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Everest the First Ascent: How a Champion of Science Helped to Conquer the Mountain
Tuckey, Harriet
424 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
February 22, 2023
I loved how this book combined the elements of an adventure story with biography and memoir. The author is writing about her father, Griffith Pugh, with whom she had a contentious relationship. It wasn’t until after his death that she explored his past and discovered some remarkable things about him. He was a physiologist who studied altitude, hypothermia, and other extreme conditions, which made him the ideal man to accompany the climbing team to Everest in 1953. His contributions to equipment design, diet, hydration, hygiene, oxygen use, and acclimatization were quite significant, but he really didn’t get much credit for them. Undoubtedly, without him, England would not have successfully summited that year. The negative attitude towards the involvement of science in sport meant that the portrayal of Pugh’s role was diminished. “If it were admitted that physiological breakthroughs had made the key difference, the achievement of the climbers would appear less glorious and less significant.”
After his Everest summit, Edmund Hillary’s exploits with Pugh resulted it two strong personalities clashing, as they were pursuing very different achievements, one sportsmanly, the other scientific. Hillary was not good at publicly giving credit where credit was due, and he often took credit for others’ achievements, even if he was entirely absent from the scene. Pugh wasn’t portrayed any more favorably because of his abrasiveness and absentmindedness. But his professional achievements can’t be denied, having made breakthrough physiological contributions to avoiding hypothermia, and how altitude affected athletes at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.
Regardless of what topic Pugh immersed himself in, he was a fascinating man. I could very much relate to his daughter’s antagonistic relationship with her arrogant, self-centered father. Despite not having known him very well while he was living, her research was thorough and comprehensive, and her writing was captivating.
After his Everest summit, Edmund Hillary’s exploits with Pugh resulted it two strong personalities clashing, as they were pursuing very different achievements, one sportsmanly, the other scientific. Hillary was not good at publicly giving credit where credit was due, and he often took credit for others’ achievements, even if he was entirely absent from the scene. Pugh wasn’t portrayed any more favorably because of his abrasiveness and absentmindedness. But his professional achievements can’t be denied, having made breakthrough physiological contributions to avoiding hypothermia, and how altitude affected athletes at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.
Regardless of what topic Pugh immersed himself in, he was a fascinating man. I could very much relate to his daughter’s antagonistic relationship with her arrogant, self-centered father. Despite not having known him very well while he was living, her research was thorough and comprehensive, and her writing was captivating.
July 1, 2017
Fascinating. Not just for the story of the ascent of Everest (and some re-balancing of the mythology). But also for the insight into the cult of amateurism and 'gentleman sportsmen' that emerged from the British public schools of the 19th C and continued well into the 20th, and for the insight into scientific practice, and the age-old tussle between the maverick genius academic and the forces of order and bureaucracy, and finally, for the honesty of the study of the relationship between a daughter and her father. Harriet Tuckey achieved an impressive objectivity with some material that must have been challenging.
February 16, 2018
Fascinating read with multiple revelations about Pugh's scientific research playing a major but ignored role in the '53 expedition and Tuckey's fractious relationship with him. What I found the most interesting though was the totally different perspective on the legends that are Shipton, Tilman and Hillary and their disregard for science and organisation to a certain extent. Intriguing!
August 1, 2021
Chocked full of information this book that focuses on the science behind the first successful ascent of Mt. Everest, mainly about the use of supplemental oxygen, which was shunned by most climbers before that. Written by the daughter of the scientist who advocated the most strongly for supplemental oxygen, it is written with knowledge but also via and also includes a lot of personal observations as a family member that I felt distracted from the book’s purpose. Only gets three stars because I finished
April 27, 2025
Gentlemen don’t climb with oxygen!
September 14, 2018
This is one of the most important books that I read this year. The topic of the ethics of mountaineering and exploration and of how mountaineers view their sport and their roles is one that has fascinated me for a long time. The author’s father was Griffith Pugh, a physiologist who worked with the first team to summit Everest in 1953 (Hillary and Tenzing Norgay). However, this is not a eulogy to her father (she did not get along with him and did not particularly like him, although she came to appreciate him through writing the book) but a well-researched look at his contributions and the British climbing culture.
