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Eiger: Wall of Death
Barcelona. 19 cm. 419 p., [16] h. de lám. Encuadernación en tapa blanda de editorial ilustrada. Colección 'Aventura vivida'. Traducido por R. A. Montañismo. Eiger (Suiza, Pico). Historia .. Este libro es de segunda mano y tiene o puede tener marcas y señales de su anterior propietario. ISBN: 842531660X
- GenresNonfiction
308 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1982
1 person is currently reading
56 people want to read
About the author
Arthur J. Roth
22 books15 followersArthur Joseph Roth (Nina Hoy, Barney Mara, Slater McGurk, Pete Pomeroy)
Has worked as a bartender, carpenter, coalminer, factory worker, logger, farmer, high school teacher of Spanish, college instructor in writing, clerk-typist, and truck driver.
Two for Survival was selected as one of the children's books of the year, 1976, by the Children's Book Committee of the Child Study Association.
Under pseudonym Pete Pomeroy:
Wipeout! (1968)
The Mallory Burn (1971)
Crash at Salty Bay (1972)
Under pseudonym Barney Mara:
Forest Fire
Under pseudonym Nina Hoy:
The Runaway (1979)
Under pseudonym Slater McGurk:
The Grand Central Murders (1964)
The Denmark Bus (1966)
The Big Dig (1968)
Has worked as a bartender, carpenter, coalminer, factory worker, logger, farmer, high school teacher of Spanish, college instructor in writing, clerk-typist, and truck driver.
Two for Survival was selected as one of the children's books of the year, 1976, by the Children's Book Committee of the Child Study Association.
Under pseudonym Pete Pomeroy:
Wipeout! (1968)
The Mallory Burn (1971)
Crash at Salty Bay (1972)
Under pseudonym Barney Mara:
Forest Fire
Under pseudonym Nina Hoy:
The Runaway (1979)
Under pseudonym Slater McGurk:
The Grand Central Murders (1964)
The Denmark Bus (1966)
The Big Dig (1968)
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 2, 2021
One debatably useful librarian superpower is to recall some book you read thirty years ago about mountain climbers on a perilous ascent up a mountain that was relatively easy to climb up the other side--and identify, and obtain that book. I say debatably because I don't think this book was particularly worth a second read. The author has exhaustively researched attempts to climb the north wall (Nordwand) of the Eiger in Switzerland and--as far as I can tell--put everything in this book. Nothing is on the cutting-room floor. Some of the expeditions were important (the first one, the first solo, etc.); others were disastrous and led to daring rescues. Roth recounts every ascent, even the unremarkable ones.
I remembered correctly that the Eiger was routine to climb--up the west side. The north side is a concave death trap of rock falls, avalanches, tempting but impossible routes, and afternoon storms. The climbs detailed here took place from the 1930s to the early '70s, so the climbers were setting off without the technical clothing or equipment that you or I could pick up at an REI this weekend. When the day warmed up, it loosened rocks from the ice to rain down on the climbers, so freezing in a wool sweater was perhaps desirable. Many of the climbers were young and set off without much in the way of planning, spending four or more nights on the mountain when they'd only brought food for one. Some of them didn't have crampons, or dropped their only ice ax in the early going. Whether or not to turn back was always a crucial question.
Some grim drama comes from the Eiger's proximity to a railway and the town of Kleine Scheidegg. Comfortable hotel patrons could use pay telescopes to watch the progress of the climbers or lack thereof. Rescuers could see climbers in need of aid, but not necessarily how to reach them. One early climber froze to death dangling from a rope while rescuers could just touch his foot with an ice ax, but couldn't safely detach him.
This book made an impression on me because I visited Kleine Scheidegg soon after reading it, but I'm not sure it's worth reading when we now have Into Thin Air, which is a similar type of story in a much more concentrated and personal form.
I remembered correctly that the Eiger was routine to climb--up the west side. The north side is a concave death trap of rock falls, avalanches, tempting but impossible routes, and afternoon storms. The climbs detailed here took place from the 1930s to the early '70s, so the climbers were setting off without the technical clothing or equipment that you or I could pick up at an REI this weekend. When the day warmed up, it loosened rocks from the ice to rain down on the climbers, so freezing in a wool sweater was perhaps desirable. Many of the climbers were young and set off without much in the way of planning, spending four or more nights on the mountain when they'd only brought food for one. Some of them didn't have crampons, or dropped their only ice ax in the early going. Whether or not to turn back was always a crucial question.
Some grim drama comes from the Eiger's proximity to a railway and the town of Kleine Scheidegg. Comfortable hotel patrons could use pay telescopes to watch the progress of the climbers or lack thereof. Rescuers could see climbers in need of aid, but not necessarily how to reach them. One early climber froze to death dangling from a rope while rescuers could just touch his foot with an ice ax, but couldn't safely detach him.
This book made an impression on me because I visited Kleine Scheidegg soon after reading it, but I'm not sure it's worth reading when we now have Into Thin Air, which is a similar type of story in a much more concentrated and personal form.
October 15, 2020
Onvan : Eiger: Wall of Death - Nevisande : Arthur J. Roth - ISBN : 1885283199 - ISBN13 : 9781885283191 - Dar 403 Safhe - Saal e Chap : 1982
August 14, 2018
Detailed chronicle of the attempted summits and summits of the Eiger beginning in the 1930's. So many young lives lost though, either on the mountain or in accidents afterwards - it can get depressing after awhile!
