What the judges said...
something more than just the line of the Mittellegi that appeals, which many
routes don’t, and I’ve long struggled to pinpoint what it is, but it was always
right there in front of me – adventure. Unlike many routes that are slogs
or blindingly obvious, the Mittellegi offers twists and turns, route finding
decisions, and constantly changing styles and types of climbing – ice, rock,
snow, abseiling, traversing, down-climbing, moving together, pitching, and
more. It’s a true smorgasbord of alpinism.
Spatial insignificance
As the Voyager 1 space probe left our solar system in 1990, Carl Sagan
ordered the space craft to turn around and look back at Earth, a pale blue
dot 4 billion miles away. He wrote, “Our posturings, our imagined self-
importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the
universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely
speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this
vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from
ourselves.” – Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot, 1994. Sagan was writing about the
infinite stature of the Earth within the universe, but when I read this beautiful
quote, it’s about the Eiger Mittellegi Arête to me. We are the lonely specks
on the giant all encompassing mountain. There’s no possibility for self-
importance, or delusions
of grandeur. We are but
ants on the face of a giant.
To climb this
amazing route is as close
as many of us will ever
come to the feelings of
being in space. You are
completely enveloped in
where you are, and what
you are doing, but there is
no shaking that feeling of
complete insignificance
on this route. To me
that’s the attraction of
it. We live in a world
where we are distracted,
connected, and yet
lonely. When climbing
the Mittellegi you feel
exposed yet absorbed,
alone yet engaged, scared
yet challenged, and
as nothing yet happy.
There’s not many routes
in the world, let alone the
Alps, that can give you
these raw emotions. It’s a
mountain that makes you
feel so very alive.
‘We almost feel that this
should have been in the
feature category - indeed
it’s the magazine’s ‘cover
feature’, and it’s debatable
as to whether this is more of
a ‘how to’ than most of the
feature category submissions
are.
Having said this, it’s a
great feature and he is giving
information on how to tackle
the Eiger - he knows what
he’s doing and the history
and legends add colour and
gravitas. We really like the
philosophical musings.’
Judges Carlton Reid,
founder of On Your Bike
magazine, and Elizabeth
Multon, commissioning editor
of Adlard Coles Nautical at
Bloomsbury Publishing
The Technical Feature
Award is sponsored by
Cicerone, a specialist
publisher of walking,
trekking, mountaineering
and cycling guidebooks.
About Kingsley...
Kingsley Jones is an outdoor
writer, mountaineer,
trail runner, and UIMLA
International Mountain
Leader. When he’s not writing
guidebooks or articles,
he’s guiding clients in the
mountains in the Alps and
Lake District. He’s climbed the
Eiger by three different routes,
but remains in awe of it. For
details on mountain guided
adventures visit www.icicle.
co.uk or for information about
the author visit his personal
website, details below.
www.kingsleyjones.com
winter 2018 | Outdoor focus 27