Hanging on: A Life Inside British Climbing's Golden Age

Product Information

Everest climbers mark 40 years". 23 September 2015. Archived from the original on 4 September 2016. Getting people out of trouble had almost become a habit for Whillans. In 1958 on the first British ascent of the Bonatti Pillar, Don and Paul Ross joined Chris Bonington and Hamish MacInnes to vye for the first ascent. Hamish was hit by a falling stone that fractured his skull, so Don assumed the lead and for the next two days nursed the bloodied Scot up the route. Chris Bonington later said that: “Don’s strength and leadership got us up and down safely”. Going to the Annapurna south face in 1970 was immensely exciting. It had always been my dream to climb in the Himalaya. Having climbed with Chris [Bonington], when expeditions to the Himalaya eventually became a possibility after a long period of wars and political problems, I was in the right place and knew the right people. Attempting for the first time to climb a mountain by one of the harder routes was quite a breakthrough. It was fantastic – there were no teahouses, it was camping in the jungle and the actual climbing was a marvelous, eye-opening experience. Scott, Doug (2009). Doug Scott on Surviving Everest and The Ogre (video). Trail magazine – via YouTube. – Trail magazine 23 July 2009 video of interview with Doug Scott (includes his commentary on 1975 expedition): September 24th 2020 marks 45 years since Chris Bonington’s Everest Southwest Face 1975 expedition. The expedition succeeded in conquering the face but the expedition wasn’t without drama and tragedy. Here is a brief account of the famous British ascent.

Burke had been the last climber to reach camp the night before, and the last to set out that morning. It was to be another five years before Reinhold Messner climbed Everest solo. In 1975, it was generally assumed sensible practice to climb Everest with a partner. But Burke was alone. It's a hard choice right enough, but I think people are ludicrously overestimating the contribution of recent generations. Owen Glynne Jones and perhaps Siegfried Herford both deserve far more consideration than they’re getting. Fowler – a great climber and no error, but how influential was he, in the sense of making a difference to the direction climbing took? I also wonder about John Dunne. What’s happened that wouldn’t have happened if he’d been around? Same with Fawcett, in a way. The best of his day and one of the best ever, of course, but I’m not sure that’s the question. I don’t know that Pete Crew didn’t have more influence than he gets credit for, also. Certainly in the way of introducing professionalism I’d say he was as influential as perhaps any climber before or since. Redhead was also very influential in keeping the flame alight – more so even than Dawes, perhaps. Not such an easy question; the answer is fairly vague. We probably first "met" 45 years ago in Buenos Aires. We were both on separate trips to Patagonia and our paths intersected in the apartment of Edouardo Rodriguez, that may be the first time we met. However, 45 years ago the climbing community was considerably smaller than it is now and so everyone congregated in the same Pubs. So I possibly met him in the Moon or the Padarn. Though I may have "met" Martin all those years ago in no way did it mean that I knew him or climbed with him. Writing the book took a very long time – thirty years, maybe longer. I got quite keen on it and then it faltered and I lost interest. People who’d read early chapters kept nagging me. I found someone willing to type up my illegible scripts. I felt a bit guilty about not getting the damn thing finished and I’m pleased I have done. Lead Sherpa from the 1975 expedition, Pertemba, will be joining the conversation live from Kathmandu. Pertemba was one of the very few team members who summited during the expedition, whilst also leading and managing 120 other sherpas and porters, at only 29 years old.

Forty years after the ascent ten of the expedition's members took part in a reunion meeting at the Royal Geographical Society in London, raising funds for Community Action Nepal. [89] [90] See also [ edit ] Boardman and Pertemba waited on the South Summit for an hour and a half as ‘all the winds of Asia’ (in the poetic words of Boardman) threatened to blow them off the ridge. When Pertemba said he could no longer feel his fingers and toes, they decided it was time to descend for their own safety.

Well that was one of Baz’s periods when he’d fallen out with Pete Crew, so we were climbing together casually. It was an absolutely miserable weekend, pouring down in North Wales and someone mentioned that the weather was better on Anglesey and there were a few little crags (Holyhead Mountain) that they thought the Army had done something on.

Discounts & P&P

A fter a gruelling but mercifully short training climb on the appropriately named Aiguille du Peigne, we set off to climb our first ‘proper route’– the East Ridge of the Crocodile – involving a hut walk, glaciers and mixed climbing. I had a score to settle with the Crocodile, having failed on it during my first unhappy season. Then bad weather had forced us to stay at the Envers des Aiguilles Hut. This time we intended to camp, determined to eke out our limited supply of money. Rab and Martin started climbing together regularly in the early eighties when they both had young families, demanding careers and limited time off. After an abortive trip to Latok, they both gave up alpinism and have been climbing around the world together ever since. I’ve recently been reading The Everest Years by Chris Bonington, during which he states that he was the 7th Brit to climb Everest. In fact, on official lists he is usually described as the 6th. One of his predecessors’ ascents is uncertain (though Sir Chris himself obviously has no doubts). In December 1973 Bonington heard that a team had withdrawn from its 1975 time slot. It was for post-monsoon so when he applied for the slot he was again intending to attempt his lightweight South Col—Southeast Ridge scheme. Permission was given in April 1974 when he, Haston and Scott were starting on a Changabang expedition (which was to be another first ascent) and Haston and Scott were able to persuade Bonington to try the Southwest Face again, despite it having to be in the autumn. [16] The scheme eventually turned into what has been described as "the apotheosis of the big, military-style expeditions". [17] Preparations [ edit ]