The white spiderHeinrich Harrer
The white spider
by Heinrich Harrer · first published 1996
4mentions
3recommended by
4HN commenters
2015–2025first – last mentioned
75% recommend25% neutral
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If you liked "Into Thin Air" you should read "The White Spider" about Heinreich Harrer (who was the inspiration for Brat Pitt's character in "Seven Years in Tibet")
on “How Chris McCandless Died: An Update” ↗…note, Davis is mentioned in at least one episode of the X-Files, owing to his work on zombies in Haiti. These aren't Everest specific recs, but if any of you are looking for mountaineering reading: _The White Spider_ by Heinrich Harrer _The Beckoning Silence_ and _Into the Void_ by Joe Simpson _Eiger Obsession_ by John Harlin. Part of my enjoyment came from my familiarity with the geography of the book. _Solo…
on “How Mount Everest killed George Mallory” ↗Great suggestions. I've read "The White Spider" multiple times. Every time I imagine climbing the Eiger in hobnail books, my palms sweat. A lot. "K2: Triumph and Tragedy" by Jim Curran is an excellent book about the 1986 disaster. I can also highly…
on “How Mount Everest killed George Mallory” ↗The spider is a particularly subtle joke: The White Spider is the name given to a snowfield high on the N Face of the Eiger, crossed by the original (1938) Heckmair Harrer route up the face. Heinrich Harrer's book about the first ascent is called "The White Spider"
on “Cartographers have been hiding illustrations inside Switzerland’s maps (2020)” ↗