The title of Heinrich Harrer’s book, The White Spider, evokes emotion on its own without knowing anything about what the story is about. One could assume based on the title that there is some amount of danger involved due to the fact spiders are not exactly considered friends to human and have been prone to cause terror in many. The emotional response that many experience when they find themselves face to face with the arachnid is similar to the emotional response that The White Spider evokes in many climbers when attempting to summit the North Face of the Eiger. After reading Harrer’s account of his ascent and learning of the failed attempts leading up to his team’s summit, it becomes increasingly clear why this particular part of the mountain is such a crucial point in the ascent of the North Face. It signifies so much more than just the incredibly steep ice field that climbers face, but the point where their friendships as well as physical and mental limits are tested.

 

The previous attempts by climbers of the North Face of the Eiger were the first examples of how incredibly difficult the climb is and how mental and physical toughness in addition to technical skills were not the only variables need for a successful summit. Natural occurrences such as thunderstorms, avalanches, high winds, and below freezing temperatures led the death of many skilled climbers that attempted the North Face before Harrer and his comrades. While the accounts of their deaths provided helpful information regarding climbing conditions for future climbers including bivouacs. Harrer describes using these spots many times in his account of the first ascent of the face.

 

The story of Ludwig Vorg and Matthias Rebitsch successfully reaching the highest point achieved on the North Face thus far changed the public’s attitude surrounding the idea of summiting the Eiger from the north side.  The stories these men brought back were terrifying with terrible weather, like icy sleet drumming on their tent (Harrer, p. 76) and soaking their clothes down to the bone while stones whizzed past their heads while outside their bivouac (Harrer, p. 77).  Even though they endured the harsh realities of the North Face and survived they only laughed and told their story of how the mountain had not claimed them (Harrer, 78). The concept of the superiority of man’s spirit that they spoke of evokes a sense of over dramatization of their journey, almost as if they “persevered” against the mountain’s wishes.

 

Harrer’s own account of the first ascent did not have the same feel of man’s superiority to the mountain as Vorg and Rebitsch’s tales; it was more of a tale of man’s survival through companionship. When fellow climbers Heckmair and Vorg joined up with Harrer and Fitz at the beginning of their climb, there seemed to be a sense of relief that overcame Harrer to know he would be sticking with the best “Eiger candidates” (Harrer, p.96). Then later that same day while climbing, one of his comrades slipped while climbing, causing panic in Harrer, but then he realized that luck was on their side when the extra rope caught the slip (Harrer, p. 98). The continuation of their journey up the North Face of the Eiger would make an excellent movie with the amount of mishaps that occur. The cliffhangers and friendships that are formed create an excellent example of why this particular story was chosen to encapsulate the “drama of mountaineering”.