Robert Jasper frees the Yeti on Eiger North Face

On 16 July the German mountaineer Robert Jasper teamed up with Stefan Eder from Austria to make the first free ascent of Yeti, the route fist climbed in 1998 by the Italians Andrea Forlini and Gianni Faggiana on the North Face of the Eiger.
Yeti, Eiger, Robert Jasper

On 16 July the German mountaineer Robert Jasper teamed up with Stefan Eder from Austria to make the first free ascent of Yeti, the route fist climbed in 1998 by the Italians Andrea Forlini and Gianni Faggiana on the North Face of the Eiger. Jasper, who received a nomination for the Piolet d'or 2005 together with Stefan Glowacz for their new line on Patagonia's Murallion, needed 12 hours to free the 1000m route.

The lower section of the wall was climbed via "Dynamitehole" and Jasper and Eder encountered difficulties up to 7c/7c+ concentrated above all in the final 250m. Just one long, fast day was needed to solve the riddle attempte circa a year ago. Fast because, as Robert states, Yeti saps your strength with every meter climbed...


Yeti, Eiger, Robert Jasper
YETI FREE
di Robert Jasper

Prima libera di Yeti, parete Nord dell'Eiger (Oberland bernese)

Yeti Part 1: Summer 2005
After an endless climbing day Roger Schäli and I stood on the summit of the Eiger. We climbed the Yeti route but we didn’t succed in freeclimbing all pitches which had been our original intention. The hardest pitches are in the last 250 meters of the all in all 1000 meter high route. They are often wet and very complicated to climb which is a bad combination because one can´t trust the holds. Every climbed meter eats up your power and time and in the end we were happy to finally reach the summit.

The Italians Andreas Gianni and Max Ghirondi did a great job 1998 when they opened this route. For an Eiger North Face Route it has quite good rock. Aditionally to the bolts its good to have some friends and nuts for protection. And frequently you have to climb with the following attitude: Don`t fall!

Yeti Part 2: Summer 2007
The incredible temperatures down in the valley drove me up the Eiger again. Time to realise my project! I worked at the bolder parts of the Yeti route for two days – in a thousand meter route it's highly important to climb efficiently in order to be able to freeclimb all piches! I wanted to freeclimb and lead all pitches in one day.

16. July 2006
The weather was good, there should be no thunderstorms. Stefan Eder, my Austrian climbing partner, had just come back from an exhausting guiding tour, and was motivated to try this route with me.
At 4 o'clock in the morning we started from the Eiger glacier in the light of our headlamps. We climbed without rope up to the “Dynamitehole” over the exhausting and tricky lower part of the North Face. Then we tied in. The high temperatures in the valley made it pretty comfortable up here, one even could climb in the Shoftshell although we had to take care not to get too cold during the short breaks. It was important to keep the right rythm. I knew that the crux pitches would be wet, I had to manage despite this. I was shivering slightly before I climbed the boulder roof in the last pitch, then I pulled myself up on these slippery holds and after 12 hours of high concentration of mind and power we had managed to reach the top and my aim to free a nother Eiger North Face route.

Two hours later Stefan and I enjoyed our beer on the Kleine Scheidegg, looking back on the great and challenging climb from a safe distance and a good view of the entire face.


The route
Yeti, Eiger North Face
Grade:
7c/7c+ (or 6c+, A1)
Length: 1000m
F.A.: Andrea Forlini and Gianni Faggiana, 1998. (start from "Dynamitehole")
F.F.A.: Robert Jasper and Stefan Eder on 16.07.2006 (in 12 hours from the base of the wall)
Grade: lower part of the face: ca.500 meters Grade 1 to 4. From Dynamitehole grading of the single pitches as follows: 2, 5+, 2, 4, 6b, 2, 7b, 6b+, 6b, 6c+, 7b+, 7c / c+, 6b+, 6c+, 6a, 6c, 7c/c+.
Equipment: 50 meter ropes, 1 set of rocks and friends


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Photo: Robert Jasper on Yeti (photo arch. R. Jasper)



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