The Secret Treble… day 1

Aug 8, 2025

I call it the “Alpine Treble”, but if you Google it, it doesn’t exit. Google calls it the “Triple Crown” of the Alps. What am I on about? Completing the three most famous climbs in the Alps: Mont Blanc, the Matterhorn and the Eiger!!

This is what I did last August by summiting the Eiger!!

Did I actually plan it? Not really. Mont Blanc is where I started my climbing life, quite a few years ago; the Matterhorn, I completed last year, with much apprehension. And the Eiger? Well, it kind of manifested itself when it became clear that this year we could not go and have a look at Everest, because of the new job, and the lack of a partner.

Considering the stress from the Matterhorn, where death was omnipresent, why and how did I convince myself that I could climb an even more technical climb? Yes, because this is the difference: the seven summits type of climbing is what is generally called “mountaineering”; a kind of high-altitude walking. Yes, it is on glaciers and there are a few fixed ropes, ice walls, crevasse crossings and ladders in between. But from the actual rock (or ice) face climbing point of view, most of the seven summits are not that steep. The Matterhorn and the Eiger are proper technical rock and ice climbs. The incline and exposure are significant. Consider that if Everest is graded 5 in climbing terms, for the altitude and the hi-risk of the death zone; the Eiger is graded 4 and it is not even a 4000m.

And I am not even talking about the actual Eiger’s North Face; famously named “Mordwand” (Murderous Wall). That one is for professional climbers, the likes of Messner and Ueli Steck; or for movies like the Eiger Sanction (with Clint Eastwood, for those old enough to remember). I am talking about the easier Mittellegi Ridge or North Ridge route.

Anyway, enough scrambling (of words, not rocks). Somehow, someday, Kenton and I decided that I should have a go at the Eiger; and here we found ourselves one weekend in August, in Geneva airport ready for the next adventure.

And whilst I generally am very good at posting and announcing climbs, I kept very quiet about this climb. Hence the “secret”. I did not even share the few days of training I did in Wales the last few months, where I tested my climbing skills “Alpine” style on a few very open and wet rock faces. As with other summits, I refused to read anything about the Eiger (or the routes we would take) before the climb; but this time, I did ask Kenton how to prepare, and Wales it was.

Friday evening in Geneva with the usual plan: a couple of days of acclimatisation with an easier route but at elevation and then transfer to a hut for the ascent day.

Our general direction was the village of Grindenwald, in the Bernese Alps. Lying in the valley just below the Eiger North Face, Grindelwald is not a mythical place out of a Harry Potter book; it is one of the oldest villages in Switzerland which became the centre of Alpine climbing in the 19th century (during the “Golden Age of Alpinism”) when people started climbing the  surrounding 4000m peaks, such the Wetterhorn, the Jungfrau and the Finsteraarhorn. It also features the start of the Jungfrau Railway, the highest in Europe, which is carved entirely in the rock and with tunnels which go right into the guts of the Eiger and come out at the Jungfraujoch, a glacier station and resort (I believe made famous by an old James Bond movie) at 3454m of elevation just on top of  the Jungfrau ”saddle”. More on the tunnels later.

As per the general rule of mountaineering, where plans change because of the weather, we did not have any accommodation booked for the Friday night, and it was only on the way there that we decided to stop in Bern for the night. Bern, for those who do not know, is the capital of Switzerland. The hotel we found on the outskirts of town was Harry’s Home (beats me who Harry is!!). A modern looking 13 storeys hotel, with clean rooms and the perfect location for us, and a couple of buses of Japanese, maybe Chinese, tourists. Schnitzel and beer for dinner (not sure why as we were in Switzerland not Austria but lately, all across Central Europe and Eastern Europe, schnitzel has become a main staple, the equivalent of pasta and pizza – and the only thing on the menu).

Next morning, trying to beat the Chinese buses, which we knew were going in our same direction, we were up early and reached Grindelwald by 8am; just in time for a fresh croissant and ovaltine (yes ovaltine!) in the friendly (not so) Grindelwald bakery.

Grindelwald is in a lovely green valley surrounded by amazing glaciers and peaks. But you cannot avoid looking up. Towering over the village as if it was about to fall upon it is the Eiger. Just looking at it from the bottom you are in awe. And Kenton tells me that just below the peak on a “flattish” bit of the ridge you can see the Mittellegi Hut. I can see nothing. Must be the age. What I can see however is that even at 8am, the village is full …. of people: cyclists, climbers, Chinese tourists, paragliders….. and of course, some American paraglider stops us in the middle of the village, asks for directions to one of the cable cars and guess what, recognizes Kenton.