It is clear that mountaineering and even arctic exploring belonged to British upper classes and that the culture declared that these activities were for the good of the group, that no one should cheat by doing things like using oxygen, learning about the importance of fluids or foods at high elevations, or be concerned about acclimation. At one point, Tuckey basically says that the main problem confronting progress in high altitude mountaineer was that those in control were just too British.
Pugh’s physiological work and research are fascinating. He and a group of scientist spent a winter in a “Silver Hut” at over 5800 meters on the Mingbo Glacier in the Himalayans to study the long term effects of cold and altitude on human physiology, a topic that, surprisingly, was entirely new in the 1950’s and 1960s. In addition to his work with mountaineering, Pugh worked with athletes at the 1968 Olympics held in Mexico City at an altitude of well over a mile above sea level. He was also the first person to investigate the effects of drafting on bike racing.
And, Tuckey is a wonderful writer.
It is clear that mountaineering and even arctic exploring belonged to British upper classes and that the culture declared that these activities were for the good of the group, that no one should cheat by doing things like using oxygen, learning about the importance of fluids or foods at high elevations, or be concerned about acclimation. At one point, Tuckey basically says that the main problem confronting progress in high altitude mountaineer was that those in control were just too British.
Pugh’s physiological work and research are fascinating. He and a group of scientist spent a winter in a “Silver Hut” at over 5800 meters on the Mingbo Glacier in the Himalayans to study the long term effects of cold and altitude on human physiology, a topic that, surprisingly, was entirely new in the 1950’s and 1960s. In addition to his work with mountaineering, Pugh worked with athletes at the 1968 Olympics held in Mexico City at an altitude of well over a mile above sea level. He was also the first person to investigate the effects of drafting on bike racing.
And, Tuckey is a wonderful writer.
April 7, 2020
At Camp 9, on the eve of his and Tenzing Norgay’s successful Everest summit bid, Ed Hillary ate a tin of peaches and drank ‘great mugs’ of hot lemonade. Then, on the actual climb, he made technical calculations about the oxygen flow rate, ensuring they had enough to get to the top – and back again. While the last measure may seem the more significant, the peaches and lemonade may have been almost as important.
The problems of dehydration and loss of appetite for climbers at altitude were well known by 1953, as was the lack of oxygen. But it took a brilliant physiologist to work out seemingly simple solutions to these intractable problems. Griffith Pugh was the physiologist on the successful 1953 British Mt Everest expedition, but before this ground-breaking biography by his daughter, Harriet Tuckey, his role has rarely been acknowledged. Indeed, if Pugh was mentioned at all in accounts of the famous ascent, it was often as a symbol of derision or annoyance.
Pugh was a difficult, sometimes abrasive character, with something of the absent-minded scientist about him as well. As a father and husband he left a lot to be desired. Tuckey, who had a difficult relationship with him, only came to realise the scale of Pugh’s achievements on Everest towards the end of her father’s life – largely through Mike Ward, expedition doctor, who had always claimed that Pugh’s role was barely acknowledged, and indeed called him ‘the unsung hero of Everest.’
It was Pugh who, after analysing the records of the Swiss expedition of 1952, realised that dehydration may well have been the main reason Raymond Lambert and Tenzing Norgay failed to summit that year. Pugh recognised that melting water at altitude was a chore, and that to stay hydrated climbers needed motivation to drink adequately. The answer? Mixing in their favourite, sugary sachet – lemonade. And encouraging climbers to eat at altitude? Give each climber their individual favourite foods for consumption high on the mountain.
As well as playing a significant role developing the open circuit oxygen sets so successfully used by Hillary and Tenzing, Pugh also made a wide range of improvements to gear design, and on the approach march sought to improve the hygiene of camps to avoid sickness among the climbers. So why has Pugh’s crucial role been ignored? Tuckey has an answer that’s hard to argue with: ‘His scientific contributions were, quite simply, at odds with the old-fashioned notions of derring-do and the gentlemanly amateurism that dogged the sport.’
