The White Spider

A classic of mountaineering literature, The White Spider tells the story of the harrowing first ascent of the Eiger’s North Face, one of the most legendary and terrifying climbs in recorded history. Heinrich Harrer, author of Seven Years in Tibet and one of the twentieth century’s greatest mountaineers, was part of the team that finally conquered the fearsome North Face of the Eiger in 1938. It was a landmark expedition that pitted the explorers against treacherous conditions and the limits of human endurance, and which many have since tried – and failed – to emulate. Armed with an intimate knowledge that comes only from first-hand experience of climbing the Eiger, Harrer gives a gripping account of physical daring and mental resilience, a subtle and affecting portrait of both the mind of the mountaineer and the soul of a mountain. A new introduction by Joe Simpson, author of Touching the Void, reminds us of the enduring relevance of this true adventure classic.