John Harlin facts for kids
John Elvis Harlin II (born June 30, 1935 – died March 22, 1966) was a brave American alpinist, which is a fancy word for a mountain climber who specializes in difficult climbs. He was also a pilot for the US Air Force. Sadly, John Harlin passed away while trying to climb the challenging north face of the Eiger mountain.
About John Harlin
John Harlin went to Sequoia High School and later studied at Stanford University.
He became a very skilled mountain climber. In 1962, he was part of the first American team to successfully climb the 1938 Heckmair Route on the Eiger's north face. He also made the first climb of the American Direct route on Les Dru mountain.
John Harlin then had a big idea: he wanted to climb the Eiger using a direttissima route. This Italian word means "most direct." It's like trying to climb straight up instead of going around. In 1966, while he was about 2,000 feet from the top, his rope broke, and he fell.
A Scottish climber named Dougal Haston was climbing with Harlin. Dougal continued the climb with a team from Germany who joined them on the same route. This new, direct route was later named the Harlin route to honor John. A book called Direttissima: The Eiger Assault tells the story of this amazing and sad climb. It was written by Peter Gillman and Dougal Haston.
In 1965, John Harlin started a special school in Leysin, Switzerland, called the "International School of Modern Mountaineering." He had also worked as a sports director at the Leysin American School before this.
John Harlin's son, John Harlin III, was only nine years old when his father died. He also became a mountaineer and was the main editor for the American Alpine Club's American Alpine Journal. John Harlin III has written five books and recently climbed the Eiger himself, using the original Heckmair route. He wrote a book about his experience called The Eiger Obsession. A film about his climb, called The Alps, came out in 2007. It's an Imax movie that shows incredible views of the Eiger's north face and other mountains in the Alps.
First Major Climbs
John Harlin was known for making "first ascents," which means he was the first person (or team) to successfully climb a certain route on a mountain. Here are some of his important first ascents:
- 1964: Cime de l'Est NE ridge on Dents du Midi, in Valais, Switzerland. He climbed this with Chris Bonington and Rusty Baillie.
- 1965: American Direttissima on Aiguille du Dru, in the Mont Blanc Range, France. He climbed this with Royal Robbins.
