Their aim was La Paciencia route (8a, 900 meters), on the North face of the Eiger in Switzerland but after numerous attempts been made, they had to give up as bad weather and wet rock stood in the way to achieve their goal. They climbed all the hard pitches fine but the weather was anything but worse and both climbers were left with no choice but change objectives. The choice fell to Magic Mushroom, a 20-pitch on the far right side of the Eiger's north wall. Not considered as hard as La Paciencia - considered as one of the hardest routes of Swiss Alps - the 600 meter 7c+ Magic Mushroom isn't a walk in the park either and repeating any route up the North Face of the Eiger is always a demanding and an important undertaking. Still, the team managed to send it and became the first Americans - and DiGiulian the first woman - to free climb the route. Well done!
As successful sport climbers looking to step outside of their respective comfort zones they were motivated to challenge themselves on one of the most iconic mountains in the world. The route of choice was Paciencia, the hardest route on the mountain. After three weeks of failed attempts due to wet and snowy conditions they were forced to make a decision. Continue with the original objective or attempt a neighboring route that offered drier rock. They opted for climbing over waiting and turned their attention to Magic Mushroom. Three long days of effort culminated in the first American ascents by the team, and the First Female Ascent of the route by Sasha.
