Climbing the Six Great North Faces in 18 Days
Two climbers complete the grand slam of alpinism by cycling from one mountain to the next
In September 2021, Simon Gietl and Roger Schäli climbed the six great north faces of the Alps in an 18-day push by cycling between them. The six great north faces are Cima Grande di Lavaredo, Pizzo Badile, Eiger, Matterhorn, Petit Dru and Grandes Jorasses.
Gaston Rébuffat was the first to complete the six great north faces, a feat that he accomplished from the 1930s to the 1950s. He documented his accomplishment in his 1954 book Etoiles et Tempêtes (Starlight and Storm).
Known as The Trilogy, the three hardest of the six are the Eiger, Matterhorn and Grandes Jorasses. The first to climb them in one year was the Austrian Leo Schlömmer, from 1961 to 1962. The first to solo them all in winter was Ivano Ghirardini. The first woman to climb them was Catherine Destivelle in 1992-93-94. Then Christophe Profit climbed all three in 24 hours on March 11 and 12, 1987.
A new documentary by Frank Kretschmann and Tom Dauer featuring Schäli and Gietl’s 18 day project just dropped, watch below.
Great North Faces
Check out the latest buyer's guide:
