The Eiger Obsession: Facing the Mountain That Killed My Father

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.

Share your thoughts on the The Eiger Obsession: Facing the Mountain That Killed My Father ebook with other internet viewers!

Title of ebook: The Eiger Obsession: Facing the Mountain That Killed My Father
ISBN: 9781416539315
parent-ISBN: 9780743296908
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: 03-2007
Released online for download: 03-06-2007
Author of eBook: Harlin, John,

Format

Encrypted

Sku

ISBN

File size

Security

Printing

Copying

Read aloud

Devices

Mobipocket

Yes

9781416539315

3387 KB

n/a

Not allowed

No

Sys Requirements

Download reader

Digital Editions

Yes

5551610721

9781416539315

4441 KB

n/a

Not allowed

No

Sys Requirments

Download reader

eReader

Yes

555161073X

9781416539315

2617 KB

n/a

Not allowed

No

Sys Requirments

Download reader

Microsoft

Yes

141653931X

9781416539315

1820 KB

n/a

Not allowed

No

Sys Requirments

Download reader

The Eiger Obsession

Facing the Mountain that Killed My Father

One

The Shattered Pillar

When I was a kid it always bothered me that Dad hadn't been able to survive most of his 4,000-foot fall. He would have wanted to savor the event: his "ultimate experience," the one he had been looking forward to, even though he wanted it to come later. My mother made sure that the film in his movie camera was developed, because he would have filmed the whole thing if possible. That's just how he was, and it would have been strange if he'd changed at the last minute.

Or maybe he would have. Changed, that is. Another minute of life might have been enough time for him to reflect on his children, ages eight and nine, and to realize how selfish it was to die when they needed him. Or maybe he would have learned that the opportunity to watch his children grow up, to participate in their lives, is a much greater adventure than dying. And what about his parents? Did he think about how he was hurting them? No, I don't think he did. But if he'd had that minute to think, perhaps he would have. Maybe it's b ... read full excerpt from: The Eiger Obsession: Facing the Mountain That Killed My Father ebook

Top eBooks in "Personal Memoirs"

Confessions of a Video Vixen

by Steffans, Karrine

Review: This book was raw, entertaining and real! I never thought the life of video vixen could be so glam and yet so lonely. A must read for women out there who have ...more

Best price: $9.72

Belle de Jour: Diary of an Unlikely Call Girl

by Anonymous

Belle couldn't find a job after University. Her impressive degree was not paying her rent or buying her food. But after a fantastic threesome with a very rich couple who gave ...more

Best price: $8.64

Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India a

by Gilbert, Elizabeth

This beautifully written, heartfelt memoir touched a nerve among both readers and reviewers. elizabeth Gilbert tells how she made the difficult choice to leave behind all the ...more

Best price: $14.17

Kidnapped: A Diary of My 373 Days in Captivity

by Kalli, Leszli

On April 12, 1999, Leszli Kálli boarded a plane in Colombia to work on a kibbutz in Israel, but she never made it. The plane was hijacked by a leftist guerrilla group and ...more

Best price: $13.04

West of Kabul, East of New York

by Ansary, Tamim, Ansary, Mir Tamim

A passionate personal journey through two cultures in conflict...more

Best price: $8.38

Hannah's Gift

by Housden, Maria

every once in a while a book comes along that can change your life -- a book so special, it is destined not just to be read but to be cherished, to be passed from one...more

Best price: $10.34

Other Biography eBooks Categories

Biography General (2228)

Personal Memoirs (1846)

Women (500)

Literary (226)

Medical (123)

Political (221)

Travelers (32)

Entertainers (409)

Military (208)

Religious (208)