We all saw what happened when Clint and the others climbed the Eiger. Pretty dangerous stuff. I kept asking myself why it was felt he had to do that climb in order to unmask the sanction target. There were only so many climbers in the group, so the target is one of them and a bit of earthbound investigation would eventually uncover the target.
Mountain Man
They tried an earthbound investigation but came up empty before the climb; it's not a given they would've been able to eventually uncover the target. I suppose the climb was necessary because it gave Hemlock an excellent opportunity to get close to the three men that he otherwise wouldn't have had.
That being said, the story is thin, though I think it manages to keep some suspense throughout the extraordinary climbing sequence which is obviously the movie's selling point (and probably why Eastwood even did the film). The dry, cynical wit of the film (especially towards the government - a sign of the times) and its "political incorrectness" are comedic and entertaining. Solid movie.
Except that the target wasn't one of the climbers, that was the point. The investigation failed because they couldn't figure out who he was, only that he was part of the team, failing to take into account that the groundman is part of the team.
shareHe made it clear that he had always wanted to try climbing the Eiger again.
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