North Face

TOURING BOOK:

BY TONI KURZ:

When you're at the bottom

- Toni once told me -

at the foot of the wall...

and you look up,

you ask yourself:.

How can anyone climb that?

Why would anyone even want to?

But hours later

when you're at the top...

Looking down,

you've forgotten everything...

Except the one person you promised...

you would come back to.

THE NORTH FACE:

Based on a true story

The "Wall of Death" this perilous

Alpine face is often called.

But German flying ace Ernst Udet...

fearlessly comes within 20 metres

of its icy cliffs...

in search of the missing

Munich climbers...

Max Mehringer and Karl Sedlmayer.

After forging into the middle of the face,

our brave troopers...

died in their bivouacs.

After the tragedy,

the canton of Berne decreed...

that climbing the North Face

is strictly forbidden.

But will this piece of paper

hold back German youth?

With the Olympic Games approaching,

our proud youth senses...

not only the peril

but also the lure,

this challenge of their skills.

For one thing is certain:

The first men to summit will be

celebrated as Olympic heroes.

And so the battle cry echoes through Europe:

Attack the Eiger North Face!

We must conquer the last problem of the Alps!

BERLIN - MAY 1936

NEWSROOM AT THE BERLINER ZEITUNG

We've contacted every Alpine club.

False alarm.

Maybe it's just too early

in the season for...

mountain climbing.

Die-hard climbers die easier

than you think.

Humans are foolhardy by nature.

Do you know what this is?

Not yet, boss.

The Reich Press Secretary...

instructs us to focus...

on the first ascent of the Eiger.

That's your jurisdiction.

I want a German first ascent soon,

or you'll be...

climbing it yourself.

Henry,

what about that pair from Berchtesgaden?

It was in the local paper.

Try to remember...

Two men from the Mountain Brigade,

I think,

and one of them is named...

Hinterstoisser.

Yes, one is Hinterstoisser...

and the other...

- Henry?

- Kurz.

What?

What do you mean by "courts"?

Andi Hinterstoisser and Toni Kurz.

Mr. Henze meant them.

They'll scale anything tall.

It's all they ever thought about as kids.

Put one and one together.

What have they dreamed about

since they were kids?

Graduating from high school, Henze?

Sorry, boss.

About the Eiger, of course.

Climbing it first, Olympic gold, etc.

How do you know about them?

- Miss...?

- Fellner.

I'm from Berchtesgaden too.

We practically grew up together.

I know almost everything about them.

Oh really?

Everything?

Around noon, after 27 hours of struggle,

we summited

and shook hands in silence.

It was a hard,

Life-renewing battle,

for only one who has felt death so near...

...will truly know that Life is dear.

Yes.

Your Private Kurz is a mountain poet.

- That too?

- But they're also highly talented.

Goll, Nordwand, Matterhorn,

Wartsteinkante...

That was a first ascent.

A very difficult climb.

Just this May.

Nobody thought it was possible.

Well done!

Why aren't they in Berne

attempting to climb the Eiger?

I don't know.

Oh, she doesn't know.

Miss Fellner, come here.

Here.

This will get you 40 marks

for travel expenses.

Then go to the stockroom

and have them give you a Retina.

And then off you go to Berchtesgaden.

Tell your old friends

that the German Reich,

especially our editor-in-chief,

is counting on them.

Pardon?

Bring back a nice story, child. Go on!

Do your Bavarian alpinists...

Look anything like German heroes?

More German and heroic than either of us.

BERCHTESGADEN -

MOUNTAIN BRIGADE GARRISON

Hinterstoisser! Kurz!

Have we learned what curfew means?

Or do you still think scaling mountains...

excuses you from looking at your watches?

Company Sergeant sir,

we don't own watches.

In that case, Hinterstoisser,

I'll tell you...

how long it is until quitting time.

Exactly four urinals in the staff building,

two company latrines in barrack V, and...

one floor in the officer's casino.

Carry on!

Company Sergeant sir,

we don't own watches.

Good job!

Heil Hitler.

Bye.

Rope!

We'll never make it this way.

Let's traverse from below.

C'mon, never say never.

Everything OK?

Yeah.

Hinterstoisser, you heavy bastard.

You need to do more push-ups, Kurz.

But it was a good idea.

Maybe it still needs a little work.

You need to work on hammering in pitons.

- Berg Heil, partner, we made it.

- Berg Heil.

Here's to the new Hinterstoisser-Kurz route!

Angerer and Rainer are going for it.

What?

You know what I'm talking about.

They're climbing the Eiger.

Whatever.

C'mon Toni,

we can beat those two left-handed.

I know you,

you want to do the Eiger too.

Or why did we scale the south face

of the Untersberg?

- In the newspaper you yourself wrote...

- I know what I wrote.

Scared, huh?

I'm not scared of anything.

Hi, Mrs. Kurz,

I'm bringing your Toni back home.

Glad you got back safely.

We've got a visitor.

Yes. Here.

I usually don't work in this jacket.

That's OK.

Makes a good impression.

Luise!

Come here.

- Hello.

- Let's have a look at you. Hi.

You look like a regular city girl.

- Yeah?

- Yeah.

You slipped.

Yes.

How is Berlin?

- Loud and expensive.

- I bet!

- Hi, Toni.

- Hello Luise.

- Luise is a photo journalist now.

- Volunteer, Mrs. Kurz.

And what do you do?

For now, in the beginning

I mostly make coffee.

For the editors.

Well, well. Not bad.

Yeah sure.

Not bad.

I'll just take these things inside.

Maybe you'll come tonight after all?

Now that Luise is coming too.

Where am I coming too?

I'm back.

- Same old Andi, hm?

- Yes.

He's game for anything.

And you?

- When did you start smoking?

- A while ago.

Hey, you two!

I read your article in the local newspaper.

It was great!

My boss read it too.

You're the talk of Berlin.

We are?

You and the other top mountaineers.

With the Olympics coming up,

they're pushing the Eiger.

They want stories about the first ascent.

- Full coverage.

- That's why you're here?

They gave me the story.

Evening.

- Hello, Luise.

- Hi.

- Back in Bavaria?

- Just temporarily.

Luise is making her career

in the capital, Erlberger.

Don't you wish you could too?

I go wherever the Fuhrer needs me.

Who knows why they chose me?

But imagine...

if you did it!

You'd be on the front page.

Berchtesgaden Heroes Conquer

Last Problem of the Alps!

Famous all over Germany.

Exactly.

Front page,

and no more making coffee.

Except for myself.

Cheers!

I'm sure you'll write a terrific story,

but not about us,

we're skipping the Eiger.

What?

You're skipping the Eiger?

No way, I know you.

If you know so much,

you must have heard of...

Max Sedlmayer and Karl Mehringer.

We knew both of them,

two first-class alpinists.

On the "Death Wall"

there's sunshine one minute...

and a blizzard the next.

Or you get hit by an avalanche

or a rock slide.

That's not climbing.

You can be the best,

but it's still a lottery.

That's why we're skipping it.

I'm tired.

I'm going home.

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