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One doesn’t have to be a climber
and/or a mountaineering literature enthusiast to appreciate The Eiger
Sanction, either the 1972 book by Trevanian or the 1975 movie. The story is a spy-spoof thriller with a fine
dose of extreme alpine climbing. The
1975 film, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, has been in my top ten
favorite movies list for decades. I’ve
watched it to death, and it is by far my favorite of Clint’s films. I only just now have read the original 1972
novel by Trevanian, and I was not disappointed.
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The story is a spoof because it
satirizes the insanity of government agencies, especially the national
“intelligence” agencies that are supposed to protect our lives and liberties with integrity
and virtue, and it features classic conspiracy theorist paranoia about
government assassins and shadow planners. The plot is convoluted and beyond credibility,
but it is excellent theater. Our
protagonist is Dr. Jonathan Hemlock (Eastwood), a military veteran, experienced
alpinist, art expert, and professor of art; but he has also been an assassin
for the US government. An assassination plot
is a main part of the story.
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The mountain climbing aspects of
the story are excellent. The North Face
of the Eiger in Switzerland is considered one of the most dangerous climbs in
the Alps. The history of climbing and
death on this Nordwand (north wall) is fascinating, and this story taps into
the entire mystique and into many of the actual historical details. The more one knows about the Eiger’s climbing
history, the more the story shines.
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Movie (1975): It is very faithful to the book, including
dialogue, although some plot changes have been made. Clint’s ability to deliver classic one-liners
with sarcasm adds spice. The camera work
is fantastic, capturing the awesome grandeur of big climbs. It has a John Williams score, and it is my
favorite of George Kennedy’s roles as supporting actor.
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Clint Eastwood did most of his
own stunt work, including most of his climbing scenes, including some leads. He often has an extra line attached. During the desert climb, you can see that
Clint is top-roped on the chimney climb (contradicting the storyline which has
him leading it, but still nice climbing shots); but when you see his back at a
distance with no rope above him, that is usually his climbing stunt double. The double has longer hair, and he doubles on
rappel scenes in both the desert and the Eiger as well as at the top of the early
building climb scene in Zurich.
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They filmed the climatic scenes
on the Eiger itself, although off to the side of the main face. A camera crew member was killed by a falling
rock, in a spot where Eastwood was standing just before. To me, one of the best shots of Clint
actually climbing is his long pendulum swing on the north face.
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Clint wears an unusual helmet in
the Eiger scenes, one with a small visor like on a construction safety helmet,
and I assume this was to protect his million-dollar face from being smashed by
rockfall. I’ve never seen a climber wear
such a helmet.
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More authentic film props are
pieces of gear identical to what I used then, in my pioneer climbing days. Woolen Dachstein mittens are dense,
windproof, and will insulate even when frozen; one must break them in like a
good pair of boots. The crampons worn
are just like my own first pair. The
climbing boots, both the rock and the ice climbing ones, are typical of the
era. (My own beloved pair of Galibier
Super-Guide ice boots were all-leather and non-insulated, and it took me three
years to break them in, but they are my dancing slippers of choice on steep
ice.)
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The movie’s mountaineering
advisors were all top rank. Foremost was
Dougal Haston. He was a Scots climber
who headed an international climbing school based in Switzerland. His climbing resume was impressive: He did new routes on Ben Nevis in winter
Scotland. In 1966 he joined German
climbers for the first ascent of the direttissima (“most
direct route”) on the Eiger’s north face (the Harlin Route). First ascent of the south face of Annapurna
in 1970, and the first ascent of Everest’s south-west face in 1975.
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Also advising for the film
were: Norman Dyhernfurth, who led the
first American team to summit Mt. Everest in 1963; and Hamish MacInnes, the
legendary Scots climber and pioneer in mountain rescue techniques.
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The South Tyrolean mountaineer,
Reinhold Messner, is perhaps the greatest mountain climber in history, and while
Eastwood was filming in the summer of 1974, Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler
climbed the Eiger north face in 10 hours.
