The Eiger is not particulary high--it lies below the 4000 m threshold European peakbaggers are fixated upon--and it is not very hard to reach the summit, either, since there is a walk-up route from a nearby high-altitude underground train station. The extreme notoriety of the Eiger comes exclusively from its huge, imposing north face, probably the single most famous face of any mountain in the world.
The Eiger Nordwand ("north wall") is 1700m / 5500 ft of almost vertical rock and ice, swept by near constant rockfall, and kept cold and dark by lack of direct sun. It towers forebodingly over the villages on the north side of the Berner Oberland, and clearly gave the peak its name, "Ogre" in English.
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