swissinfo.ch: John Harlin III - High Adventure on the Swiss Border

BERNE, Switzerland, September 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

American Alpine Journal editor, John Harlin III, has entered the final phase of his attempt to climb, cycle and paddle the entire Swiss alpine border. Follow it live on swissinfo.ch!

The extraordinary feat demanding not only skill but endurance, is comparable to going up and down Everest 12 times from the sea. John Harlin started his tour de force in June 2010, on the south shore of Lake Geneva. His goal was to round Switzerland in three months, but he suffered a setback after 10 days when he broke both feet climbing the Aiguilles Rouge du Mont Dolent on the French border. In July 2011, he began the third and toughest chapter of his frontier odyssey - the Alps. On September 12, 2011 after ascents of a series of 4,000m peaks including Piz Bernina (4,049m) and Dufourspitze (4,634m) John will attempt to summit Mont Dolent where three countries come together, and also the place of his accident one year ago. If he is successful, it will be a crowning achievement to complete his journey around Switzerland.

Swiss Border Stories has been John's greatest challenge since he confronted the Eiger North Face in 2005 to exorcise the ghost of his legendary father, who died trying to be the first to find a direct route up the wall. John's successful ascent was the focus of a popular IMAX film, The Alps.

In partnership with swissinfo.ch, Harlin has been documenting every step of his latest adventure in an online multimedia diary ( http://www.swissinfo.ch/harlin ). His live position is visible on a customised Google Map, where John has left nothing behind but a trail of exceptional photographic impressions. And tens of thousands of fans have been following his daily ups and downs on Facebook and Twitter.

Border Stories live on swissinfo.ch: http://www.swissinfo.ch/harlin

Swiss Borders Page on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/swissborders

swissinfo.ch - a branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR.

The nine-language platform informs an international public and Swiss living abroad about events in Switzerland. From Switzerland, about Switzerland - beyond the clichés.

Contact:
Dale Bechtel
Project coordinator
[email protected]
Phone: +41-31-350-95-83
Katrin Schmitter

Public relations
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Phone: +41-31-350-95-50
Mobile: +41-78-633-87-47

SOURCE swissinfo