The north face of the Eiger was long seen as the "last problem" of the alps. Its 1800m face of rock and ice is often prone to rockfalls and avalanches and the face was even banned for a while due to the many deaths that had occurred. It was, however, still climbed as early as 1938 by Heinrich Harrer (later author of "The White Spider"), Anderl Heckmair, Fritz Kasparek and Ludwig Vörg. If interested, I can strongly recommend Harrer's book, which tells the history of this incredible mountain.