There were other reasons too. Many expeditions have a scapegoat, a figure who becomes the butt of jokes, someone who acts as pressure relief valve in a tightly-knit community where friction is almost inevitable. Shackleton’s famous Endurance expedition had Thomas Orde-Lees, and there are other examples on earlier Shipton-led Himalayan expeditions. Most of the Everest climbers resented having to do physiological tests with Pugh’s apparatus, and as a practical joke they swapped a container of his instruments once. Upon arriving at the Western Cym, ready to undertake his scientific experiments, Pugh found it full of mango chutney. While he was understandably livid, virtually everyone else found it outrageously funny.
John Hunt’s book, The Ascent of Everest, played up the heroic, romantic achievement of the climb, and relegated mention of Pugh’s work to an appendix. Although Hillary took Pugh’s advice on oxygen, hydration and food seriously, he also preferred the idealistic aspect of the expedition when writing in his subsequent books, rather than fully acknowledge the debt he owed to science.
Tuckey’s masterful biography of her father has been meticulously researched and offers stunning insights into the Everest ascent. Indeed, I can only concur with Doug Scott’s summation: ‘The most important addition to the story of Everest.’
The problems of dehydration and loss of appetite for climbers at altitude were well known by 1953, as was the lack of oxygen. But it took a brilliant physiologist to work out seemingly simple solutions to these intractable problems. Griffith Pugh was the physiologist on the successful 1953 British Mt Everest expedition, but before this ground-breaking biography by his daughter, Harriet Tuckey, his role has rarely been acknowledged. Indeed, if Pugh was mentioned at all in accounts of the famous ascent, it was often as a symbol of derision or annoyance.
Pugh was a difficult, sometimes abrasive character, with something of the absent-minded scientist about him as well. As a father and husband he left a lot to be desired. Tuckey, who had a difficult relationship with him, only came to realise the scale of Pugh’s achievements on Everest towards the end of her father’s life – largely through Mike Ward, expedition doctor, who had always claimed that Pugh’s role was barely acknowledged, and indeed called him ‘the unsung hero of Everest.’
It was Pugh who, after analysing the records of the Swiss expedition of 1952, realised that dehydration may well have been the main reason Raymond Lambert and Tenzing Norgay failed to summit that year. Pugh recognised that melting water at altitude was a chore, and that to stay hydrated climbers needed motivation to drink adequately. The answer? Mixing in their favourite, sugary sachet – lemonade. And encouraging climbers to eat at altitude? Give each climber their individual favourite foods for consumption high on the mountain.
As well as playing a significant role developing the open circuit oxygen sets so successfully used by Hillary and Tenzing, Pugh also made a wide range of improvements to gear design, and on the approach march sought to improve the hygiene of camps to avoid sickness among the climbers. So why has Pugh’s crucial role been ignored? Tuckey has an answer that’s hard to argue with: ‘His scientific contributions were, quite simply, at odds with the old-fashioned notions of derring-do and the gentlemanly amateurism that dogged the sport.’
There were other reasons too. Many expeditions have a scapegoat, a figure who becomes the butt of jokes, someone who acts as pressure relief valve in a tightly-knit community where friction is almost inevitable. Shackleton’s famous Endurance expedition had Thomas Orde-Lees, and there are other examples on earlier Shipton-led Himalayan expeditions. Most of the Everest climbers resented having to do physiological tests with Pugh’s apparatus, and as a practical joke they swapped a container of his instruments once. Upon arriving at the Western Cym, ready to undertake his scientific experiments, Pugh found it full of mango chutney. While he was understandably livid, virtually everyone else found it outrageously funny.
John Hunt’s book, The Ascent of Everest, played up the heroic, romantic achievement of the climb, and relegated mention of Pugh’s work to an appendix. Although Hillary took Pugh’s advice on oxygen, hydration and food seriously, he also preferred the idealistic aspect of the expedition when writing in his subsequent books, rather than fully acknowledge the debt he owed to science.
Tuckey’s masterful biography of her father has been meticulously researched and offers stunning insights into the Everest ascent. Indeed, I can only concur with Doug Scott’s summation: ‘The most important addition to the story of Everest.’
