Eiger Obsession

Facing the Mountain That Killed My Father

In the 1960s, an American named John Harlin II changed the face of Alpine
climbing. 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. John Harlin III was nine years old when his father put together a
terrific team for an ill-fated direct ascent of the notorious Eiger. 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.

For years, he successfully denied the siren call of the mountain that killed
his father. But in 2005, John Harlin could resist no longer. With his
daughter, Siena – his very age at the time of his father’s death – and with an
IMAX Theatre filmmaking crew watching, he set off towards the Eiger. This is
an unforgettable story about fathers and sons, climbers and mountains, and
dreamers who dare to challenge the earth.