Doug Scott

Doug Scott

Douglas Keith Scott CBE, known as Doug Scott (born 29 May 1941, Nottingham, England), is an English mountaineer noted for the first ascent of the south-west face of Mount Everest on 24 September 1975. During this expedition, Scott and Dougal Haston became the first Britons to climb Everest (discounting Mallory and Irvine).[1] In receiving one of mountaineering's highest honours, the Piolet d'Or Lifetime Achievement Award, his personal style and climbs were described as "visionary".[2]

Over the years he has been on 40 expeditions to the high mountains of Asia, during which he made some 30 first ascents.

Childhood

Scott was educated in Nottingham at Cottesmore Secondary Modern and Mundella Grammar schools[3]. He started climbing at the age of 13, his interest sparked by seeing climbers on the Black Rocks in Derbyshire whilst hiking with the Scouts[4]. His father, George Douglas Scott, was a policeman and committed amateur sportsman – running, swimming and achieved fame as a boxer, becoming Amateur Boxing Association British Heavyweight Champion in 1945. Scott lived on the outskirts of Nottingham with his father and mother, Edith Joyce Scott, and younger brothers, Brian and Garry. All were encouraged towards the open countryside, particularly the Peak District.

Family Life

After two years at Loughborough Teachers’ Training College (1959-61), Scott taught geography, history, PE and games for ten years at his old secondary modern school. In 1962 he married Janice Brook, with whom he had three children, Michael, Martha and Rosie. The marriage was dissolved in 1988. In 1993 he married Sharabati Prabhu, with whom he had two sons, Arran and Euan. The marriage was dissolved in 2003. In 2007 he married Patricia Lang; they have lived happily in the Northern Fells of the Lake District ever since.

Main Interests

Doug Scott.
Doug Scott in Nepal 2015.

Mountaineering

Scott is regarded as one of the world’s leading high altitude and big wall climbers. He is best known for surviving an unplanned bivouac with Dougal Haston 100 metres below the summit of Everest, without oxygen, sleeping bags and, as it turned out, without frostbite. Apart from his first ascent of the southwest face of Everest with Haston, all his other Himalayan climbs were achieved in lightweight or pure Alpine style. He pioneered big wall climbing on Baffin Island, Mount Kenya and in the Karakoram, famously on The Ogre (Baintha Brakk) with Chris Bonington, and later on Shivling in the Indian Himal.

Highlights of Scott’s climbing career include:

Scott is a founder member of the Nottingham Climbers Club (1961), was president of the Alpine Climbing Group (1976-82), Vice president BMC (1994-97) and president of the Alpine Club (1999-2001). He was made a CBE in 1994. In 1999 he was awarded the Patron’s Medal of the Royal Geographical Society. In 2005 he was presented with the Golden Eagle Award by the Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild. Also in 2005, following on from Tom Weir and Adam Watson, he became the third recipient of the John Muir Trust Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his mountaineering accomplishments and commitment to conservation and supporting mountain people and mountain environments around the world. Following on from Walter Bonatti and Reinhold Messner he received the Piolet d'Or Lifetime Achievement Award in Chamonix in 2011.

Scott was made a Freeman of the City of Nottingham in 1976 and has since had a Nottingham tram named after him. He was awarded an honorary MA by the universities of Nottingham and Loughborough, 1993, Hon. MEd Nottingham Trent, 1995, Hon Dr. Derby University, 2007; and Hon Dr. Loughborough University, 2017;

Voluntary work for mountaineering

Scott was a member of the Hunt Committee contributing to the Hunt Report on Outdoor Education 1976.

He was BMC representative on the UIAA and is a member of the UIAA Management Committee: 2008 - 2012 ; Member of UIAA Mountaineering Commission and Chairman of the Traditional Values Working Group 2011 - present. Scott edited the well-received document 'The UIAA's Recommendations for Preserving Natural Rock for Adventure Climbing'

He was Chairman of Mount Everest Foundation 2014 - 2017 and Vice Chairman of the Mountain Heritage Trust 2014 - 2017

He is Hon Member of the Climbers Club, The Alpine Club and the American Alpine Club

He is a Patron of the BMC 2015 - present

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. In 1991 he raised the funds and organised the installation of 17 fresh water standpipes in Askole, the last settlement before K2, that reduced infant mortality by half. Scott founded the charity Community Action Nepal (CAN) and spends much of his time fundraising for this cause and regularly visits some of the 60 CAN projects out in Nepal. Scott is also an advocate of Responsible Tourism, setting up Community Action Treks (CAT) in 1989 to help improve conditions of labour in the trekking industry. He received the British Guild of Travel Writers Tourism and Community Merit Award, 1996 and CAT received the Responsible Tourism Award 2008. CAN was awarded the first British Expertise International (BEI) Charity Project of the Year Award along with CAN's partner, WYG in 2017.

Books

Contributed to:

References

  1. ↑ Douglas Keith Scott. The Alpinist, Issue 2, 29, 1 March 2003
  2. ↑ Piolet d'Or "Archived copy". Archived from option%3Dcom_content%26view%3Darticle%26id%3D153%26Itemid%3D273%26lang%3Den the original on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-04.
  3. ↑ "SCHOOLS Cottesmore School". The Educated School Guide.
  4. ↑ "EverestHistory.com: Doug Scott". Everest History.

See also

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