December 6, 2013
Although this book wasn't quite what I expected, Eiger: Wall of Death by Arthur Roth was an absolutely fascinating read. It was written more like a history or reference book about the north-face climb (Nordwand) of the Eiger mountain in the Swiss Alps rather than some fictional story.
Author Arthur J. Roth was my favorite writer when I was 10 years old (I loved the Iceberg Hermit and Avalanche), so I thought I would try one of his other books. And I'm glad I did because this one was really great. It was great in that it was intense, terrifying, and ultimately incredible.
The Eiger, or Ogre, has been called by some as the "meanest mountain on earth", the Cobra, or Mordwand (murderwall- a play on words of Norwand) to name a few. I don't know the exact statistics, but this book certainly makes it seem like the most dangerous wall to climb in the world. Accordingly, not only is it dangerous due to the difficulty of the climb (13,000 feet of terribly smooth walls with few handholds)it's also due to rapid-shifting weather (the Eiger brews its own weather p. 233) and great boulders that come dashing down on climbers if caught during periods of sunlight and warmth. Imagine Donkey Kong only on a mountain, with boulders, and it's real-life. So many people have died trying to climb this mountain and yet, more people kept trying to climb it regardless.
I feel that I may be a little sick-minded but part of the reason I enjoyed this book was because the survivor stories were so mind-bending and often-times unfortunate. Most of the accounts in this book were before the time of high-altitude capable rescue helicopters and cable-descents (p. 347). Although there are many accounts, and tons of different names to learn- I found one account of two cocksure Spaniards to be particularly diabolical for as they were too proud to admit defeat in the middle of a blindingly-cold snowstorm, they ended up freezing to death while still holding their ropes in their climbers' stances. I also found the American, Harlin's story to be quite heart-breaking.
I found this book difficult to rate due to it's documentary-like narrative. Also, perhaps due to the international attention to the wall, different languages are sometimes used to either describe a name or an idea. I found this somewhat distracting because a translation wasn't always provided. Moreover, the accounts always indicated who died or survived before the reader is able to finish the story. For example, while reading in the middle of one such account, we come across an indirect spoiler: "a rock... struck his back and drove the breath from his body. 'An intolerable pain spread through my chest, a horrible sensation as though my thorax were melting,' he later wrote...". For these reasons and the fact that I probably won't ever read this book again, I gave it four stars.
In summary, Eiger: Wall of Death by Arthur Roth is an awesome book but feels somewhat like reference literature. Nevertheless, it's very fascinating to read these life-or-death accounts and the people who suffered through them. Furthermore, climbers repeatedly made their pilgrimages to the Eiger despite the grim fatality records. Perhaps that's why this book is so mind-bendingly devious.
Author Arthur J. Roth was my favorite writer when I was 10 years old (I loved the Iceberg Hermit and Avalanche), so I thought I would try one of his other books. And I'm glad I did because this one was really great. It was great in that it was intense, terrifying, and ultimately incredible.
The Eiger, or Ogre, has been called by some as the "meanest mountain on earth", the Cobra, or Mordwand (murderwall- a play on words of Norwand) to name a few. I don't know the exact statistics, but this book certainly makes it seem like the most dangerous wall to climb in the world. Accordingly, not only is it dangerous due to the difficulty of the climb (13,000 feet of terribly smooth walls with few handholds)it's also due to rapid-shifting weather (the Eiger brews its own weather p. 233) and great boulders that come dashing down on climbers if caught during periods of sunlight and warmth. Imagine Donkey Kong only on a mountain, with boulders, and it's real-life. So many people have died trying to climb this mountain and yet, more people kept trying to climb it regardless.
I feel that I may be a little sick-minded but part of the reason I enjoyed this book was because the survivor stories were so mind-bending and often-times unfortunate. Most of the accounts in this book were before the time of high-altitude capable rescue helicopters and cable-descents (p. 347). Although there are many accounts, and tons of different names to learn- I found one account of two cocksure Spaniards to be particularly diabolical for as they were too proud to admit defeat in the middle of a blindingly-cold snowstorm, they ended up freezing to death while still holding their ropes in their climbers' stances. I also found the American, Harlin's story to be quite heart-breaking.
I found this book difficult to rate due to it's documentary-like narrative. Also, perhaps due to the international attention to the wall, different languages are sometimes used to either describe a name or an idea. I found this somewhat distracting because a translation wasn't always provided. Moreover, the accounts always indicated who died or survived before the reader is able to finish the story. For example, while reading in the middle of one such account, we come across an indirect spoiler: "a rock... struck his back and drove the breath from his body. 'An intolerable pain spread through my chest, a horrible sensation as though my thorax were melting,' he later wrote...". For these reasons and the fact that I probably won't ever read this book again, I gave it four stars.
In summary, Eiger: Wall of Death by Arthur Roth is an awesome book but feels somewhat like reference literature. Nevertheless, it's very fascinating to read these life-or-death accounts and the people who suffered through them. Furthermore, climbers repeatedly made their pilgrimages to the Eiger despite the grim fatality records. Perhaps that's why this book is so mind-bendingly devious.
November 2, 2007
Excellent guidebook to touring Switzerland.
Want to read
August 27, 2012Adventure Library
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews