EIGER DIRECT – SIGNED BY DOUGAL HASTON – FIRST EDITION ACCOUNT OF THE JOHN HARLIN DIRECT ROUTE ON THE NORTH FACE OF THE EIGER

London: Collins, 1966. First edition. Original blue cloth, lettered in gilt to the spine, in the original pictorial dustwrapper. pp. 183. Illustrated throughout with photographic plates by Christian Bonington. Flat signed by Dougal Haston to the front free endpaper.

Description

An increasingly scarce signed first edition of one of the classic books of post-war mountaineering, recording the dramatic first ascent of the Direct Route on the North Face of the Eiger, one of the most ambitious and controversial alpine undertakings of the twentieth century.

Published in 1966, Eiger Direct chronicles the attempt to climb a new line on the infamous north face of the Eiger, the mountain long regarded as the most dangerous objective in the Alps. Since the first ascent of the Nordwand in 1938, the face had acquired an almost mythical reputation amongst climbers. Repeated accidents, numerous fatalities, extreme objective hazards and prolonged technical difficulties ensured that any new route on the wall attracted international attention.

The expedition was conceived and led by the American climber John Harlin, whose aim was to establish a direct line up the centre of the face, tackling some of the steepest and most serious terrain on the mountain. The undertaking rapidly became one of the most closely followed climbing stories of the decade.

Tragedy struck during the ascent when Harlin was killed following the failure of a fixed rope, falling approximately 4,000 feet to his death. Rather than abandon the project, members of the British and German teams combined their efforts and ultimately completed the route. The climb entered mountaineering history as the John Harlin Route, commemorating the leader whose vision had inspired the enterprise.

Among the principal figures in the ascent was Dougal Haston, whose signature appears in the present volume. Haston’s contribution to the climb helped establish his reputation as one of the foremost alpinists of his generation. During the following decade he would become one of Britain’s most accomplished mountaineers, participating in numerous major Himalayan expeditions and achieving international recognition for his technical ability, endurance and boldness in extreme conditions.

The photographic work is by Christian Bonington, whose images provide a vivid visual record of the ascent and of alpine climbing during one of its most innovative periods.

Dougal Haston

Born in Scotland in 1940, Dougal Haston emerged during the 1960s and 1970s as one of the leading figures in world mountaineering. His achievements include major ascents in the Alps and Himalaya and participation in some of the most important expeditions of the era.

In 1975 he became one of the first Britons to reach the summit of Mount Everest achieving the first ascent by Everest’s South-West Face along with Doug Scott. He later served as Director of the International School of Mountaineering at Leysin, Switzerland.

Signed books by Haston are notably uncommon. Unlike many literary or public figures, he was not a habitual signer of books and spent much of his career abroad engaged in climbing and expedition work. His untimely death in January 1977, when he was caught in an avalanche while skiing near Leysin, further limited the availability of autograph material.

As a result, genuinely signed examples of works directly associated with his major climbing achievements are considerably scarcer than those of many better-known mountaineering authors.

Significance

Eiger Direct occupies an important place in twentieth-century mountaineering literature. It documents a pivotal moment in the evolution of technical alpine climbing, when increasingly sophisticated equipment, improved techniques and international cooperation enabled climbers to tackle objectives previously considered impossible.

The book remains one of the principal contemporary accounts of the creation of the John Harlin Route and preserves first-hand testimony from those directly involved in the ascent.

For collectors of mountaineering literature, signed examples are particularly desirable, combining the historical importance of the climb with the autograph of one of its principal participants.

Condition

Paper stock lightly toned, as commonly encountered. Boards with minor bumping to corners. A tight, clean and well-preserved copy. Dustwrapper with light rubbing, small chips and short edge nicks, remaining bright and attractive overall. A highly desirable signed mountaineering first edition documenting one of the most celebrated and tragic ascents in Alpine history, signed by one of Britain’s greatest climbers and one of the central figures in the achievement of the John Harlin Route.

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