EigerNordwand graphic
The North Face of the Eiger

Eiger
Bishop
Grindelwald
Thursday, August 13, 1998

Hear the Call from Switzerland
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Hey guys, this is Brent calling. I'm in Switzerland. Let's see, I've never been here but it is... the weather is moody where we are. It's entirely too orderly - coming from Montana - and the beer is actually pretty good.

We're in Grindelwald, it's a little town below the Kleine Scheidegg, which is where you leave for the Eiger. We're in a campground, very European, we're all sort of camped next to each other, quite orderly though. It's seven bucks a night and you get a shower and everyone is real friendly and you look up at these big walls all around you from here and it just sort of blows you away. I definitely feel like I'm in a postcard, all these little Swiss homes and chalets; everything manicured including every bit of grass has got a pretty little cow and a bell on it.

Eiger
The North Face
[click to zoom]
photo: Jim Howe
The weather should clear, right now it's the hurry up and wait game. Sort of moody, to say the least, with some spatterings of rain and these mountains are sort of looming in and out of the mist and clouds. It's amazing to be here in the cradle of alpine history. Anyway, I'll give you a call tomorrow, we'll probably go up there even in the bad weather and take a look at it just to see what the route looks like if we can and look at the conditions even in the bad weather, just how wet it is, what the snow fields look like, so on and so forth. Anyway, we're having fun and I'll be in touch. Take care, guys. Bye.

Brent Bishop, Mountain Zone Contributor



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