Under the Eiger
11 kms; 1,100 metres ascent;
Climb Start: Below Grindelwald
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Map of Route
An amazing ride! Starting in the most beautiful valley (Lauterbrunnen) in the world - littered with waterfalls - I set out from the town of Lauterbrunnen through 2 valleys to Grindelwald. Here the real work began. Under the ever watchful eye of the renowned Eiger north face - there is an 11 km climb on steep often wet gravel roads up to Klein Scheidegg. This was hard work! Part of the road had been reflattened and was soaked from the day before and it was hard to get a grip on +10% grade slopes.
I kept reminding myself to look at the scenery as i gasped for oxygen. I recalled stories from the great mountain adventure book "The White Spider" as I stared up at the imposing Eiger north face. The final kilometre is SOOOO steep that i must admit I was forced to push my bike for a fair bit (see grade below).
After a few beers with a couple of fun Australians - a very brave Doreen arrived. She had planned to only climb a small part and take the train up but found that bikes weren't allowed on this part of the train system (YIKES!) ..... so she decided to climb. Once reunited we descended about 10kms along a great mountain path to the
car-free mountain village of Wengen where the hotel was located.
