The untimely death of Dougal Haston in a freak avalanche in 1977 robbed climbing of one of its most charismatic, controversial and enigmatic figures. A man of extremes, who managed to combine a sybaritic lifestyle with a career at the cutting edge of world mountaineering, Haston remains a cult figure whose deeds have inspired climbers worldwide.
In this book, Connor traces the career of a great climber: beginning in his native Scottish hills, through an Alpine apprenticeship, a defining first ascent of the Eiger Direct in 1966 and finally his startling feats on Everest and other high mountains.
But more than this, Connor also explores the agonising development of Haston the man: from his working-class background in the small Scottish village of Currie, his anti-establishment years at university and in Scottish climbing circles, the fatal accident that drove him abroad, and his fearsome drinking and womanising.
