Dougal Haston: The Philosophy of Risk

Rating:
Summary: Mick Jagger of the Climbing World
Review: Dougal was one of the lucky lads born at just the right time to come of age in the '60's when his special type of charisma was coin of the realm. He was handsome in an unusual Jean Belmondo sort of way, arrogant, enigmatic, rail thin and intense, spoke little and modestly, dressed like a peacock, and had the gleam of destiny in his eye.

He grew up poor and rowdy in Currie, Scotland, was a moderate student, and discovered climbing when a young teen. From that time on, everybody and everything took a back seat to his ever-widening aspirations. He was flashy, determined and as ascetic on the hills as he was sybaritic on the ground. He went from the Scottish Hills, to the Alps, to Everest in ever-increasing adulation, not the least of it from the ladies. He was killed in an avalanche in Switzerland at age 36. The stylish scarf he wore choked him.

The book gets off to an extremely slow start. The first third is devoted to Dougal's early days in Scotland. Intricate details are given of every hill he ever climbed as a lad. Many of these elaborate facets could only be of interest to another Scottish climber, as there is no map shown, and the reader is not given a sense of the progression of difficulties. Also, Mr. Connor is strangely ambivalent about his youthful subject. The author is at great pains to remind us that a contemporary of Haston's, Robin Smith who was killed in a fall in 1962, was Dougal's superior in every way---on the mountains, socially and academically. At times, I wondered why the author had not chosen Mr. Smith as his subject. When Dougal gets to the Alps, the book kicks in and becomes a fascinating read about Haston's expanding skills and extreme climbing right on to the Himalayas. The author focuses on the strong partnerships Haston forged and his hard work as a member of the team. The book is at its best when Haston is allowed to speak for himself via diaries and journals.

Haston, except for his genius on the mountain, was not an admirable man. He had no particular interest in money, but didn't care how he came by it taking advantage of his friends and forgetting favors. He was a wild drunk (for some reason the author backs off of the word "alcoholic," which Haston certainly was). He was at fault in a fatal auto accident where he ran away from the scene leaving the dead and injured on the road. He left friends and family behind when they no longer did him any good. In his own lights, he lived as he had to; his whole being was focused on the next climb, what and wherever it was.

Enjoyable and thought provoking with enough technical material to satisfy the climbers and enough human interest for the general reader.

Rating:
Summary: Mick Jagger of the Climbing World
Review: Dougal was one of the lucky lads born at just the right time to come of age in the `60's when his special type of charisma was coin of the realm. He was handsome in an unusual Jean Belmondo sort of way, arrogant, enigmatic, rail thin and intense, spoke little and modestly, dressed like a peacock, and had the gleam of destiny in his eye.

He grew up poor and rowdy in Currie, Scotland, was a moderate student, and discovered climbing when a young teen. From that time on, everybody and everything took a back seat to his ever-widening aspirations. He was flashy, determined and as ascetic on the hills as he was sybaritic on the ground. He went from the Scottish Hills, to the Alps, to Everest in ever-increasing adulation, not the least of it from the ladies. He was killed in an avalanche in Switzerland at age 36. The stylish scarf he wore choked him.

The book gets off to an extremely slow start. The first third is devoted to Dougal's early days in Scotland. Intricate details are given of every hill he ever climbed as a lad. Many of these elaborate facets could only be of interest to another Scottish climber, as there is no map shown, and the reader is not given a sense of the progression of difficulties. Also, Mr. Connor is strangely ambivalent about his youthful subject. The author is at great pains to remind us that a contemporary of Haston's, Robin Smith who was killed in a fall in 1962, was Dougal's superior in every way---on the mountains, socially and academically. At times, I wondered why the author had not chosen Mr. Smith as his subject. When Dougal gets to the Alps, the book kicks in and becomes a fascinating read about Haston's expanding skills and extreme climbing right on to the Himalayas. The author focuses on the strong partnerships Haston forged and his hard work as a member of the team. The book is at its best when Haston is allowed to speak for himself via diaries and journals.

Haston, except for his genius on the mountain, was not an admirable man. He had no particular interest in money, but didn't care how he came by it taking advantage of his friends and forgetting favors. He was a wild drunk (for some reason the author backs off of the word "alcoholic," which Haston certainly was). He was at fault in a fatal auto accident where he ran away from the scene leaving the dead and injured on the road. He left friends and family behind when they no longer did him any good. In his own lights, he lived as he had to; his whole being was focused on the next climb, what and wherever it was.

