THE CLIMB UP TO HELL : The Story of the Tragic 1957 Ordeal on the Eiger North Wall ...

New York, NY: Harper & Row, 1962. First Edition, First Thus . Hardcover. New/New. BRAND NEW & Collectible. Stated First Edition. DJ/ with trace wear/under mylar. History of the ill-fated 1957 climb of Eiger, and a daring rescue, the circumstances of which are plagued by mysteries. The Eiger is a "living" mountain is under constant change (unstable weather, disintegrating limestone surfaces resulting in frequent avalanches, and perpetual fall of rocks and ice). These conditions are amplified on its north wall; one of the deadliest climbs in the world and having claimed so many lives it is called Mordwand (German for 'murderous wall'. In the fateful year of 1957, four climbers men set out ... two Italian (Claudio Corti and Stefano Longhi) and two German (Franz Meyer and Gunther Nothdurft). Nothdurft is not well, Longhi falls and can't be lifted up, and Corti is struck by falling stone. Corti is left w/tent and provisons while Meyer and Northdurft continue with the climb. A 54-man rescue action swings into action; a guide is lowered from the summit on a steel cable. Corti is the first rescued. Meyer and Nothdurft, complete the ascent, but die in an avalanche on their descent from Eiger's west face. Longhi dies of exposure; his body not recovered until two years latter. The confused, solo survivor Corti is chastized by many fronts and held in international contempt and scorn. An extraordinary tale.