The Ogre: Biography of a mountain and the dramatic story of the first ascent (English Edition)

Some mountains are high; some mountains are hard. Few are both.

On the afternoon of 13 July 1977, having become the first climbers to reach the summit of the Ogre , Doug Scott and Chris Bonington began their long descent. In the minutes that followed, any feeling of success from their achievement would be overwhelmed by the start of a desperate fight for survival. And things would only get worse.

Rising to over 7,000 metres in the centre of the Karakoram , the Ogre – Baintha Brakk – is notorious in mountaineering circles as one of the most difficult mountains to climb. First summited by Scott and Bonington in 1977 – on expedition with Paul 'Tut' Braithwaite, Nick Estcourt, Clive Rowland and Mo Anthoine – it waited almost twenty-four years for a second ascent, and a further eleven years for a third.

The Ogre , by legendary mountaineer Doug Scott , is a two-part biography of this enigmatic peak: in the first part, Scott has painstakingly researched the geography and history of the mountain; part two is the long overdue and very personal account of his and Bonington's first ascent and their dramatic week-long descent on which Scott suffered two broken legs and Bonington smashed ribs . Using newly discovered diaries, letters and audio tapes, it tells of the heroic and selfless roles played by Clive Rowland and Mo Anthoine . When the desperate climbers finally made it back to base camp, they were to find it abandoned – and themselves still a long way from safety.

The Ogre is undoubtedly one of the greatest adventure stories of all time.