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Ueli Steck and Kilian Jornet Burgada climb Eiger North Face

The brief video of Ueli Steck and Kilian Jornet Burgada climbing the North Face of the Eigher via the Heckmair route.

Planetmountain

November 2015

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Kilian Jornet Burgada and Ueli Steck on the summit of the Eiger after having climbed the 1938 Heckmair route.

Ueli Steck

On Sunday two of the strongest and fastest mountain athletes of their generation, Swiss alpinist Ueli Steck and Spanish champion ski mountaineer and sky runner Kilian Jornet Burgada, tied into the same rope to make the most of the spectacular conditions. The aim: one of the symbols of the Alps, the North Face of the Eiger, via the historic Heckmaier route.

While Steck had previously climbed the Eiger 38 times, yesterday’s was Burgada's first. “Combining trail running and mountaineering” as Steck explained, from the car at Grindelwald to the summit and back again the two required just over 10 hours. But this time is a minor detail when, as Steck explains, it was “a day of pure fun, like this it’s really fun to be out in the mountains.”

The two had climbed together in the past… it’ll be interesting to see what they might get up to in the future.

Eiger North Face - the classic 1938 Heckmair route
First ascent: Heinrich Harrer, Anderl Heckmair, Fritz Kasparek and Wiggerl Vörg, July 1938
The North Face of the Eiger contains numerous routes of varying difficulties. The easiest remains the classic route established in 1938. This ascends 1800 vertical meters with difficulties up to ED+: rock V-, aid (A0), and ice slopes up to 60°. Usually the climb requires between 1 - 3 days, depending on the ability of the climbers and the conditons, and in some cases even more time may be required. The route is considered extremely dangerous due to rockfall, avalanches and falling ice.

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