With a time of 15 hours and 30 minutes, the Swiss Nicolas Hojac and the Austrian Philipp Brugger broke the 21-year-old speed record of Ueli Steck and Stephan Siegrist on the north faces of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau.
On 5 April, the alpinists Nicolas Hojac (32) and Philipp Brugger (33) achieved what no one has ever done before: an ascent of the north faces of the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau in less than 24 hours. With their ascent, they beat the previous record holders. Ueli Steck and Stephan Siegrist by almost 10 hours.
For me, this record feels completely surreal.
Nicolas Hojac
The Swiss-Austrian duo had already set several speed records: Hojac, who first set the speed record at the age of 18 Eiger north face He holds the current rope team speed record there with Steck. As a speed mountaineer and trail runner, Brugger has already completed numerous first and fastest ascents, including many in Pakistan.
The triumvirate of Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau in the Bernese Alps has always exerted a magical attraction on alpinists, with the 1.800-meter-high Eiger north face is notorious for its high difficulty. It was first climbed in 1938 by a quartet, including the German Anderl Heckmair, who gave the normal route its name.
In 2004, the Swiss Ueli Steck and Stephan Siegrist achieved a historic record ascent of the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau in 25 hours. "Pioneering work," says Nicolas Hojac, who was close to Steck, who died in the Himalayas in 2017.
According to Hojac, Steck had recently thought it possible to climb the triumvirate in less than a day.
Perfect teamwork pays off
Even with many years of experience, climbing the Eiger North Face in just a few hours is an enormous achievement – ​​Nicolas Hojac and Philipp Brugger completed the ascent via the Heckmair route in just 5 hours and 43 minutes.
We wanted to do this project together a year ago, but then I had a perforated bowel. I never would have imagined that a year later I'd be standing on Virgo with Nico.
Philipp Brugger
Climbing the North Face in this time, which amateur mountaineers plan for one to two days, required perfect teamwork: "We complemented each other perfectly as a team," says Brugger, who was responsible for tracking. Hojac, who has more climbing experience, led the climb on difficult sections.
After the Eiger, the duo took the Lauper route to the Mönch and then descended to the Jungfraujoch. At the 4.158-meter-high Jungfrau The mountaineers had laid a trail three days earlier in order to make rapid progress.
Milestone in mountaineering
With a final time of 15 hours and 30 minutes, Nicolas Hojac and Philipp Brugger write a piece of mountaineering history. Their speed record demonstrates what is possible when years of alpine experience, physical and mental strength, and perfect teamwork come together.
We would have been very happy with 19 to 21 hours. The fact that it ended up being even faster shows that you're often capable of more than you think.
Nicolas Hojac
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Credits cover photo: John Thornton/Red Bull Content Pool