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Doug Scott

CBE
Doug Scott in 2015 (cropped).jpg
Scott in 2015
Born
Douglas Keith Scott

(1941-05-29)29 May 1941
Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, UK
Died 7 December 2020(2020-12-07) (aged 79)
Cumbria, England, UK
Citizenship British
Occupation Mountaineer, author
Organization Past President of the Alpine Club
Known for Ascent of Mount Everest
Awards Royal Geographic Society Gold Medal ; Piolet d'Or Lifetime Achievement Award

Douglas Keith Scott (born May 29, 1941 – died December 7, 2020) was a famous English mountaineer. He was well-known for being part of the team that made the first climb up the challenging southwest face of Mount Everest on September 24, 1975.

Doug Scott received one of climbing's highest honors, the Piolet d'Or Lifetime Achievement Award. His unique climbing style and achievements were called "visionary." This means he found new and exciting ways to climb mountains.

Throughout his life, he went on 40 expeditions to the very high mountains of Asia. On these trips, he was the first to climb about 30 different peaks. In 2020, he was diagnosed with cancer and sadly passed away in December of that year.

Early Life and First Climbs

Doug Scott was born in Nottingham, England. He was the oldest of three brothers. Scott later found out that his mother was born at almost the same time as the famous climber Edmund Hillary. Scott thought this was a very interesting coincidence.

He went to school in Nottingham. Doug started climbing when he was 13 years old. He became interested after seeing climbers on the Black Rocks in Derbyshire. He saw them while hiking with the Scouts.

His father, George Douglas Scott, was a policeman and an amateur boxer. He was even the British Heavyweight Champion in 1945. Doug's father stopped boxing to focus on his family. Doug lived with his parents and younger brothers, Brian and Garry. His family encouraged them all to explore the countryside, especially the Peak District.

After college, Scott taught geography, history, and sports for ten years at his old secondary school.

Amazing Climbing Career

Doug Scott was known as one of the best high-altitude and big-wall climbers in the world. He received many awards for his incredible achievements. He was the first English person to reach the top of Mount Everest. On the way down, he and Dougal Haston had to spend a night unexpectedly just below the summit. They had no oxygen or sleeping bags, but they survived without getting frostbite.

Besides his first climb of the southwest face of Everest in 1975, he did almost all his other Himalayan climbs in a "lightweight" or "pure Alpine style". This means they carried very little gear and relied on their skills. He was also a pioneer in big wall climbing in places like Baffin Island, Mount Kenya, and the Karakoram. A famous climb was on The Ogre with Chris Bonington. Later, he climbed Shivling in the Indian Himalayas.

Scott was a founding member of the Nottingham Climbers Club in 1961. He also held important roles in other climbing groups. He was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 1994. In 1999, he received the Patron's Medal from the Royal Geographical Society. He also received the Golden Eagle Award in 2005. In 2011, he got the Piolet d'Or Lifetime Achievement Award.

In 1976, Doug Scott was made a Freeman of the City of Nottingham. A tram in Nottingham was even named after him. He also received honorary degrees from several universities.

Helping People in Nepal

Photograph of Doug Scott in Nepal, December 2015
Doug Scott in Nepal in 2015, helping local communities.

As Doug Scott climbed in different parts of the world, he learned a lot about the local cultures and people. He formed strong friendships, especially in Nepal. In 1991, he helped raise money to install 17 fresh-water pumps in Askole. This is a village before the famous mountain K2. These pumps helped reduce the number of babies who died by half.

He started a charity called Community Action Nepal (CAN). He spent a lot of his time raising money for this charity. He regularly visited the more than 60 projects CAN supported in Nepal. Scott also believed in responsible tourism. In 1989, he set up Community Action Treks (CAT). This group helped make sure that people working in the trekking industry were treated fairly. Both CAN and CAT received awards for their important work.

Career Highlights

Here are some of Doug Scott's most important climbs:

Personal Life

In 1962, Doug Scott married Janice Brook. They had three children: Michael, Martha, and Rosie. They later separated in 1988. In 1993, he married another climber, Sharavati Prabhu. They had two sons, Arran and Euan, before separating in 2003. In 2007, he married Patricia Lang. They lived together in the beautiful Lake District in England.

In March 2020, Doug Scott was diagnosed with a type of brain cancer that could not be operated on. He passed away at his home in Cumbria, England, on December 7, 2020, at the age of 79.

Books by Doug Scott

Doug Scott also wrote several books about his adventures:

  • 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, Himalayan Climber: A Lifetime's Quest to the World's Greater Ranges, ISBN: 1-898573-16-6
  • Doug Scott, Up and About, The Hard Road to Everest (2015) ISBN: 978-1-910240-41-0
  • Doug Scott, "The Ogre" (2017) ISBN: 978-1-911342-79-3
  • Doug Scott, "Kangchenjunga" (2021) ISBN: 978-1-912560-19-6

He also helped write other books:

  • Everest the Hard Way (Chris Bonington, 1976) ISBN: 0-340-20833-3
  • Great Climbs (Chris Bonington, 1994) ISBN: 9781857325744
  • General editor of Philip's Guide to Mountains (Philip's, 2005) ISBN: 978-0540085798
  • Himalaya: The exploration and conquest of the greatest mountains on earth (Phillip Parker, 2013) ISBN: 978-1-844862-21-4

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Doug Scott para niños

  • List of 20th-century summiters of Mount Everest
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