Kleine Scheidegg: A Glass Facing the Eiger North Face

What to do there

4 things to do

1. 1

   Walk Down Past the North Face's Story Stations

   Optional

   adventure Free

   Coming down from stop 4, the face's history is told on foot.

   Stations along a made path below the face tell its tragedies, dramas and triumphs.

   WHERE: leave the Jungfrau railway at Eigergletscher station (2,321 m) and follow the Jungfrau Eiger Walk down to Kleine Scheidegg.

   WHAT: 2.5 km, about an hour, easy for walkers who rarely hike.

   HOW: free on foot.

   BACKUP: stay on the train down to the pass.

   Log Memory
2. 2

   Look Up at the Face the 1930s Crowds Watched

   history Free

   The north face stands in direct view from the pass.

   In 1935 onlookers with telescopes followed Max Sedlmayr and Karl Mehringer, last seen alive from the Scheidegg at the spot now called the Death Bivouac; both died on the face. In July 1936 Toni Kurz, Andreas Hinterstoisser, Willy Angerer and Edi Rainer all died there, watched from Kleine Scheidegg through binoculars. Three days later the canton of Bern banned climbing it, until November 1936.

   WHERE: the pass, at 2,061 m.

   WHAT: the north face, 1,800 m high.

   HOW: free, from anywhere on the pass.

   Log Memory
3. 3

   Raise a Valais Pinot Noir to the North Face

   wine Price: low

   The railway's mountain restaurant beside the station, on its sun terrace.

   The Bergrestaurant Kleine Scheidegg's sun terrace faces Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau, the north face close at hand.

   WHAT: 1 dl of Pinot Noir "Le Préféré" from Gregor Kuonen in Salgesch, Valais, CHF 7; or a Twann Chasselas from Krebs+Steiner, CHF 6.50. Zero-proof: Tröpfel DER ZWEITE, an alcohol-free sparkling wine from Swiss grapes and orchard apples, CHF 46 a bottle, to share.

   HOW: order at the table; tables can be booked ahead.

   Log Memory
4. 4

   Frame Your Glass Against the Face of 1938

   history Free

   The photo memory of this stop.

   Several climbers had died on the face before July 1938, when Anderl Heckmair and Ludwig Vörg of Germany, with Heinrich Harrer and Fritz Kasparek of Austria, climbed it in four days. Heckmair, 32, led the rope of four to the summit. The Nazi regime used the climb for propaganda; his biographers say Heckmair never joined the party. Over 60 have died on the face in all.

   WHAT: one photo, your glass in front and the north face behind it.

   HOW: free, from your terrace table.

   Log Memory

Insider Tips

• In its season, the Hotel Bellevue des Alpes on the pass says photos of the north-face climbers from 1937 to 1992 hang outside the swing door of its 1929 bar.

• Coming up from Grindelwald instead? Take the Eiger Express to Eigergletscher, then the Jungfrau railway down, and the Eiger Walk is on your way.

• Wheelchair users travelling via Kleine Scheidegg must register by phone in advance; staff help at boarding.