July 30, 2017
I found it gripping and finished it rather quickly. Everyone may not. This is not just a biography of an unusual scientist who did not get his fair share of recognition and fame. But it also explores the man's mind and character at one level and a daughter's coming to terms with her difficult father at another.
The amount of research that went into the writing of this book is simply mind boggling. No wonder she spent ten years to write it.
Reputations of established heroes like Ed Hillary or John Hunt or even Eric Shipton are demolished with facts and logic and entirely new light is thrown on the establishment of British mountaineering in the 50s and 60s.
It was a new thing for me to learn that there was ever a conflict between climbers and scientists and that climbers actually looked down upon scientists and physiologists.
However, I found it odd that the name of Hermann Buhl did not crop up even once in the entire book that deals with oxygen and climbing and effect of altitude on human body. Buhl had climbed the world's third highest peak Nanga Parbat in 1953 without oxygen. But then she constantly talks about effect of "oxygen less climb above 27,000 feet". Well Nanga Parbat is less than that of course.
The amount of research that went into the writing of this book is simply mind boggling. No wonder she spent ten years to write it.
Reputations of established heroes like Ed Hillary or John Hunt or even Eric Shipton are demolished with facts and logic and entirely new light is thrown on the establishment of British mountaineering in the 50s and 60s.
It was a new thing for me to learn that there was ever a conflict between climbers and scientists and that climbers actually looked down upon scientists and physiologists.
However, I found it odd that the name of Hermann Buhl did not crop up even once in the entire book that deals with oxygen and climbing and effect of altitude on human body. Buhl had climbed the world's third highest peak Nanga Parbat in 1953 without oxygen. But then she constantly talks about effect of "oxygen less climb above 27,000 feet". Well Nanga Parbat is less than that of course.
September 17, 2023
This book casts a wholly different light on the first ascent of Everest in the 1953. Told through Pugh’s daughter, there are two intertwined stories here: one of a daughter who is on a journey learning about and reappraising her unsung father and a second about Pugh’s ground breaking ideas and physiological research that professionalised climbing and led to the incremental gains that ultimately unlocked the problem of Everest.
Intrigued by exploring the extremes of human performance, Pugh’s story goes beyond just the transformation of high altitude mountaineering to also impact sea survival, Olympic athletics and UK hill walking- to name a few!
I found this to be a pretty remarkable story and extraordinary to think that many of Pugh’s ideas would lead to him being sidelined, or once proven to work, seized upon by others. A great example of how science has pushed the limits of human performance but equally a reminder of the under recognised role some individuals play in the greatest human successes.
Intrigued by exploring the extremes of human performance, Pugh’s story goes beyond just the transformation of high altitude mountaineering to also impact sea survival, Olympic athletics and UK hill walking- to name a few!
I found this to be a pretty remarkable story and extraordinary to think that many of Pugh’s ideas would lead to him being sidelined, or once proven to work, seized upon by others. A great example of how science has pushed the limits of human performance but equally a reminder of the under recognised role some individuals play in the greatest human successes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 23, 2019
Written by Pugh's estranged daughter who stumbled on documents outlining a man completely different from the angry and distant father she knew. After 30 years of unsuccessful attempts to summit mount Everest, the idea of assessing the impact of equipment finally occurs to a team of climbers. But, rather than the respect he deserved, his work was constantly swept under the rug and hidden while the climbers getting press time claimed the glory for themselves. "By the time the expedition set off from England, Pugh's analytical and creative skills had been applied to an endless list of topics. The few people in the climbing world who knew anything about what he was doing found it hard to credit that, as a scientist, he was capable of making a useful contribution. Far from treating him as worthy of respect, they regarded him as an object of skepticism and suspicion..."
