Eiger, Mönch & Jungfrau North Face Trilogy speed record by Philipp Brugger & Nicolas Hojac

Philipp Brugger from Austria and Nicolas Hojac from Switzerland have climbed the north faces of Eiger, Mönch & Jungfrau in a staggering time of 15 hours 30 minutes. In doing so they have significantly bested the previous fastest known time of 25 hours, set by Ueli Steck and Stephan Siegrist in 2004.

Brugger and Hojac set off at the foot of the Eiger at 1:00am on Saturday 5 April and, climbing 1800 meters up the classic Heckmair route at an average rate of 294m/hour, reached the summit at 6.43 am. Hojac explained "Up here at sunrise, I was quite emotional. Because we had just climbed the most difficult of the three walls." The pair were joined by Adrian Zurbrügg who had climbed the West Face on his own accord through the night to bring food and drink.

After a five-minute break Brugger and Hojac descended quickly to join the 1932 Lauper route on the north face of Mönch, which they followed at a blistering pace of 329m/hour. At one section known as the Schulterstand - thee German term meaning “shoulder stand,” referencing the early climbing technique where one mountaineer stood on another’s shoulders - the pair were forced to improvise after discovering that the crucial sling was missing. This hardly slowed them down though and they topped out at 10:55 am. Hojac noted "At that moment, I knew: We are moving insanely fast."

They raced down to the Jungfraujoch where, instead of eating energy gels, at 11.53 am they checked in the restaurant for some very fast french fries: "In this surreal environment of tourists, with cowbells, clocks, and chocolate, we took a 25-minute break."

From here the climbers continued their traverse down to the Jungfrau, which they planned on climbing via the classic Lauper route. They started up the north face at 14:07 pm and, climbing at an average rate of 261m/h, reached the summit of the highest peak in the Trilogy at 16:30. Their total time - 15 hours and 30 minutes - is nearly ten hours faster than the previous fkt.

Success for Brugger and Hojac on the north Face Trilogy of the Bernese Alps came about after various previous attempts. "This record feels completely surreal to me," Hojac remarked. "We would have been very satisfied with 19 to 21 hours. The fact that we managed it in even less time shows that we’re all often capable of more than we think”, he added.

The moment carried special weight. The original record holder, Ueli Steck, was a close friend, climbing partner, and mentor of Hojac, and the pair had climbed the Eiger together in 2015. Steck, nicknamed the “Swiss Machine” for his stamina and precision, was one of the most accomplished speed climbers in history before his death during an expedition in 2017. "Ueli and Stephan were pioneers back then." concluded Hojac "It’s always most difficult for the people who do it first, and most importantly, it was their idea."

In 2022 Hojac and Adrian Zurbrügg made headline news for their enchainment of  Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau, not via the north faces but instead via the classic skyline in 13 hours, 8 minutes and 49 seconds.