Eigernordwand 2

It was a good day for hiking. Under the north face, however, it is a bit tricky to guess the right time to be there and see what you want to see: increasing valley haze, clouds, position of the sun and shadows, and so on, are all complicating factors. Part of the north face phenomenon, in this hemisphere, is that they get little or no direct sunlight. So in July, you're staring up into the sun, trying to see a 5,000 foot face that's in the shade. With the angle, foreshortening of perspective, other things, it can be frustrating. But still pretty neat...

Part of the station at Eigergletscher...enlarge to see the cogs

on the middle tracks

Closer up of Eiger glacier

Rounding a bend as the trail begins, you get

sort of a profile view closer up

Your can see the trail, upper right, and the terrain, which

was pretty easy

Looking toward the summit betwixt two

huge pinnacles

Below, the crossroads of Kleine Scheidegg

Play of shadow, angle, light, somewhere

below the north face

Round another bend and you're below the

"direct" area of the north face climbs, with

this helpful sign depicting some of the

classic attempts/routes; the box shows the

position of the Eigerwand train station,

inside the mountain, where you actually stop,

get out, go look out the big windows; the

weisse spinne above is the famous White

Spider, which conveniently funnels all the

avalanche and rock fall above onto the

north face routes; the sign well conveys

the concave nature of the whole face; in the

30s they called it all the "Mordwand"; the

north face is mostly climbed in the winter

nowadays

Artsy-fartsy attempt...

Grindelwald and valley below; and the Weisshorn

Another summit-ward view

Clumps of tiny Alpine flowers everywhere