March 6, 2021
Feel the title to be a bit of a misnomer. Really less than half the book is focused on Everest and the first ascent. This is actually a biography of Griffith Pugh and his life and times. The Everest part and the struggles within the different expeditions is quite interesting, the struggle for recognition less so. Hillary and some others don't come off too well here and yet, history is written by the winners and it is quite difficult to correct the narrative after the fact. The rest of the book covering his research into hypothermia, survival techniques, bicycling and exercise at elevation is fairly interesting while the authors focus on his home life, girlfriends and parental problems is far less so - therapy for a daughter it seems. Still, an enjoyable trip into the past.3 stars
January 13, 2023
This book is wonderful, if tragically mis-titled. It certainly does spend about 1/3 of its content on the first ascent of Everest, but through the lens of its subject. Moreover the subject of the whole book is the life and work (and life's work) of Griffith Pugh.
His contributions in various fields of human physiology and sports science even outside of high altitudes are remarkable and this book's title is likely to lead many who would be fascinated by the material within to pass this excellent personal and scientific biography over.
The book is an excellent scientific biography of Pugh's work laying the foundations for much of our modern understanding of human physiology in extreme environments. It is also a sympathetic and touching biography of Griffith Pugh as a human and father.
His contributions in various fields of human physiology and sports science even outside of high altitudes are remarkable and this book's title is likely to lead many who would be fascinated by the material within to pass this excellent personal and scientific biography over.
The book is an excellent scientific biography of Pugh's work laying the foundations for much of our modern understanding of human physiology in extreme environments. It is also a sympathetic and touching biography of Griffith Pugh as a human and father.
January 26, 2019
Absolutely fascinating journey through the biography of an unsung physiologist attached to the Everest expedition. I was at times amazed, and at times angry at the treatment Griffith Pugh received, but not completely surprised. The dynamics of jock vs nerd will continue to play out. This is the story of how the jocks would not have made it without the nerd, if only they had realised it at the time.
June 9, 2020
The book provides great insights into the science that went into the first Everest summit. I found the details regarding the various research done by Pugh also fascinating. Can personally attest that drinking water really helps with altitude!
However I think calling it Everest is a bit misleading as that is only a portion of the book. Still a great read though.
However I think calling it Everest is a bit misleading as that is only a portion of the book. Still a great read though.
March 16, 2021
Dense and somewhat difficult to get into. Well worth the effort and an excellent warts and all picture of a scientist that most people have never heard of. His exclusion by the old boys club of british alpine climbing because he wasn't the right sort is surely a travesty as they would never have made it without him.
July 25, 2024
Fascinating tale of one of the unsung members of the successful British ascent of Mt Everest in 1953. Pugh is a man that almost no one has heard of and he comes across as a difficult and contrary character but by the end of the book you will understand how integral he was to the outcome of the climb.
January 2, 2021
Found this book based off looking for everest stuff.
The everest is only a small part of this BUT if you like reading about science/physiology breakthroughs and the ego in some climbing biographies it's worth a read.
The everest is only a small part of this BUT if you like reading about science/physiology breakthroughs and the ego in some climbing biographies it's worth a read.
February 3, 2022
As with many books that try to straddle the line of memoir and explanatory non-fiction, this book has a confusing way of jumping between author’s recollections of her father, her modern day, and his past professional life. That being said it was very interesting and engaging.
September 1, 2017
Loved the science behind Everest and the first successful summiting.
May 8, 2018
Fascinating story of a behind the scenes hero
November 30, 2020
Interesting, but somewhat sad. I had never heard of Griffith Pugh and his contributions to the first Everest expedition.
May 30, 2022
A new perspective on mountaineering and Everest. Each and every chapter is interesting, and I personally love the last one.
August 16, 2023
Very good book. The so called "Champion of Science" was brilliant but a real f-ing jerk!
April 19, 2014
This was a fascinating book about the physiologist who did much of the research to guide the successful British expedition of 1953 to the top of Mt. Everest. He did work on clothing, tent fabrics, nutrition strategies, stressed the importance of hydration, and worked out the oxygen protocol the climbers would eventually use. For many reasons, one undoubtedly being that he was a difficult personality, his work went unrecognized (and buried) for more than 40 years. The book is written by Pugh's daughter who had a strained (OK, downright terrible) relationship with her distant father. He was a self absorbed man who abandoned wife and children for months (if not years) at a time and was a holy terror when he was around. The author comes to understand her father and come to some reconciliation with him in the writing of the book - albeit after his death.
