The Eiger Obsession: Facing the Mountain that Killed My Father

by John Harlin

A historic memoir by the noted Alpine climber and journalist who undertakes an epic climb of The Eiger in Switzerland—the very same mountain that not only made his father “Eiger John” famous, but killed him in 1966.

In the 1960s an American named John Harlin II changed the face of Alpine climbing. Gutsy and gorgeous—he was known as “the blond god”—Harlin successfully summitted some of the most treacherous mountains in Europe. But it was the north face of the Eiger that became Harlin’s obsession. Living with his wife and two children in Leysin, Switzerland, he spent countless hours planning to climb, waiting to climb, and attempting to climb the massive vertical face. It was the Eiger direct—the direttissima —with which John Harlin was particularly obsessed. He wanted to be the first to complete it, and everyone in the Alpine world knew it.

John Harlin III was nine years old when his father made another attempt on a direct ascent of the notorious Eiger. Harlin had put together a terrific team, and, despite unending storms, he was poised for the summit dash. It was the moment he had long waited for. When Harlin’s rope broke, 2,000 feet from the summit, he plummeted 4,000 feet to his death. In the shadow of tragedy, young John Harlin III came of age possessed with the very same passion for risk that drove his father. But he had also promised his mother, a beautiful and brilliant young widow, that he would not be an Alpine climber.

Harlin moved from Europe to America, and, with an insatiable sense of wanderlust, he reveled in downhill skiing and rock-climbing. For years he successfully denied the clarion call of the mountain that killed his father. But in 2005, John Harlin could resist no longer. With his nine-year-old daughter, Siena—his very age at the time of his father’s death—and with an IMAX Theatre filmmaking crew watching, Harlin set off to slay the Eiger. This is an unforgettable story about fathers and sons, climbers and mountains, and dreamers who dare to challenge the earth.

Genres: Mountaineering, Climbing, Biography, Adventure, Nonfiction, Travel, Autobiography

306 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Clara Mazzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Harlin jr, alpinista, non è però un alpinista d’eccezione, come suo padre, IL John Harlin che ha aperto la via direttissima sull’Eiger. Il figlio, nonché l’autore di questa rimarchevole autobiografia, ha un rapporto privilegiato con la montagna grazie all’infanzia vissuta con un genitore completamente assorbito da essa e che aveva spronato tutti ad una vita sportiva in natura (completandola col trasferimento in Svizzera a Leysin, dove aveva ottenuto l’incarico di direttore del dipartimento di sport di una celebre boarding school americana – che ha contato, tra l’altro, tra i suoi allievi anche un giovanissimo Sylvester Stallone!) ma non l’ha mai anteposta alla sua famiglia, come invece aveva fatto suo padre. È proprio nel ripensare a com’era stato essere il figlio di un padre ossessionato dalla montagna, spesso assente e che si aspettava figli fortissimi dal punto di vista dello sport che John Harlin jr. riscrive la sua autobiografia: condannato da un cognome pesante, attraversa il mondo dell’alpinismo in cui tutti si aspettano grandi cose da lui, quando invece lui non si sente affatto in dovere di dover rispondere a queste attese, ma soprattutto ha ben chiaro di voler avere una famiglia ben diversa da quella che ha vissuto lui.
Sarà comunque tormentata la vita di Jr: da una parte attratto come un magnete dalla montagna (fino a riuscire a farne una professione, diventando un giornalista della stampa specializzata, da ultimo direttore dell’American Alpine Journal), dall’altra orripilato dalla salita all’Eiger su cui suo padre era morto mentre tentava di aprire la via – quando Jr aveva 10 anni.
Aveva scalato tante vie difficili, ma la nord dell’Eiger, la direttissima di suo padre mai. Né avrebbe voluto mai farlo – anche se sapeva che questa ascensione incombeva su di lui come un fantasma.
Tappa dopo tappa della sua vita (l’università, i primi lavori, la conoscenza della sua futura moglie Adele, il loro – straordinario! – percorso insieme) lui ricerca sempre l’avventura, per poi rifuggirla per tema di diventare come suo padre (e di avere una famiglia che soffre troppo per le sue assenze e che si preoccupa troppo per i pericoli in cui si caccia), per poi ricercarla di nuovo, perché senza avventura si sente vuoto.
E l’Eiger è sempre lì: ora davanti a lui, ora al fianco, ora alle sue spalle.
Ma John punta i piedi e si rifiuta.
Per una serie di motivi (più legati alla passione della montagna che per la sua professione) prende sempre più a tornare sulle Alpi, sul Bianco e in Svizzera (aveva vissuto la sua infanzia a Leysin, dove suo padre era direttore della seziona sportiva) e il richiamo dell’Eiger si fa sempre più forte. John però riesce sempre a trovare delle scuse per non farlo, anche se ormai ha capito che soltanto ripercorrendo la via di suo padre finirebbe di elaborare un lutto che si trascina ormai da più di un decennio.
Pagina dopo pagina, di questa straordinaria autobiografia, di spessore e di grande umanità, in cui John Harlin jr ci accompagna tra le curve sinuose della sua esistenza, eccoci arrivati sotto la parete dell’Eiger: per motivi di lavoro, quindi in grande sicurezza (condizione per lui fondamentale, visto che era nel frattempo diventato anche padre di famiglia), deve ripercorrere la via di suo padre. Come mette le mani sulla roccia sente immediatamente che è come se entrasse, quasi mezzo secolo dopo, di nuovo in contatto con lui.
Poche sono le pagine dedicate alla salita (anche perché si trattava di una ripetizione di una via nota), ma precedute da così tanta vita, che quel momento in cui i polpastrelli toccano quella roccia per la prima volta è un momento catartico anche per il lettore e quando John arriva in vetta, ci porta tutti quanti insieme a lui e capiamo che davvero inizia una nuova fase di vita per John: la via classica è stato per lui come una seconda rinascita.
Veramente un gran bel lavoro anche se lo spazio e l’omaggio dedicato a sua madre – una donna VERAMENTE ECCEZIONALE – è purtroppo ingiustamente (anche se non intenzionalmente) limitato.

