Everest's hard way: 50 years on, Haston and Scott's south-west face feat endures

Fifty years ago today, Dougal Haston and Doug Scott became the first Britons to reach Everest's summit via the notoriously treacherous south-west face, a route that had never before been conquered. The 29,000-foot peak marked a landmark in British mountaineering, and the climb is remembered for both its audacity and its tragedy, as Mick Burke died during the descent four days later.

Led by Chris Bonington, the expedition culminated in a summit that has entered mountaineering lore: Scott handed Haston his camera so Haston could take a photograph to give to Scott's mother. The image has since become iconic. The Daily Mail's front page on September 26, 1975, declared the two the world's 'top two,' and the Queen sent a telegram praising the 'magnificent achievement.'

After the climb, Scott wore a wind suit developed by G & H to brave the Himalayas' unforgiving elements. The suit featured a breathable inner layer and a windproof outer layer made from lightweight nylon, reinforced by a polyurethane coating designed to keep warmth in and moisture out. Bonhams notes that it helped him endure a nine-hour bivouac near the summit at about 28,000 feet, without a tent or sleeping bag. The photograph on the summit remains one of the most famous Everest images of all time.

The wind suit is going under the hammer at Bonhams, in Knightsbridge, with an estimated price of 20,000 to 30,000 pounds. It is being sold on behalf of Community Action Nepal, a UK charity supporting impoverished communities in remote Himalayan regions. The auction highlights the enduring place of Haston and Scott in climbing history, as well as the equipment that became part of Everest lore.

Haston was killed skiing in Leysin, Switzerland, on January 17, 1977. Scott died in 2020 after a long career in mountaineering. Bonington, who led the 1975 expedition, would later complete Everest himself at the age of 50 and write Everest The Hard Way; he was knighted in 1996 for his mountaineering work. Since then, hundreds of British climbers and thousands of others have scaled Everest, and more than 300 people have died attempting the ascent.

This week’s auction of Scott’s windsuit underscores how the expedition’s gear and photographs continue to resonate within both climbing culture and public memory, decades after the ascent that helped redefine what could be achieved on the world’s highest peak.