Dougal Haston: The Philosophy of Risk

by Jeff Connor

The untimely death of Dougal Haston in 1977 robbed climbing of one of its most charismatic, controversial, and enigmatic figures. A man of extremes who managed to combine a rock star's lifestyle with a career at the cutting edge of world mountaineering, Haston remains a cult figure whose deeds have inspired generations of climbers world-wide. Connor traces the career of a great climber from his native Scottish hills to his startling feats on Everest and the world's other great mountains.This definitive biography, which draws on never before seen diaries, explores the agonized development of Haston the man.

Genres: Biography, Climbing, Mountaineering, Nonfiction, Travel

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Elisabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the life and death of Dougal Haston remains absolutely fascinating, Jeff Connor's work does not lend itself to properly highlighting the man who revolutionized the climbing world of the 1950s and 60s. The first half of the book wastes time and space describing climbs that are never attributed to a map, so the reader is lost in trying to decipher where and when Dougal and friends were climbing. Once the book starts actually discussing Dougal and his personality, much of the content is lost as the writer constantly quotes pages of text and speaking from other people--some of whom aren't properly introduced, which sends the reader on a hunt for information. In the end, Jeff Connor claims to have significant insight into the life of Dougal Haston, and while it is all quite interesting, I don't think the resources he had available to him were fully exhausted, and I am left with more questions than answers.

[Joselito Honestly and Brilliantly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A biography of Dougal Haston, probably Scotland’s greatest mountain climber. Early in his life, while just a young boy, he had developed his love for mountain/rock climbing. He passed through the usual progress of a mountaineer of ambition in his country: native hills, native rock, native snow and ice, Dolomite rock, mixed routes in the Western Alps and finally, IF HE IS STILL ALIVE OR PHYSICALLY FIT, the Himalaya or similar lofty ranges.


Haston successfully climbed almost everything there was to climb. But he became an international figure after his successful climb of Eiger, the most famous mountain wall in the world which had claimed a lot of lives of those who had taken its challenge. During this climb, Haston’s American partner John Harlin fell to his death. But the climb affected Haston’s psyche in a different way:


“In extremis on the summit ice field, when (team mates) Lehne and Strobel had taken most of the gear ahead, and neglected to fix some of the ropes, he (Haston) had fought his way up sixty-degree water-ice slope without an axe or hammer, and had ‘gone to the limit’. But he had also embraced the risk like a lover. At times, the privations and suffering had evolved into something close to euphoria. When looking over the edge, he had felt in total command of himself and the savage environment, and when he returned to ground level, it confirmed what he had long suspected: it was the only thing in life that could offer a momentary happiness. Bev Clark believes that ‘he had stayed in control in an impossible situation. His partner had just died, and he was getting frostbite. It was a remarkable display of will. It was the same later, surviving a bivouac on the South Summit of Everest. That’s real control of the head.’”


Haston died at a young age of 36 skiing alone on a mountain, buried by an avalanche which broke his neck. He had married once, got divorced, had a girlfriend after that, but never had any children because kids are incompatible with climbing rocks and mountains. His back accounts were empty and his credit card had maxed out. He left a novel about mountain climbing which was poorly-written because he never had the time to polish it. But at least he is now a footnote to the history of mountain climbing: the first climber to conquer Everest by the South-West Face.

If the dead can have the benefit of a hindsight would Haston think it was all worth it, dying an at age where most people would just be beginning to accomplish things which can also bring genuine happiness? Who knows.

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A workmanlike telling of the life of Dougal Haston. It doesn't provide any great insight and for a short book (200pp) there is quite a bit of repetition.

[Mihai · Rating 3 out of 5]

While thinking about how to describe my experience of reading this book, I looked over the other Goodreads reviews and instantly knew that Elisabeth's take on it pretty much mirrored mine. Specifically:

"The first half of the book wastes time and space describing climbs that are never attributed to a map, so the reader is lost in trying to decipher where and when Dougal and friends were climbing. Once the book starts actually discussing Dougal and his personality, much of the content is lost as the writer constantly quotes pages of text and speaking from other people--some of whom aren't properly introduced, which sends the reader on a hunt for information."