What I found fascinating about the book was not only all the scientific advances he was able to make, but also the attitudes of the British climbing establishment of the time. Actually training ahead of time to climb Mt. Everest? Cheating. Showing up having actually planned carefully ones food, drink, and equipment down to the last detail? Caring too much. Basically, climbing was seen to be the pursuit of a bunch of classically trained Oxford scholars (never scientists!) who would just fly off at the end of term in their tweeds and start hiking up the Himalayas and bag a few peaks if they could. The same type of attitude was on display prior to the 1968 Mexico City Olympics where Pugh did a number of studies on the effects of acclimating to altitude for distance runners. To show up more than a week ahead of the games (when Pugh suggested at least 4 weeks would be required to acclimate) was just showing the wrong attitude - British athletes were just supposed to compete for the joy of amateur athleticism. To be all serious and try to win, well, that was just distasteful, and seemed very "professional" and not very gentlemanly at all. All in all a fascinating book. Highly recommend.
What I found fascinating about the book was not only all the scientific advances he was able to make, but also the attitudes of the British climbing establishment of the time. Actually training ahead of time to climb Mt. Everest? Cheating. Showing up having actually planned carefully ones food, drink, and equipment down to the last detail? Caring too much. Basically, climbing was seen to be the pursuit of a bunch of classically trained Oxford scholars (never scientists!) who would just fly off at the end of term in their tweeds and start hiking up the Himalayas and bag a few peaks if they could. The same type of attitude was on display prior to the 1968 Mexico City Olympics where Pugh did a number of studies on the effects of acclimating to altitude for distance runners. To show up more than a week ahead of the games (when Pugh suggested at least 4 weeks would be required to acclimate) was just showing the wrong attitude - British athletes were just supposed to compete for the joy of amateur athleticism. To be all serious and try to win, well, that was just distasteful, and seemed very "professional" and not very gentlemanly at all. All in all a fascinating book. Highly recommend.
December 13, 2013
I bought this book on impulse the same day I heard the author give a lecture about it at the Royal Geographical Society. Afterwards I wondered if I'd been too impetuous, but then a few weeks later I started reading it and enjoyed it very much. I don't think Harriett Tuckey is a professional lecturer, but her RGS talk was highly professional and the same could be said of her book, despite her family proximity to the subject (her father) and her strained relationship with him, evident in the book.
In fact, Griffith Pugh seemed to have a strained relationship with most people, but Tuckey digs out several former colleagues who had real affection for him. He seems to have been a remarkable if often unlikeable character, and one can't help feeling that being 'accidentally' forgotten both by John Hunt (in relation to Everest) and by Edmund Hillary (in relation to the subsequent attempt on Makalu) were not coincidences.
However, Tuckey set out to rescue his reputation and, apart from her right as a daughter to do that, does in fact present a convincing case. It's very clear that, prior to 1953, British attempts on Everest had been very exciting and gallant but also very amateurish, in all senses of that word. Pugh injected much-needed science into the attempts at the 'conquest' and provided key lessons for the successful expedition in 1953. Tuckey says that without Pugh they wouldn't have succeeded, and it's difficult to disbelieve her.
This could easily have been a small-minded and perhaps boring book focussing on someone who had been dismissed as a marginal character and has had few other people to champion him. If it were purely an exercise in image-making, it would be unremarkable. But in fact it is an engaging and compelling story, which explains the science very well for non-scientists like me. Tuckey deserves to win prizes for it.
In fact, Griffith Pugh seemed to have a strained relationship with most people, but Tuckey digs out several former colleagues who had real affection for him. He seems to have been a remarkable if often unlikeable character, and one can't help feeling that being 'accidentally' forgotten both by John Hunt (in relation to Everest) and by Edmund Hillary (in relation to the subsequent attempt on Makalu) were not coincidences.
