In July 1936, four experienced German and Austrian climbers set out to achieve the first ascent of the Eiger North Face in the Swiss Alps. The mountain, known for its avalanches, rockfalls, and severe storms, had already claimed the lives of two climbers the previous year, earning it the grim moniker 'Murder Wall'.

Willy Angerer and Edi Rainer, from Austria, joined forces with Germans Toni Kurz and Anderl Hinterstoisser, driven by the ambition to conquer the nearly 4,000-meter (13,000-foot) rock and ice face. The ascent began with impressive speed, highlighted by Hinterstoisser's successful navigation of a smooth rock slab, later termed the Hinterstoisser Traverse, for which he fixed a rope for the others.

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However, a critical decision to remove their safety rope, believing they would descend by a different route, proved fateful. As they ascended into an ice field known for rockfall, the afternoon sun dislodged rocks, sending debris cascading down. A falling rock struck Angerer, severely injuring him.

The team decided to retreat, only to find the Hinterstoisser Traverse now covered in a deadly layer of ice. A fierce storm then engulfed the mountain, trapping the climbers with no safe path up or down. Their attempt at a desperate descent quickly turned catastrophic.

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Hinterstoisser, unclipped from the group to prepare for an abseil roughly 200 feet from safety, was separated from the others. As a piton was hammered into the rock, a massive avalanche swept the face. Angerer and Kurz were thrown from the ledge. Kurz was left dangling precariously over the abyss, while Angerer was either killed by the impact or strangled by his tangled ropes. Rainer was pinned against a snap-link by the force of the avalanche, his diaphragm crushed. Hinterstoisser, no longer attached to a rope, fell approximately 2,000 feet to his death.

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Angerer succumbed to his injuries and exposure, and Rainer also died while suspended on the mountain. Only Kurz remained, clinging to the sheer rock face. His plight was witnessed by villagers from the Kleine Scheidegg railway station below, who alerted veteran mountain guides Christian Almer Jr. and Hans Schlunegger.

Despite worsening conditions and orders to stand down, the guides launched a rescue attempt. They reached a point beneath Kurz but were still about 150 feet away. The route to reach him was deemed impossible due to ice. Nightfall forced the rescuers to abandon their efforts, leaving Kurz alone and exposed.

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Kurz survived the night, enduring freezing temperatures and falling rocks. When the guides returned at dawn, they determined a direct rescue was still not feasible. Kurz's only hope was to descend towards them. This required him to first cut himself free from the ropes binding him to his deceased companions. He painstakingly worked for five hours to untwist the frozen strands, using his knife, teeth, and sheer determination to create a single rope.

He lowered the rope to the guides, who attached another length. As Kurz began his descent, salvation seemed imminent. However, as his legs hung beneath an overhang, the knot joining the ropes snagged on a metal snap-link on his harness, leaving him mere meters from his rescuers.

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Kurz struggled with the jammed knot, using his frozen hands and teeth. In a final, desperate effort, he called out, "I'm finished." Moments later, his body slumped forward, just out of reach. The tragedy of the 1936 Eiger North Face expedition claimed all four climbers, marking a grim chapter in mountaineering history. The mountain has since claimed more than 70 lives.

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