The Ogre

Biography of a mountain and the story first ascent

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.