[Chris Wristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

By random chance, I grabbed this book off my shelf right after finishing Mark Jenkins' "The Hard Way." It was appropriate since he and Harlin were friends and climbed together - a few of those climbs were referenced in both books. Both men have different writing styles, but in many ways one book flowed right into the next.

I've spent parts of a few summers hiking in the Swiss Alps across the valley from the Eiger and have had a photo of that region framed on my wall for several years, so those experiences helped bring a lot of additional color to Harlin's story for me.

[Patricia Kidder · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good read - entertaining, heart-wrenching, informative. I felt bad for the Harlin children as it seems like their Dad was more interested in adventuring than in parenting. Sadly, they lost him at an early age and it scarred them for life. John Harlin III is clearly more invested in parenting and the love he has for his daughter radiates throughout the book. The writing about the battles with the mountains and their weather and the psychic battles that alpinists engage in was descriptive and engaging.

[Peter Longden · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a marvellous book for those who love stories of mountains, climbing and adventuring. That tragedy always accompanies great climbing challenges is apart of this book like many others and John H 3rd treats it with great emotional sensitivity, particularly when it is about his father. The climbing writing is exceptionally good, not overly technical and with great effect captures the highs and lows of climbing (or not) the great north face of the Eiger.
Excellent!

[Martha · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an interesting book except that he used so much mountain/rock climbing lingo that I had a hard following what was happening. There is a map of the Eiger with some places on the face of the mountain labeled BUT there were several places he mentions that are not labeled. I wanted to better understand where they were on the mountain and what was happening.

[Heather Carreiro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed it and learned a lot about the climbing world.