A selfie is requested and delivered (me included by some strange reason) and off we are to our daily training camp.

Plan for the day is a “strada ferrata” used to reach the top of a 3000m peak called the Schwarzhorn (“black” peak).

We take the First cable car (it is actually called “First”). At the top we meet what we discover is a mountain biking competition with >500 riders participating and families in tow. Good shout to the cyclists trudging up a 40% incline. The weather is perfect. It is a beautiful sunny day. Everyone is out. Lucky for us we descend a couple of hundred meters along the mountain road, and we abandon the cyclists and crowds and start the ascent to our peak, in a lovely side valley, where apart from the bells of the cows you cannot see or hear anyone else.

The climb to the Schwarzhorn ridge is pretty inconsequential. I am actually pretty fit, and I move along speedily with Kenton in tow. This is until we get to the main ridge. Inclination increases and now we are on the actual strada ferrata. Not too complex until we get to a series of ladders: 90 degrees. Pretty much vertical. With 500m drops on each side. The action of clipping and unclipping from one ladder to the next is “interesting”. The key is: keep looking up!! But we do manage the top in about two hours, and there the view is stunning. Our lunch is dominated by the Wetterhorn, the Eiger and the beautiful valley below, and the contrast between glaciers and green mountain pastures.

The way down is through an easier path on the right side of the mountain and pretty uneventful, apart from the view of some of the gliders in the sky and a massive serac cutting off from the side of the Wetterhorn in front of us and cascading with a massive crack two miles down the mountain. Luckily, we were far off, and there were no houses on that side of the valley. Amazing spectacle which cannot stop you from thinking about the impact of global warming.

The original plan was to climb the Schwarzhorn on Saturday, sleep in Grindelwald, then move to the Monchsjoch Hut the next day and climb the Monch, which is an “eas-ish” 4000m, leaving the Eiger for a Monday and Tuesday’s attempt via the Southern Ridge, a longer but easier route. Considering my level of confidence on the Eiger that sounded like a really good plan. But coming down the Schwarzhorn, Kenton receives a message that there are free spaces at the Mittellegi Hut and everything changes. The new plan is to sleep in Grindelwald, move to the Mittellegi Hut on Sunday, and on Monday climb the Eiger North Ridge via the Mittellegi route, straight up, and to come down via the Southern Ridge route to the Monchsjoch Hut. A 10-12 hour excursion. Leave the Monch for Tuesday.

Kenton must be full of confidence, because he is very excited. I am thinking, …the North Ridge is considered steeper and even more technical than the Matterhorn, …. well (pause) ….okay, … can I actually pull it off without screwing it up ……..!?!? My Italian bravado does not allow me to come out with anything else but: “Great Plan!!!!

But we still need to find accommodation for the night. On the way down in the cable car, we start browsing the web and it seems that Grindelwald is sold out. Every hotel platform on the web announces that the closer hotels are in Interlaken for £1500 a night or as far as Adelboden, which is 2 hours away. Same for AirBnB. By the time we reach the village Kenton and I are starting to consider going back to Harry’s Home. Luckily for us, on the way to our car, on the main street of Grindelwald, I spot a sign on the entrance to the main Pizzeria: “zimmer frei”!

We are in luck. The pizzeria is also a hotel. Someone has cancelled last minute and the only remaining free room in town is ours. And the pizzeria looks more like a nice restaurant, which appears also to be very popular; always a good sign when deciding where to eat.

Apart from installing ourselves, parking the car and having a shower, we have only one other thing to do before a beer, it is booking the Jungfrau Cable Car for the next day. This is the cable car which gives access to the Jungfrau Railway and the Eiger. Being Sunday and the main attraction in Grindelwald, we know it will be busy. We drive to the Jungfrau Terminal, and I am astounded by how modern and extended it is. Think more of an airline terminal than a cable car station, which includes a 4-storey car park, buried in the valley and with a “grass” roof on top which blends the whole construction with the surrounding fields. Everything is very modern and hi-tech. There are shops, cafes, exhibitions and plenty of other tourist amenities. Obviously, a feast of modern design and engineering, which must explain why it is £300 for two return tickets to the Jungfraujoch!!!

We pay for our tickets, then find a pub with a nice terrace overlooking the Eiger, to drown our shock and sorrow. Then dinner in our pizzeria/restaurant/hotel, which, by the way, made also a good espresso. and then it is bed.

The marmot is fake, …. but the cows are real!

The lovely valley we climbed with the Eiger on the back, right in the centre

The ladders

The Schwarzhorn ridge from left to right.