Mountain Guru: The Life of Doug Scott

A legend among mountaineers, Doug Scott's expeditions, undertaken over a period of four decades, are unparalleled achievements. This book describes the extraordinary drama of them all, from the Himalayas to New Zealand, Patagonia, Yosemite and Alaska. It includes his famous 'epic' on The Ogre, one of the hardest peaks in the world to climb, his ascent of Kangchenjunga without supplementary oxygen and his ascent, with Doug Haston, of Everest in 1975.

Catherine Moorehead also uncovers the elusive man behind the obsessive mountaineer. From his rumbustious youth in Nottingham through two tempestuous marriages to a secure third marriage, she shows how Scott matured in thought and action as his formidable global reputation increased. In doing so she reveals him to be a clash of opposites, an infuriating monomaniac who took extraordinary risks yet who developed a deep interest in Buddhism and inspired widesperad affection.

Scott spent almost as long as his climbing career in founding and developing Community Action Nepal, providing schools and health posts in remote parts of Nepal, where he is still much revered after his death in 2020. The book also tells how this self-help charity was started, how it survived the Civil War and the devasting 2015 earthquake.