[Aly Ogden · Rating 3 out of 5]

more of a technical book on mountaineering than i expected, but still enjoyed

[Corrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This is so fascinating and inspiring... John Harlin's father's ghost just permeates this book, not just the Eiger climb, but it seems like every mountain he (John III) grapples with in the Alps because his father was there before him. A father that was larger than life, not just in his mind and heart, but in the minds and hearts of everyone who knew him or heard of him. He had great conditions when he climbed the mountain that killed his father and so he didn't have to wrench himself back from the edge of death, but he had to wrench his life from his father's. What a heavy shadow to live in your whole life, and the fact that John III emerges so gracefully, introspectively, and inspirationally is surely the best legacy his father left behind. And it's certainly testimony to his mom!

[Andy Walker]

John Harlin II - aka 'the Blond God' - was a USAF pilot and mountaineer who died after falling 4000 feet from the North Face of the Eiger in 1966. This book, written by his son, John Harlin III, is a memoir recounting the father's life, the impact of his death on his son and the son's passion for the great outdoors, culminating in his own ascent of the Eiger. The early chapters, looking back on John Harlin II's achievements, are well written and informative but overall the book has an irritating "gung-ho" feel to it. Its invocation of the blond-haired, blue-eyed can-do all-American hero struck an odd tone which left me as cold as the cliff face at the book's heart.

[Dale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Insight into mountain climbing's physical and mental challenges. At times I could picture myself with the author on the mountain waiting for the right time to climb or risking a rock on the head in order to cross the next foot or two of Alp ice field, but at other times I could not visualize as many details.

Excellent contrast between the Alp and USA mountain climbing environments, hazards to the climb, and methods used to reach the goal.

[Steve Chilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written by his son, this is a memoir recounting the father's life, the impact of his death on his son and the son's passion for the great outdoors, culminating in his own ascent of the Eiger. The early chapters, looking back on John Harlin II's achievements, are covering ground reasonably well known if you have read around the subject. The description of his character and relationship was intriguing, showing his flaws, but I enjoyed the flow of the writing on the son's attempt.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is written by the son of the guy the John Harlin route on the North Face of the Eiger is named after. Harlin's father fell off the route and died when he was a kid, and the mountain has haunted him ever since. This book is the story of him facing his demons and attempting the climb himself. Also check out the Alps Imax movie about the climb.

[Wayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent biography of the Alpine climber John Harlin by his son (an excellent climber in his own right). John III paints a sympathetic portrait of the complexities of his father, a family man driven by his obsession with climbing hard routes in the Alps. It chronicles John III climbing the Nordwand of the Eiger to complete the climb that killed his father.

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book during a "reading slump" and shouldn't have attempted it. I usually love real life action books like Into Thin Air, but somehow this author made it very boring. It turns out that this book was more about the author's relationship with his father than it was about the adventure of climbing.

[Alice Carroll · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Eiger Obsession is a memorial for John Harlin II by his son John Harlin III. Harlin III wanted to succeed on the route that killed his father.
This book gives a lesson on bravery. It is about trying to complete the things that others have left unfinished.
This book is sad because it talks about Harlin II's death, but it is still interesting to read about.

[Joe Brunory · Rating 4 out of 5]

Switzerland's Alps are an amazing backdrop to this, my introduction into stories of serious mountaineering, it's history and challenges. A truly inviting look into something I knew nothing about but plan to discover now.

[Judith Ring · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant book, although it is strange in my view that he should repeat the climb which killed his father, when he has young children who would be left fatherless as he was, if he didn't make it. It is a rather harrowing book in parts

[Dan A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story of family, mountaineering, mountain history, and life in general. John Harlin is a fantastic writing, a great climber, and a match-less friend!

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Harlin III lets it all out in this novel. Seems like the writing of it was rather theraputic.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A true story and I could not even explain why I could not put it down.

[Jim Corson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly interesting for Eiger-Pliles

[Nishan Poudyal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quite a good read.Harlin does a fair job as he narrates his introspective story but its far from being an absolute 'page turner' Nevertheless a very moving peice of writing

[Anthony Leutenegger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written by my good friend and current climbing partner.

[Biff · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you can put aside the BLACKROCK propaganda, John Harlin has provided a unique point of view of a true pioneer, his father.

[Jiayin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Inspiring but not very good. I like the part of John Harling II in the first half the book.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learnt from this that I def. like to read about dangling and not try it out - scardy cat