Legendary mountaineer Doug Scott is to visit Giggleswick School to talk about one of the greatest adventure stories of all time.
‘A Crawl Down The Ogre’ is an epic tale of hard climbing and survival. The topic is Scott’s expedition with Sir Chris Bonington in 1977 to become the first people ever to summit the mountain in the Karakoram region of the Himalayas.
Giggleswick School’s Head of Outdoor Pursuits, Chris Wright, said: “The Ogre is notorious among mountaineers as one of the most difficult to climb. Scott and Bonington made it to the top but the descent turned into a fight for survival. Both suffered serious injuries and there was a further, potentially deadly twist in their epic tale when they finally reached base camp.”
It was another 24 years before anyone else ascended the 7,000-metre peak and it was only in 2017 that Scott’s personal account of his and Bonington’s dramatic descent was published.
Chris said: “We are delighted to welcome a mountaineer of Doug Scott’s calibre to Giggleswick and look forward to being inspired by his story.”
Doug Scott will speak at the Richard Whiteley Theatre, the school’s arts venue, on Wednesday 13 March at 7pm. Tickets cost £9 (under 18s £7) or £11 (£9) on the door.
They are available now from the box office 01729 893180 or visit the website giggleswick.org.uk/rwt.
Proceeds from the evening will support the charity Community Action Nepal (CAN) founded by Doug Scott in 1995 to help some of the poorest and most remote communities in Nepal.
The evening will include a sale of Nepalese goods and greetings cards, plus an auction of signed framed mountaineering prints, all in aid of CAN. Doug will also be signing posters and copies of his award-winning autobiography Up And About and his latest book, The Ogre – Biography of a mountain and the dramatic story of the first ascent.