However, Tuckey set out to rescue his reputation and, apart from her right as a daughter to do that, does in fact present a convincing case. It's very clear that, prior to 1953, British attempts on Everest had been very exciting and gallant but also very amateurish, in all senses of that word. Pugh injected much-needed science into the attempts at the 'conquest' and provided key lessons for the successful expedition in 1953. Tuckey says that without Pugh they wouldn't have succeeded, and it's difficult to disbelieve her.
This could easily have been a small-minded and perhaps boring book focussing on someone who had been dismissed as a marginal character and has had few other people to champion him. If it were purely an exercise in image-making, it would be unremarkable. But in fact it is an engaging and compelling story, which explains the science very well for non-scientists like me. Tuckey deserves to win prizes for it.
July 4, 2015
Why I read this book:
My husband gave me Everest The First Ascent: How a Champion of Science Helped to Conquer the Mountain by Harriet Pugh Tuckey. It combines my interests in mountaineering with the scientific research that makes it possible to climb big mountains - and survive. This is the first book I've managed to finish since my daughter was born. It only me a few months.
My one sentence summary:
Part biography, part coming to terms with a father whose personality often overshadowed his brilliance.
Kuddos:
Tuckey's account of her father's contributions toward the fields of human tolerance in extreme conditions (altitude, heat and cold) are mixed with persnal accounts about a man she only came to terms with after his death. I really enjoyed this mixture of science, mountaineering adventure and personal recollections. It's hard to think of a time when the contributions to mountain climbing could be scene as ungentlemanly.
Quibbles:
Although I enjoyed the personal interludes and exploration of a scientist, man and father, some might find them a contrast to the rest of the content. Beyond the scientific content and accounts of mountaineering expeditions, large portions of this book are devoted to the author coming to terms with her feelings toward her almost entirely absent and eccentric father.
Final review:
Definite recommend. It was fascinating to see how much modern mountaineering and endurance sports relies on the advances of Griffith Pugh.
My husband gave me Everest The First Ascent: How a Champion of Science Helped to Conquer the Mountain by Harriet Pugh Tuckey. It combines my interests in mountaineering with the scientific research that makes it possible to climb big mountains - and survive. This is the first book I've managed to finish since my daughter was born. It only me a few months.
My one sentence summary:
Part biography, part coming to terms with a father whose personality often overshadowed his brilliance.
Kuddos:
Tuckey's account of her father's contributions toward the fields of human tolerance in extreme conditions (altitude, heat and cold) are mixed with persnal accounts about a man she only came to terms with after his death. I really enjoyed this mixture of science, mountaineering adventure and personal recollections. It's hard to think of a time when the contributions to mountain climbing could be scene as ungentlemanly.
Quibbles:
Although I enjoyed the personal interludes and exploration of a scientist, man and father, some might find them a contrast to the rest of the content. Beyond the scientific content and accounts of mountaineering expeditions, large portions of this book are devoted to the author coming to terms with her feelings toward her almost entirely absent and eccentric father.
Final review:
Definite recommend. It was fascinating to see how much modern mountaineering and endurance sports relies on the advances of Griffith Pugh.
January 21, 2014
Griffith Pugh was a brilliant yet flawed scientist in a age when science could be done by one man and during the of the heydays of British science investigation. Pugh's contributions to the science of high altitude survival made the conquests of Mt Everest possible and his work is still saving lives of those who climb big mountains for the fun of it. His work in the area of hypothermia directly contributed to the way men and women are able to survive in cold environments today. His work in sports medicine has saved lives of runners working in extremely hot climates and help the British win gold during the 1968 Mexico Olympics. If the man's contributions have had such a major influence, why isn't he more famous? That is the true story behind this no holds barred biography written by his daughter.
"Because he had all of life's material comforts while he was at the Medical Research Council, he had been able to behave like a gentleman scientist who cared nothing for ambition…He thought this was what he wanted."
"If he had married someone who demanded more of him and if he had been forced to provide for himself…he might have been happier. He wasn't suited to the subordinate roles he accepted for himself. They diminished him and in the end they left him as a friend and colleague had said –"a disappointed man""
"Because he had all of life's material comforts while he was at the Medical Research Council, he had been able to behave like a gentleman scientist who cared nothing for ambition…He thought this was what he wanted."
