Doug Scott
Douglas Keith Scott CBE, known as Doug Scott (born 29 May 1941), is an English mountaineer noted for the first ascent of the south-west face of Mount Everest on 24 September 1975. Scott and Dougal Haston were the first Britons to climb Everest during this expedition (discounting Mallory and Irvine).[1] In receiving one of mountaineering's highest honours, the Lifetime Achievement Piolet d'Or, his personal style and climbs were described as "visionary".[2]
Childhood
Scott was educated at Cottesmore School in Lenton, Nottingham.[3] Scott was born in Nottingham, England and started climbing at the age of 12, his interest sparked by a school trip to the White Hall outdoor activities centre near Buxton.
Mountaineering
Scott's mountaineering career includes over 30 expeditions to inner Asia and he is regarded as one of the world's leading high altitude and big wall climbers. He is best known for his first ascent of the south-west face of Everest with Dougal Haston in an expedition led by Chris Bonington. All of his other climbs have been in the lightweight alpine style.
Highlights of Scott's climbing career include
- 1975: South-west face of Everest with Dougal Haston, bivouac on the south summit at 8760 m.
- 1977: Baintha Brakk, more commonly known as The Ogre (in Pakistan), and descent with both legs broken at the ankle.
- 1978: Attempt of the west side of K2.
- 1979: North ridge of Kangchenjunga (8586 m).
- 1979: Ascent of the north side of Nuptse with Georges Bettembourg, Brian Hall and Alan Rouse.
Scott has climbed the Seven Summits, the highest peak on each of all seven continents. He is a past President of the Alpine Club and was made a CBE in 1994. In 1999 he was awarded the Patron’s Medal of the Royal Geographical Society. He was presented with the Golden Eagle Award by the Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild in 2005 and received the Lifetime Contribution Award at the 2011 Piolet d'Or awards in Chamonix. He was awarded an honorary MA by the University of Nottingham in 1991.
Charity work in Nepal
During Scott's climbing career, his understanding of the culture and the people in the regions where he climbed grew as he formed strong bonds and relationships. Scott founded the charity Community Action Nepal and spends much of his time fundraising for this cause, especially from giving public lectures. Scott is also an advocate of Responsible Tourism. Scott set up his own trekking agency in 1989, which is noted for excellent treatment of porters[4] .
Books
- Doug Scott, Himalayan Climber: A Lifetime's Quest to the World's Greater Ranges, ISBN 1-898573-16-6
- Doug Scott, Big Wall Climbing, ISBN 0-7182-0967-2.
- Doug Scott and Alex MacIntyre, The Shishapangma Expedition, ISBN 0-89886-723-1.
- Doug Scott, Mountaineer (1992)
- Doug Scott, Up and About, The Hard Road to Everest (2015) ISBN 978-1-910240-41-0
References
- ↑ Douglas Keith Scott. The Alpinist, Issue 2, 29, 1 March 2003
- ↑ Piolet d'Or
- ↑ http://www.educatedschoolguide.com/school/cottesmore-school/
- ↑ "Responsible Tourism Award: Doug Scott's Community Action Treks Receives Responsible Tourism Award". Community Action Treks official website. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
See also
External links
- Everest history
- Short biography
- Photos by Doug Scott
- Community Action Nepal
- Doug Scott's lectures
- Scott's climbing CV
- Community Action Treks
- Alpinist Magazine, Issue:2,Faces
- ClimbAndMore.com Climbers