returning to. From the history of the North face, hard rock climbs, steep skiing and BASE jumping, it has it all. Over time people have pushed the boundaries of these sports on the Eiger, and throughout their history the mountain has also changed. The original ascent was done at the height of summer, while now spring is your best chance to climb the north face. Even now prime conditions can be hard to find. When we reached the summit from the 1938 route we had been on the face with 7 other teams all making the most of the rare, opportune conditions.
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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