Everest - The First Ascent: The Untold Story of Griffith Pugh, The Man who Made it Possible

Drawing upon previously unseen diaries and letters, rare archive material and interviews, Tuckey tells the remarkable story of Griffith Pugh, the forgotten team member whose scientific breakthroughs ensured the world’s highest mountain could be climbed. A doctor and physiologist, Pugh revolutionised almost every aspect of British high-altitude mountaineering, transforming the climbers’ attitude to oxygen, the clothes they wore, their equipment, fluid intake and acclimatisation. Yet, far from receiving the acclaim he was due, he was met with suspicion and ridicule. His scientific contributions were, quite simply, at odds with old-fashioned notions of derring-do and the gentlemanly amateurism that dogged the sport. This insightful biography shows Pugh to be troubled, abrasive, yet brilliant. Eight years in the writing, closely researched, and told with unflinching honesty by Pugh’s daughter, Harriet Tuckey, this is the compelling portrait of an unlikely hero. With extensive notes and bibliography. One of 18 books longlisted for the UK’s prestigious 2013 Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction. Winner of the 2013 Boardman-Tasker Award for Mountaineering Literature, the 2013 Banff Mountain Book Festival Mountain & Wilderness Literature, the British Sportsbook Award for Outstanding General Sports Writing, and Finalist for the HW Fisher Biographer's Prize.