Legendary mountaineer, Doug Scott CBE, will be telling the story of how he and Dougal Haston made the first ascent of the world’s highest mountain by its massive South West Face in September 1975, at the Embassy of Nepal in London on Tuesday 21 March 2017.
Their epic climb would go down in mountaineering history as ‘Everest the Hard Way’. On the descent their torches failed as they reverse climbed the Hillary Step, wind had blown snow into their steps and they were out of oxygen. Doug comments “the main thing was to get out of the wind so we dug a snow cave and sat on our rucksacks for the next nine hours in temperatures around minus 40°C. We managed to survive without sleeping bags, without oxygen and – as it turned out – without getting frostbite. The next result for me was to really widen the range of where and how I would climb in the future. I know for sure that from then on I would not be carrying cylinders of oxygen”.
Using a lightweight approach, Doug went on to continue his outstanding mountaineering career – making over forty first ascents in the Himalaya and Greater Ranges. He also felt a need to set out to help the mountain people of Nepal who had helped him achieve these climbs. He did this by setting up the charity Community Action Nepal. Doug will provide an update on the progress made with reconstruction of CAN projects, such as health posts and schools, which were so badly damaged by the Nepal earthquake on 25 April 2015. Doug will also be signing copies of his award winning autobiography Up And About.
The talk accompanies an exhibition of paintings Return to Langtang by Stephen King. The talk and exhibition are being hosted by the Embassy of Nepal in London as a part of their bicentennial celebration of relations between Nepal and the UK. The Embassy building was erected in 1863-65 for Samuel Morton Peto by the architect James Murray and is a Grade II listed building. The Embassy has occupied the building since 1934.
Proceeds from the evening including 50% of the moneys raised from the sale of Stephen King’s paintings throughout the exhibition, will be donated to Community Action Nepal (CAN) to help support its work.
CAN has a long history in the Langtang, building the Langtang and Mundu Schools, contributing to a hydroelectric power generator, building a Stupa and holding mobile Health and Dental camps in the Valley. Since the earthquake CAN has rebuilt Mundu school, put in a big Community Centre at Kjanjing, contributed to a Memorial to the Langtang village victims and plans are in process to build a Demonstration Home and an Old People's Hostel Complex at Kjanjing. The charity has also promised to rebuild the school when the community has resettled in the Valley, probably not until 2019/20.
Date and time: Tuesday 21 March 2017 from 7.00 pm – 8.50 pm. Doors will open at 6.15 pm. Wine, beer and soft drinks will be served before the talk and during the interval; a cash donation to cover the cost of this is requested.
Venue: Embassy of Nepal, Main Hall, 12A Kensington Palace Gardens, Kensington, London W8 4QU.
Accessibility: please note that the Main Hall is accessible only by the front steps to the front floor of the Embassy. We regret it is not accessible by wheelchair, nor is it equipped with an induction loop for those with hearing impairments.
Tickets: £20. To book a ticket, contact Denise Prior on deniseprior@canepal.org.uk or book online (with booking fee) through the websites.
For further information about the talk and exhibition look on www.nepembassy.org.uk www.stephenkinggallery.com or www.canepal.org.uk