"If he had married someone who demanded more of him and if he had been forced to provide for himself…he might have been happier. He wasn't suited to the subordinate roles he accepted for himself. They diminished him and in the end they left him as a friend and colleague had said –"a disappointed man""
July 8, 2015
This time I’m freely admitting that the failure is all on my side. This was a great book—half biography and half science, all clearly written, engaging, and thoroughly researched. It took me an awfully long time to read it because I kept finding excuses to put it down in favor of something livelier. Silly of me, but that was the mood I was in.
I started off thinking it was all science and so I was surprised when the oxygen-assisted ascent of Everest was over and the book wasn’t half done. The second half turns a more personal side, finishing the life story of Griffith Pugh, the scientist responsible for the success of the Everest climb. He also did groundbreaking research on hypothermia, high-altitude exercise, and the physiology of high-endurance athletes. But the book also reveals the author, his daughter--how her research changed her opinion of her father from ill-tempered beast who mistreated her mother, into a man with personality flaws and a talent for success at any cost. Scientific success, not personal. She came to admire that part of him and so did I.
Lot of good stuff here, it just didn't resonate with me. With others, it will.
I started off thinking it was all science and so I was surprised when the oxygen-assisted ascent of Everest was over and the book wasn’t half done. The second half turns a more personal side, finishing the life story of Griffith Pugh, the scientist responsible for the success of the Everest climb. He also did groundbreaking research on hypothermia, high-altitude exercise, and the physiology of high-endurance athletes. But the book also reveals the author, his daughter--how her research changed her opinion of her father from ill-tempered beast who mistreated her mother, into a man with personality flaws and a talent for success at any cost. Scientific success, not personal. She came to admire that part of him and so did I.
Lot of good stuff here, it just didn't resonate with me. With others, it will.
April 27, 2016
The story of Griffith Pugh, a British scientist that was on the 1952 Cho Oyo expedition and the 1953 Everest expedition where Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the summit for the first time. Pugh played a large part in the success of the mission by demonstrating the need for oxygen at high altitude and the need to stay hydrated and well fed. He designed the coats and boots they wore, as well as sleeping bags and and air mattresses that were used. Many of his findings and innovations changed how high altitude climbing was subsequently done. In the 1960s, prior to the Olympics in Mexico City, his studies with British athletes, especially distance runners, led to innovations like drinking plenty of fluids during a race, eating lots of carbohydrates in the week leading up to a race, mesh hats and running shoes to help the runner keep cool, padded, rubber-soled running shoes and many other things, all of which are taken for granted today. The book was written by his daughter, who had no idea what her father was accomplishing while she was growing up, and thought of him as a jerk.
May 8, 2014
This was sent to me by chance and I'm very glad it was as I would never have picked it up. Skillfully written, the book gradually reveals various hidden narratives:
- The skill of the scientist who planned clothing, oxygen breathing rates, nutrition, hydration, tents and equipment for the 1953 Everest exhibition.
- How it was these that enabled the 1953 climbers to succeed where the pre-war gentleman-amateur expeditions had failed.
- The complex and difficult but also ingenious and inspired character of that scientist, Griffith Pugh
- How he was written out of the history books by Hunt & Hillary and co who wanted to tell a tale of man's courage versus the mountain not one of boffins.
- How his daughter took decades to overcome his bullying antagonism to bring herself to write this book, and how she came to some peace with him through it.
- The development of physiology and sports science in postwar Britain.
- The skill of the scientist who planned clothing, oxygen breathing rates, nutrition, hydration, tents and equipment for the 1953 Everest exhibition.
- How it was these that enabled the 1953 climbers to succeed where the pre-war gentleman-amateur expeditions had failed.
- The complex and difficult but also ingenious and inspired character of that scientist, Griffith Pugh
- How he was written out of the history books by Hunt & Hillary and co who wanted to tell a tale of man's courage versus the mountain not one of boffins.
- How his daughter took decades to overcome his bullying antagonism to bring herself to write this book, and how she came to some peace with him through it.
- The development of physiology and sports science in postwar Britain.
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