Enjoyable and thought provoking with enough technical material to satisfy the climbers and enough human interest for the general reader.

Rating:
Summary: Left wondering...
Review: I was left wondering after reading this book.. Not about Dougal Haston, but at the motives of the author, someone (I had never heard of) named Jeff Connor.
You would think that someone who had this much (supposed) access to Mr. Haston's private journals, and interviews from nearly everyone who knew him, would at least produce a book that someone might recommend to a friend! Not so, in this case! This is absolutely the very worst written book I have ever read!
This book starts as a very slow read. Connor describes all these different local climbing groups (which no one ever heard of, or wanted to hear about) who somehow were at war with each other! He lists all of Mr. Haston's early climbs (with no map of course, so no one outside of Scotland has a clue of what he is talking about!). But there is a reason for Connor's dwelling on these early climbs. He is trying (hard) to make one point: Dougal Haston was NOT the best climber in Britian, not even in Scotland! A young man named Robin Smith was! Smith was a young climber in Scotland about the same time as Haston. He dies in the Pimar's in 1962. (One previous reviewer mentioned that they could not understand Connor's choice of subjects for his book -Haston- when he clearly took great pains to tell the world, repeatedly, that Smith was Haston's better in every way! Nor could I understand it at first, since he clearly prefered Smith to Haston. But.... JUST LOOK at the cover of this book.. Dougal Haston's name is in far larger letters than Connors. How many copies of this book would have sold with Robin Smith's name on the cover? Not taking anything away from Mr. Smith.. By all reports he was a first class climber!) The author speculates repeatedly about what the future fate of Haston would have been had Smith survived his Pimar climbs. The implication is clear. The author obviously beleaves that had Smith survived, the world might not ever heard of Haston! He aparently beleaves no two world class climbers are allowed to come from the same region of the world.
In the latter half of this book the author's subtle hero worship for Don Whillans, Britains "Bad Boy" of climbing" comes through.. Mr. Connor is free to "hero worship" whomever he likes, but please don't try to pass it off as "journalism"!
Most american's mentioned in this book take some sort of verbal jab from Connor (for instance, he attempts to give the reader the impression that Layton Kor was a pothead, and Norman Dhyrenfurth wrote "chatty" expedition news letters). But no one, american or otherwise, takes a bigger beating in this volume than John Harlin! According to Connor not only was Harlin no more than a "poser" and media hound, why he could barely climb! The author attempts to portray Harlin as a man who had be drug up easy routes in England by better climbing companions! He writes this about a man who had climbed the north face of the Eiger before any Brit had (and long before any Scot had)!
One wonders if the publisher (let alone the author) considered a fact checker before this book went to publication? The author bills himself as a "climber" but one must marval at his basic lack of mountaineering knowledge. For the basic errors are many!!
Connor twice referrs to the "American West Ridge Expedition 1963"...
The American Mt. Everest Expedition (that's what is was called, AMEE, for short) never even thought of climbing the west ridge of Everest until the walk in. The expedition raised money on the premise that the objects of thier consern would be Everest, Lhotse, and Nuptse! Not once, until over 40 years later did I ever hear of it descibed as the "American West Ridge Expedition"...
Connor states (twice in this book) The "American West Ridge Expedition" put 4 climbers on top! Umm, no Jeff, read basic mountian history, six men reached the summit, four from the col route and two from the west ridge!!
This author tells the world of the troubles Dougal Haston will have while getting ready for his first everest expedition in 1971.. One of the things he states that Haston must get ready for is "capricious post-monsoon weather conditions", I guess forgetting that the 1971 International Everest Expedition was in the spring??
This author tells the world that in 1970 on Nanga Parbat, Reinhold and Gunther Messner "reached the summit via the Diamir face". Umm, no again Jeff! As the world knows, the 1970 expedition led by Karl Herligkoffer that the Messner brothers were part of, climbed the Rupal face of Nanga Parbat. Only after reaching the summit did the Messner brothers decide to DESCEND the Diamir face. The Diamir face itself had been climbed in 1962 by a previous Herligkoffer expedition.
Connor states of Peter Boardman: "Boardman died on the North-East Ridge of Everest in 1978". Peter Boardman and Joe Tasker disappeared on the Northeast ridge of Everest during a Chris Bonington led expedition in 1982.
I could go on...
If the author was this casual about checking these basic facts, than how accurate are all these new "inside" details he presents as fact??
As I say to start with, this is a very poorly written book, although the subject matter could have been fascinating. I do not reccomend this book at all.