Laura Tiefenthaler and Jana Möhrer Climb Eiger North Face in a Day
They found good conditions on the classic 1938 route, which they climbed on International Women's Day
On March 8, Laura Tiefenthaler and Jana Möhrer climbed the north face of the Eiger via the Heckmair Route in a day.
“Two weeks ago I was searching for a partner to go back to the Heckmair route,” said Tiefenthaler. “Jana first answered that she would need to study. An hour later she sent another message saying: ‘Sometimes you have to do what you love. I am really motivated to go.'” With a good weather window lasting days, they opted to wait a few days before starting out.
“The climb was really great for us and kind of a surprise that we were so fast,” said Möhrer. “We actually thought we would need to spend a night on the wall.”
In 2019, Tiefenthaler and Möhrer visited the Himalayas where they made several first ascents, including More Rice, a 450-metre 5.10 up the east pillar of Peak 5,349. Read more about their expedition here.
“It was my first time to climb the Eiger,” said Möhrer, who plans to visit Canada within the next few years.. “I have dreamed about that wall since I was a kid. My father told me stories about his accent as bed time stories. Climbing such a classic an historic route was a nice way to honour his memory.”
They reached the top of the Eiger by 6 p.m. as the sun began to set, and made it to the Eigergletscher railway station at 9:30. “Back there, perusing online, we realized it was International Women’s Day and agreed that it was a good way to celebrate it: at a place where there is no bias – because the Eiger does not care about your gender,” said Tiefenthaler.
The first ascent of classic north face climb was by Heinrich Harrer, Anderl Heckmair, Fritz Kasparek and Wiggerl Vörg in July 1938. The route suffers from a lot of rockfall and avalanches, so having a good weather window and strong teammate is key to success.
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