90 Years Since the Eiger’s Most Famous Climbing Tragedy

Ninety years ago, in July 1936, four elite climbers died attempting the unclimbed north face of the Eiger in Switzerland. After a fatal training accident and days of bad weather forced others to abandon the mountain, only Andreas Hinterstoisser, Toni Kurz, Willy Angerer and Edi Rainer continued onto what was already considered one of the Alps’ most dangerous walls.

The team made rapid progress at first despite a 37-metre fall by Hinterstoisser on a recon mission that left him uninjured. On the second day, deteriorating weather and constant rockfall turned the climb into a fight for survival. Angerer was struck by falling rock, and although he initially continued, his injuries proved too severe for the party to continue climbing.

The climbers turned back but became trapped when they could not recross a difficult section that would later become known as the Hinterstoisser Traverse. During the ascent, the rope used to protect the crossing had been pulled up, making the icy traverse nearly impossible to reverse. After days on the face in worsening conditions, they chose to rappel toward the railway tunnel below.

As they descended, they briefly made contact with a railway guard near the Eigerwand station, telling him everything was under control even though they were close to disaster. Moments later, an avalanche swept the climbers from the wall. Hinterstoisser was carried away and killed, Angerer fell to his death, and Rainer died suspended in his rope. Only Kurz survived, left hanging alone on the face.

Swiss mountain guides launched a rescue attempt and eventually reached shouting distance. Kurz explained what had happened and endured another night exposed to the storm. By morning, one arm was frozen, but he managed to free himself from the weight of Angerer’s body and began lowering himself toward the rescuers using ropes they had joined together.

Just metres from safety, Kurz encountered one final obstacle. The knot joining the two ropes would not pass through his carabiner, leaving him unable to descend farther. He struggled for hours as the rescuers tried unsuccessfully to reach him from below. One of the guides stood on another guide’s shoulders and was able to touch the tip of Kurz’s crampons with the head of his ice axe, but could not get any higher. Exhausted and losing consciousness, he uttered the words, “Ich kann nicht mehr” (“I can’t go on anymore”) before dying on the wall. The Eiger’s north face would remain unclimbed until 1938.

A movie called North Face was released in 2010 about the tragedy on the Eiger, watch the trailer and full film below.

North Face Movie

Trailer

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