New Record On The Eiger

329 Eiger
Daniel Arnold and Stephen Ruoss have set a new team record for scaling The Eiger according to Alpinist.com, breaking the record set last month by Simon Anthamatten and Roger Schali.

Arnold and Ruoss started at the bottom of the Heckmair Route and scaled the iconic European mountain in just six hours and ten minutes, besting the old record by forty minutes. The Swiss climbers went fast and light, carrying only the minimal equipment needed to make the ascent.

Arnold remarked that there isn’t much ice on the Eiger this year, making the conditions poor for climbing. Many climbers depend on ice on the upper sections to hold the rock scree in place and to prevent them from being pelted with stones as they go up. When there is little or no ice, it makes the climb that much more treacherous.

They set off at 1:35 AM climbing in darkness, and took just three hours to reach the Death Bivouac. From there they shot up The Ramp, and made good time in the demanding sections above it, only to face strong winds when they reached the Exit Cracks. By sun rise they were on the Mittelegi Ridge and the summit at 7:45 a.m.

This amazing climb follows Ueli Steck breaking his own speed record a month ago, shooting up the face in just two hours and 47 minutes. Clearly, it’s been a very fast year on the Eiger.

Great work guys! Congrats on the new record.

Kraig Becker

9 thoughts on “New Record On The Eiger”

  1. Second that I always enjoy reading this blog!
    Fantastic effort by Arnold and Ruoss and also Schali and Anthamatten.
    Am here at Kleine Scediegg now and the condtions for climbing are awful!

  2. Hi Jo,

    Thanks for the comments on the blog and the update from the field. As of The Eiger wasn’t challenging enough to climb in and of itself, I can’t imagine giving it a go during bad conditions, and then attempting a speed record.

  3. Heya Kraig,
    I’ve just recently read Heinrich Harrer’s “The White Spider” so I now understand about Eiger’s North Face and can be way impressed by this climbing accomplishment. – Lisa

  4. Hi Lisa! 🙂

    The White Spider is a classic. Great book and it really makes you appreciate the challenges of the Eiger. But we’ve come a long way since Harrer’s day. I’ll bet he never thought he’d see someone climb the Eiger in these record times.

  5. Not sure if you heard but Roger Schäli has recently climbed the 6 greatest north walls in the Alps (in less than 30 days). Never before has anyone climbed the 6 before – Eiger, Grandes Jorasses, Matterhorn, Petit Dru, Piz Badile and Große Zinne. What an effort! I am working on one of them – but 6? !!
    Schäli is currently in Juneau, Alaska and battening down against horrendous snow and avalanche conditions!
    Fellow Swiss climbers Ueli Steck and Simon Anthamatten are preparing for Annapurna but also among very bad weather.

  6. I’ve been following Ueli and his bid for Annapurna, but he’s been doing some acclimatization climbs first in preparation. I know they’re planning to head to Annapurna itself very soon though.

    I’ll definitely have to look for the story on Roger though. I hadn’t heard about that, but it sounds amazing. Thanks for the tip! 🙂

  7. I should add ‘no one has climbed the 6 one after the other before’
    No doubt someone has climbed all 6 at one stage or another!
    Still plenty of snow here, it’s more like the middle of winter than springtime!

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