The Eiger Obsession: Facing the Mountain That Killed My Father

The north face of the Eiger Mountain in the European Alps has taken the life of many climbers. The author's father fell 4000 feet to his death when he was almost at the summit. This is the unforgettable story of conquering your fears and making an IMAX movie.

Five FATEFUL Stars!! "The EIger Obsession" is written by John Harlin III, the moutaineering son of the famous American Alpine big wall climber John Harlin II and recounts the Harlin family's involvement with life, love, death, and the world of climbing over the decades. He focuses mainly on the general climbing history of the Swiss rockface called "the Eiger" (aka "the Ogre") and the Harlin family legacy surrounding this imposing and unforgiving rockwall's routes, among others. John Harlin II, an audacious larger-than-life character, was the 28th person to die on the Eiger in an accident: by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was attempting his self-conceived "Direttissima'" (direct) route, "straight up" the center of the 6000 ft wall, with most of the climbing world aware of the attempts. Harlin joined a long line of famous climbers who were either successes like the famed Heinrich Harrer who was amongst four in the 'first to the top' group in 1938, or failures like the equally famous Toni Kurz, who with the other three members of his team dead including Hinterstoisser, was trapped by an ice storm and with a horribly frostbitten hand, he would die inches from rescuer's hands, tearing at the knotted rope that sealed his fate with his teeth. The elder Harlin fit both categories, success and failure. The stories are mesmerizing, as are the stories of the Harlin family coping with circumstance and the Eiger route attempts by the father and, decades later, the son. Climbers all over the world, even those who have never been to Europe, can recite from memory the features of the Classic Route of the Eiger: "the Difficult Crack", "Rote Flüh" (Red Crag), the 'point of no return' "Hinterstoisser Traverse", "the White Spider", "the Death Bivouac", "the Swallow's Nest", "the Traverse of the Gods", and so on, up to the "Exit Cracks", recounted here in intense, vivid detail. Harlin tells us the stories and difficulties which drew many famous climbers to attempt the Eiger as a test of will and ability. Harlin II had already climbed the Classic Route and had been on the mountain many times, but his "Direct Route" 'upped the ante' considerably and Harlin assembled a 'crack team' that included Americans (himself and rock technician Layton Kor) and Europeans (Sir Chris Bonington and Dougal Haston) to climb it. The book details how Harlin II perished and how a combined team is cut off from retreat and literally climbing for their lives thru horrible conditions. And at what price? In the book, Harlin III, now a 50 year old expert climber in his own right, admits he has been obsessed by his father's death and the Eiger's 6000 foot deadly wall. "I can't go climbing without Dad's shadow hanging over me. And I love that shadow as much as it appalls me." With his own wife and daughter watching through the telescope at the world-famous Kleine Scheidegg, this book puts you on the mountain during the climb, as John Harlin III attempts to complete the Cl