Description
Book Synopsis'One of the greatest mountaineering survival stories never told.' – The Sunday Times
Some mountains are high; some mountains are hard. Few are both.
On the afternoon of 13 July 1977, having become the first climbers to reach the summit of the Ogre, Doug Scott and Chris Bonington began their long descent. In the minutes that followed, any feeling of success from their achievement would be overwhelmed by the start of a desperate fight for survival. And things would only get worse.
Rising to over 7,000 metres in the centre of the Karakoram, the Ogre – Baintha Brakk – is notorious in mountaineering circles as one of the most difficult mountains to climb. First summited by Scott and Bonington in 1977 – on expedition with Paul ‘Tut’ Braithwaite, Nick Estcourt, Clive Rowland and Mo Anthoine – it waited almost twenty-four years for a second ascent, and a further eleven years for a third.
The Ogre, by legendary mountaineer Doug Scott, is a two-part biography of this enigmatic peak: in the first part, Scott has painstakingly researched the geography and history of the mountain; part two is the long overdue and very personal account of his and Bonington’s first ascent and their dramatic week-long descent on which Scott suffered two broken legs and Bonington smashed ribs. Using newly discovered diaries, letters and audio tapes, it tells of the heroic and selfless roles played by Clive Rowland and Mo Anthoine. When the desperate climbers finally made it back to base camp, they were to find it abandoned – and themselves still a long way from safety.
The Ogre is undoubtedly one of the greatest adventure stories of all time.
Trade Review'One of the greatest mountaineering survival stories never told.' – The Sunday Times.
Table of ContentsPreface
Introduction
PART I
1. The Mountain
2. Ancient History of Exploration
3. European Interest in the Region
4. The East India Company
5. Scottish Contribution to Empire
6. The Blanks on the Map
7. Early Mountaineering
PART II
8. The Climbers
9. March to Base Camp
10. Climbing the Ogre
11. The Epic Descent
12. The Final Stretch
Afterword
Acknowledgements
Further Reading
The Author
