First Englishman to climb Everest who dedicated his later years to Buddhism and helping the people of Nepal
Doug Scott, who has died aged 79 from cancer, was the first Englishman to climb Everest, but it was what happened afterwards that made him famous in the mountaineering world.
Scott and his Scottish partner, Dougal Haston, were part of Chris Bonington’s 1975 expedition to climb Everest the “hard way”, via the south-west face. Having left their top camp soon after dawn, the pair faced testing delays as Haston’s oxygen equipment iced up and unconsolidated snow, chest-deep in places, slowed their progress. It was already 3.30pm when they finally reached the lower south summit where the two climbers paused to melt snow for a much-needed drink.
Written by Ed Douglas
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/07/doug-scott-obituary under the title “Doug Scott obituary”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
