#john harlin

I chose my book late because I needed time to go to the library. I love going to the library, walking up and down the shelves and pulling out titles that I find interesting. Going into this, I knew I wanted do to a nonfiction book about mountain climbing because I’ve read autobiographies about it in the past and thoroughly enjoyed them. I also knew that climbing books could fit into a lot of the categories such as passion vs responsibility, nature, and accepting death. I sat on the floor and read through about three pages of each, and narrowed it down to these five books. I ended up going with The Eiger Obsession: Facing The Mountain That Killed My Father by John Harlin III. I was really intrigued by the concept he was writing about, and I recognized the name John Harlin II. I also read like five pages and really enjoyed his writing style and use of ironic phrases, so I decided to choose this book to focus on as my primary work.

Here the summit of the Fou floated in the clouds and the towering cumulus all around at our level reminded me of many similar moments while flying.  However, here one could actually feel the elements and be part of them.

The Alps (2007) 44min. A documentary film about the climbing of the north face of the Eiger in the Bernese Alps by John Harlin III, son of John Harlin who died on the same ascent 40 years earlier. It was shot in 70mm IMAX.