The only thing from the above that doesn't apply to me is that as a climber and mountaineering literature connoisseur, I did know who some of the other, more famous, people mentioned were/are - many having become climbing legends in their own right. Everything else in the paragraph perfectly encapsulates Philosophy of Risk.

My personal assessment of this work, to show that I'm not solely using someone else's opinion, is that there really wasn't enough content about Haston's life to put together a comprehensive biography. As a result, author Connor had to 'fill' the first part of the book with painfully detailed descriptions of hyper-regional climbs that only dedicated Scots, and perhaps Brits, would truly care about. As Haston's accomplishments outside of the UK grew, the narrative along with characters becomes more interesting, but then is abruptly cut short, like the protagonist's life, by an unremarkable ski accident. So just as things pick up gusto, they end. All of which makes for an uneven, and, more than occasionally, boring reading. In addition, there is no proper examination of the man's legacy to conclude with, considering the impact he had.

There's no denying however that Haston cast a large shadow in the arena of climbing, both in the last decade of his life and following his death. He set a high standard of excellence in terms of physical prowess, and was ahead of his time in both technique and style. His contributions to the sport are duly acknowledged and respected by later generations.

[Paul Welford · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoroughly gripping book: perhaps addictive in the way Haston was addicted to risk. I do accept some of the criticisms of other reviews: that Connor doesn't place climbs or people very well. He also switches from first name to surname frequently when describing a person's actions which is both irritating and confusing. He jumps back and forth in history so repeats some events several times. This can be used as an effective writing tool, but he doesn't pull it off. There are also a surprising number of typos. However, I got past all this and still gave it 4 stars because Haston's story is just so compelling: his early life, personality flaws, risk taking, drinking and fighting, climbing career, interaction with other climbers, especially Bonington who is much better known, and of course the women in his life and the effect they had on him, especially towards the end of his short life. A great read.

[David Batten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great little book that outlines the life and career of one of Britain’s best climbers of the 60’s and 70’s.

In this book you find out much more about the personal life of Dougal, the tragic as well as the sublime, that you don’t pick up in many of the other books about his climbing activities - including his own book In High Places.

A brilliant climber whose life was cut short in his prime and just when he had - and this is no cliche - found himself. A must-read for anyone interested in the climbing scene in Dougal’s era and in Dougal himself in particular.

[Alasdair Fulton · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 (5 stars just isn't enough sometimes). Not fantastically well written, with odd pacing and jumbled narrative structure but loads of interesting trivia and very easy page turning. I was constantly confused with timelines as people seemed to die before they went on expeditions and then resurrect themselves four years earlier, before teaming up with others to climb again...

Probably not wort reading if you're not already interested in Haston, Himalayan climbing or the alps.

[Don Girardi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Slow read for me because I did not know the terminology or geography. For story to be meaningful, spent a lot of time researching these topics.

[Ellie Hirst · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I’ve only got a little bit left. It’s great to learn about his moutaineering career, amongst his challenges along the way. A good read!

[Daniel Rees · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this quite touching. A deeply flawed man. Self centered. But an amazing climber. This is a very raw and confronting piece. From Dougal's childhood to his wild and tragic drink fueled incidents, through to his final iconic ascents with Doug Scott. A must read.

[Stephen Hampshire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting biography. "Warts and all" doesn't begin to cover it - turns out one of the great British mountaineers was a complete arsehole.

[Jem Wilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

He was a tough bit of work and he had a chequered history but to do what he did you couldn't be a soft girlie...

[David Douglas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent biography of one of Scotland's foremost mountaineers.

[Jim Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you love the mountains and the enviroment of mountaineering then this is a must read