Roger Schäli (Switzerland), Robert Jasper (Germany) and Simon Gietl (Italy) have established a difficult and serious new rock route up the North Face of the Eiger in Switzerland, named Odyssee (8a+, 1400m), making this line the new hardest rock climb on the mountain's notorious North Face, ahead of Paciencia 8a.
Having worked on the line since 2009, this August the trio completed the route which takes a line up the steepest and hardest sections of the North Face, notably the overhanging Rote Fluh and Czech pillar to the right of the classic 1938 Heckmair route. The line also crosses other routes including La Vida es Silbar (7c, 900m, Daniel Anker, Stephan Siegrist, 1999) and Paciencia (8a, Stephan Siegrist, Ueli Steck, 2003). Between 2009 and 2013, poor weather halted Schäli and Jasper's ground-up attempts.
Thanks to the warmest, driest summer of the last 150 years providing more favourable conditions, Gietl joined the team this August and all variables aligned to allow the three climbers to make the first free ascent of Odyssee after considerable effort and dedication.
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