Although John Harlin III promised his mother he’d never be an Alpine climber, he became obsessed with conquering the mountain that killed his father.
A former host of PBS’s Anyplace Wild, Harlin is the editor of the American Alpine Journal and contributing editor for Backpacker. He’s also a frequent contributor to numerous publications including Outside magazine. His Eiger expedition is featured in The Alps, a motion picture film for IMAX Theatres. Harlin’s book is The Eiger Obsession: Facing the Mountain that Killed My Father.
Also in this hour, teacher extraordinaire and founder of the Freedom Writers Foundation, Erin Gruwell. Her story was so inspirational it became a Hollywood movie starring Academy Award Winner, Hilary Swank. Gruwell’s students said: “Following the Rodney King Riots and the O.J. Simpson trial, the mood in our city was unsettling, and on our first day of high school, we had only three things in common: we hated school, we hated our teacher, and we hated each other. Whether it was official or not, we all knew that we had been written off.” They were labeled “delinquents”, “below average”, and “unteachable” … but Erin Gruwell saw beyond all that and changed their lives. Tune in for the follow up story and how, because of their combined courage and strength, those same students are now thriving.