(There is a photo in Messner’s book, The Big Walls,
with them and the film’s stars.) Messner
and Habeler were the first to climb Mount Everest without bottled supplemental
oxygen in 1978. Messner came back in
1980 and did another first: He climbed
Everest solo from base camp to top and back, and of course
without oxygen.
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Book: 1972 by Trevanian (aka, Rodney William
Whitaker)
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Although additional history of
Eiger north face climbing is given in the novel, there is no mention of Toni
Kurz during the fatal 1936 attempt on the north face. Kurz was the last surviving member of his rope
team and was trying to rappel down to the very railroad tunnel “window” on the
face that our story’s Hemlock tries for.
(So the “window” rescue scenario has historical background.) Kurz is dying of exposure with a frozen arm,
but he cannot work the knot that joined two rappel ropes through his rappel rig
because his weight is on it. He is
jammed and dies of exposure hanging from his rope, just meters from
rescuers.
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Trevanian calls the Eiger north
face’s first ascent team of 1938 a “German team” – but it was a combined effort
of two teams: two Germans and two
Austrians. The Germans were Anderl
Heckmair (the strongest climber, who led) and Ludwig Vorg (aka, the “Bivouac
King,” so called because of his knack for making a cold bivouac, where you put
on a jacket and put your feet into your pack for warmth and shiver the night,
more endurable, e.g., he pulled out a little alcohol spirit burner to melt snow
for tea, and he put on his own wool fleece slippers!). The Austrians were Fritz Kasparek and Heinrich
Harrer (his book, The White Spider 1959, remains the classic
Eiger north face book; Harrer is also known for his autobiographical
Seven Years in Tibet 1952).
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Errors in the movie: (Yeah, I know, I’m nit-picking):
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Hemlock’s friend, Ben, limps with
a bad knee because of “frostbite” from an earlier climb (identified in the
novel as Mt. Aconcagua). But frostbite
of the toes, even including toe amputation, should not cause stiff knees for
the rest of your life; and it should not hamper future ice and snow climbing,
although loss of toes does affect rock climbing. (Messner lost over half his toes in 1970,
before his greatest high climbs.)
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The Tyrolean Traverse in the
desert climb makes no sense in the plot.
So why is it included? Well, because
it is so dramatically picturesque, of course.
Most classic climbing flicks show it although it is rarely used.
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Belay technique: The hip belay was still used at that
time. But the climbers while on early
rock pitches of the Eiger are all using poor technique. E.g., they don’t use anchors at the top of
pitches – although in fast alpine climbing one might forgo them. But then why stand up? Sitting down, in a braced position, is much
more stable with a lower center of gravity.
Also, they are using their inside hand, the hand
closest to the cliff face, for their braking hand. One should always use the
outside hand, the one farthest away from the wall, as a
brake. This is because if a fall loads
and pulls you, your inside hand may slam against the wall and make you lose
your braking grip. A climber must be
ambidextrous and able to brake with either hand; it doesn’t take that much
force to brake a top-roped fall. The
actors were all right-handed and instinctively braked with the wrong (i.e.,
inside) hand. Also, they don’t use a
carabiner on their waist harness opposite from their brake hands to keep the
rope around their waists and to prevent it from slipping down under their butt,
legs and feet.
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Best lines:
1. Hemlock to Meyer during a
desperate situation: “We’ll make
it.” Meyer to Hemlock: “I don’t think so, but we shall continue with
style!”
2. Eastwood, shouting with
echoing effect: “[Fill in name], you
asshole!!!!!!!!”
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Best film shots:
1. Hemlock and Ben on top of the
Totem Pole in the desert, drinking beer.
2. Clint’s pendulum swing on the
north face.
3. Clint cutting the rope.
4. Immediate transition from the
desert scene when Hemlock leaves Miles standing alone, directly to a full face
shot of the Eiger’s north face, an evil 6,000 foot face of ice and crumbling
rock. Whoa!
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-Zenwind.
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