The veteran Himalayan mountaineer (70 next year) and now indefatigable fundraiser for his Nepalese charity, Doug Scott, held a packed audience spellbound at the Royal Geographical Society in Kensington last week describing the moment he was swept from west ridge of K2, second only to Everest in height but far more dangerous. ‘I thought, this is the first time I have been in an avalanche,’ he said. ‘And then I thought, I am going to die.’ He added he felt very serene. Scott had already endured the world’s highest bivouac, without tent or sleeping bag, just below the summit of Everest, and the year before in Pakistan’s Karakoram crawled down the Ogre with two broken legs. So he’s not a man to take lightly. In the event he landed on his back and his massive pack stopped him in the snow. His rope snapped which ironically saved his life. His partner Nick Estcourt was dragged away to his death.
Scott was taking part in a discussion organised by Intelligence Squared looking at whether the intense activity around Everest, and especially commercial expeditions, are killing the spirit of adventure.
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