Extreme Eiger: Triumph and Tragedy on the North Face
Jun 2015 · Simon and Schuster
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About this ebook
The North Face of the Eiger was long renowned as the most dangerous climb in the Swiss Alps, one that had cost the lives of numerous mountaineers. In February 1966, two teams - one German, the other British/American - aimed to climb it in a straight line from bottom to top. Astonishingly, the two teams knew almost nothing about each other's attempt until both arrived at the foot of the face. The race was on.
John Harlin led the four-man British/American team and intended to make a swift dash for the summit. The Germans, with an eight-man team and a mass of equipment, planned a slow, relentless ascent. Watching on was a young journalist reporting on the climb for the Daily Telegraph, Peter Gillman - for the Eiger is the most public of mountains, where tourists can observe the life-and-death struggles on the face from telescopes at the nearby hotels.
Almost 50 years on, Gillman recalls the dramatic events on the North Face of the Eiger, and assesses their effect on those who took part. One man died and others were permanently injured through frostbite. For Chris Bonington, it opened a path to a career and reputation as Britain's foremost mountaineer. It was an epic ascent with profound consequences, redolent of a golden age of adventure and mountaineering.
John Harlin led the four-man British/American team and intended to make a swift dash for the summit. The Germans, with an eight-man team and a mass of equipment, planned a slow, relentless ascent. Watching on was a young journalist reporting on the climb for the Daily Telegraph, Peter Gillman - for the Eiger is the most public of mountains, where tourists can observe the life-and-death struggles on the face from telescopes at the nearby hotels.
Almost 50 years on, Gillman recalls the dramatic events on the North Face of the Eiger, and assesses their effect on those who took part. One man died and others were permanently injured through frostbite. For Chris Bonington, it opened a path to a career and reputation as Britain's foremost mountaineer. It was an epic ascent with profound consequences, redolent of a golden age of adventure and mountaineering.
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About the author
Peter Gillman is one of Britain's leading mountaineering writers. His articles have appeared in the national press for more than thirty years and he has a dozen books to his name, including Eiger Direct and his acclaimed Everest anthology. In 1992 he saw Everest with his wife on a journey through Tibet, retracing the steps of Mallory's 1921 reconnaissance expedition. He lives in south London, England.
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