John Harlin III: Round Switzerland Journey Suspended Following Accident

BERN, Switzerland, July 2, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- US mountaineer John Harlin III is attempting to climb, cycle and paddle along the almost 1,900-kilometre Swiss border. Yesterday John Harlin had an accident in the region of Mont Dolent. An Air-Glaciers helicopter rescued the alpinist and flew him to hospital in Sion.

Harlin was well aware of the challenge he was setting himself: "To me, the ability to circle an entire country as rugged as Switzerland in three months' time gives a beautiful focus to a great physical adventure," he said before embarking on the journey.

Harlin fell during a difficult ascent. As previously, with ibexes and sunsets, he immediately published a picture of himself suspended at 3,100 metres on swissinfo.ch with the message: "Just took a big fall. Am mostly ok but maybe broken rib. Waiting for helicopter rescue." Air-Glaciers flew Harlin and his climbing partner to hospital in Sion. Examinations showed he had broken bones in his feet. John Harlin hasn't given up the hope of continuing his journey once he has recovered.

swissinfo wishes John Harlin a speedy recovery. We are grateful to him for his reports, pictures and videos posted on swissinfo.ch over the past 10 days. His daily posts prompted huge interest among swissinfo readers.

John Harlin III, born in 1956, spent his childhood in Germany and in Leysin, in Switzerland. After his father's death while climbing the Eiger North Face, the family returned to the US, where John Harlin studied environmental biology at the University of California. The mountaineer is also a journalist and the publisher of the American Alpine Journal.

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SOURCE swissinfo