Paciencia: Opening A New Free Route on the Eiger (Hardwear Sessions)

By Ueli Steck

2003

The summer was hot and the weather very stable. It's the summer of the century in Switzerland. Thanks to this long lasting and beautiful weather period of time, Stephan Siegrist and I spent nearly the whole summer in the Eiger Northface. From June 29 to June 30 we redpointed the route "La Vida es Silbar." We climbed the route as roped party and in alternative lead. The summer came to its end. The volume of our arm muscles grew continuously during this summer and our "Hilti" hand drill was in continuous operation. Exhilarated by the good weather we opened a new route through the "Rote Fluh" over the "Tschenpfeiler", which end underneath the Eiger summit on the west side. The result of that summer was the freeclimb of "La Vida es Silbar" and a new established route to the left of it.

So we had a new project to go for. We were happy to climb again in this very particular ambiance of the Eiger Northface. She will keep us busy, this new route to redpoint: fear, doubts, solutions. All the things which makes climbing so special. We will make it next year: we were so sure about it.

2008

Five years have passed since and the new route is still waiting to be freeclimbed by Stephan and me. But also in this summer the weather is not at all "Swiss Quality."

In February I was fit as a fiddle. But after my return from the expedition in June, I had to start more or less from zero with my workout. Stephan didn't go on expedition, so he was able to fully concentrate on his climbing. During July and August Stephan and I spent totally five days in the route. We studied pitch by pitch and we got used to the thunderstorms, which came up in the evenings. Unfortunately we never found the entire route totally dry. Nevertheless some of the pitches were. The first pitch of the second bivouac band was always wet. "It will work, somehow", I thought. It's a very difficult part just at the beginning. The following 30 meters are not difficult to climb. At least that was what we thought we remembered. But this was five years ago...

The other big questionmark remains the very steep fourth pitch in the "Roten Fluh." She just dropped me, after a long climbing day before the belay. For me it was a problem of endurance and it should be possible to freeclimb this pitch. All the other difficult pitches were climbed redpoint. We pressed the difficult pitches, and their solutions, into our minds.

What we needed from now on were two days of good and steady weather. We were damned to wait. At mid August it snowed. We couldn't believe it that that it would be over now. Everything was just running fine and now it seemed that we had to wait another more year to redpoint this route. Our hope is fading with every day that goes by. The weather forecast announced good and stable meteorological conditions from August 25 until August 31. The Eiger Northface still has snow, but we want to give it a try. We went up on August 29. Maybe to just catch our gear but always with a spark of hope that we will redpoint this new route. Everything looked dry. But it was cold. But there she was: our last chance.

We climbed the first three pitches in one: "running belays". And then off we went. The day was beautiful and mild. Stephan climbed the first pitch in the "Roten Fluh".

Now I climbed the following one also at first go. The first 7c+ was done. Now it was Stephan's turn and he tried twice in the second climb. But he fell both times at the difficult move to the righthand sidehold in the rope. We moved on. Time was short. We got to the big and unknown pitch: it was the steep fourth pitch in the "Roten Fluh" with the big roof. I was slightly nervous and I asked myself, if I had enough endurance this time. And how about my nerves? Today the maximal moves over the edge of the roof were going easily. I climbed on efficiently. "Just don't make any mistakes", I told myself and I found out that the magnesium marks disappeared. "I have to make it without them; just keep concentrating", I kept telling myself, whereas only a couple of weeks ago, my bloated forearms let me know that I was finished.

Today I made the roof without accident and with the last strong movements I reached the next belay. I was very much relieved and my self confidence and motivation grew from pitch to pitch.

Stephan was not so lucky: he fall in the rope because of a hold which broke out.

Without any further accidents we reached the bivouac band. Now we allowed ourselves a coffee break.

It's 4 pm when we started to climb the next pitch from the band. I took me three attempts to solve this problem of 30 meters. The evening sun shone into the wall and it was comfortably warm. Up to the "Yellow Overhang" I lead all the pitches. Totally 7 pitches and Stephan marked the third one for me. He was quite tired, but he marked this pitch, which was hard to view, while I could rest a little bit. In the end I freeclimbed this pitch at first go.

At nightfall I reached the band of the "Yellow Overhang". Now we did the rappelling and we fixed the seven pitches down until we reached our comfortable bivouac place.

Supper! Finally! We would need this energy for the next day.

I climbed 16 pitches on this 29th August. Now it remained to climb the "Yellow Overhang" -after that, the route would be easier to climb. We hoped that there wouldn't be too much snow in the upper part of the wall.

We started into the next day, August 30, by jumaring the seven pitches of the day before up to the "Yellow Overhang". Thanks to this good warm-up we climbed the "Yellow Overhang" without any problems. The rest of the route was a compulsory exercise. The passage with snow was in conditions to be climbed. It's cold enough, so the snow didn't melt and the rock stayed dry. In the afternoon we found ourselves on the summit.

Behind us were 23 pitches, all freeclimbed. I climbed 17 pitches, including all the difficult ones, in the lead. The other 6 pitches I climbed them in the second climb, all of them also without falling.

We call the route "Paciencia". For Stephan and me it was a real act of patience.

Good things come to those who wait.

Personally a successful year comes to its end at the Eiger Northface. Almost a year to the day I first broke my speed record for climb the North Face of the Eiger, I set up new fastest time in 2 hours and 47 minutes. And now I realised the first redpoint climb of the most challenging route "Paciencia" also in the Eiger Northface.

Stef: Thank you!

That you didn't give up, although you were not able to freeclimb the hard Pitches.

That you kept motivating and supporting me during the whole climb, so that I was able to freeclimb all the pitches. Thanks!

View Ueli's photographs from Paciencia.