View source for Nick Estcourt

{{Short description|British mountaineer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox climber
| name             = Nick Estcourt
| image            = Nick Estcourt 1975 Everest expedition.jpg
| image_size       = 
| caption          = Nick Estcourt in 1975 
| nationality      = British
| birth_date       = {{Birth year|1942}}
| birth_place      = 
| death_date       = {{Death date and given age|1978|06|12|36|df=yes}}
| death_place      = [[K2]], Pakistan
| occupation       = rock climber, mountaineer, systems analyst
| father           =
| knownfor         = 
| alma_mater       = [[Magdalene_College,_Cambridge|Magdalene]], Cambridge
}}
'''Nicholas John Estcourt''' (1942 – 12 June 1978) was a British [[mountaineer]] and [[alpinist]] who was killed in an [[avalanche]] on the West Ridge of [[K2]].

==Early life and education==  

Estcourt spent his childhood on the south coast of England, in [[Eastbourne]] and he was educated at [[Eastbourne College]]. He first climbed in the European [[Alps]] with his father whilst still at school<ref name="Annapurna">{{cite book | title = Annapurna South Face | date=1971|  first = Chris| last =  Bonington    |  isbn = 9780304937134 |publisher =Cassell | access-date =  18 August 2024   | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=fMWFAAAAIAAJ }}</ref> and when in the UK he would cycle the 30 miles to climb at [[Harrison's Rocks]].<ref name="Kosterlitz">{{cite journal | title = Obituary: Nick Estcourt | journal =Climbers Club Journal| date= 1978|  first =Mike | last =  Kosterlitz |  volume =#100 | pages= 59–62 }}</ref> He went to university to study [[engineering]], in Cambridge. Whilst at Cambridge he joined the University Mountaineering Club, becoming its president for 1963-64.<ref name="Annapurna"/> He embarked on his first expedition outside Europe, on a University Mountaineering Club trip to the [[Stauning Alps]] of Arctic [[Greenland]],<ref>{{cite journal | title = The Cambridge East Greenland Expedition 1963 | journal =Cambridge Mountaineering| date= 1964|  first = R.K| last = Roschnik  }}</ref> where he made the [[first ascent]] of a number of peaks up to {{cvt|2830|m}}.<ref>{{cite book | title = Staunings Alps - Greenland Scoresby Land and Nathorsts Land | date=1972|  first = Donald| last = Bennet     |  isbn = 9780901516589 |publisher =West Col |pages=63–66  }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | title = North America, Greenland, Arctic, Cambridge East Greenland Expedition | journal =American Alpine Journal| date=1964|  first =Colin F. | last =   Knox   |  issn= 0065-6925 |volume =#14 | issue=38 | pages= 206–207  |   access-date =18 August 2024    |url = http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12196420600/North-America-Greenland-Arctic-Cambridge-East-Greenland-Expedition }}</ref>

He became a member of the Alpine Climbing Group in 1964 (a sub-group of the [[Alpine_Club_(UK)|UK Alpine Club]])<ref>{{cite magazine | magazine = Bulletin of the Alpine Climbing Group | title = List of Members 1965 | date=1965| pages= 21–23  }}</ref> and in 1967 Estcourt, with Martin Boysen, were the UK's two ACG representatives at the Rassemblement International d'Alpinistes hosted by the French [[:fr:École nationale des sports de montagne|Ecole Nationale de Ski et d'Alpinism]].<ref name="Boysen">{{cite book | title = Hanging on | date=2014|  first = Martin| last = Boysen     |  isbn = 9781911342311 |publisher =Vertebrate Publishing  |pages=  | access-date =  18 August 2024  | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=3334AwAAQBAJ&q=Hanging+on+Boysen,+Martin  }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | title = Three Climbs from Chamonix: the French International Meet, 1967 | journal =Alpine Journal| date=1968| first =Nick | last = Estcourt | issn= 0065-6569 |volume =#73 | issue =316 | pages=  9–16 | access-date = 18 August 2024 |url = https://www.alpinejournal.org.uk/Contents/Contents_1968_files/AJ%201968%209-16%20Estcourt%20Chamonix.pdf }}</ref>

Soon after leaving university, and after a brief period as a civil engineer, Estcourt started to work for [[Ferranti]] in Manchester as a [[systems analyst]].<ref name="Guardian">{{cite news | title = K2 Challenge that killed climber | work =The Guardian| date= 21 June 1978|  first =David | last =  Leigh    |   access-date = 18 August 2024   |url = https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-guardian-nick-estcourt-dies-on-k2/58804844/ }}</ref>

==Mountaineering in the Himalaya==

===[[1970 British Annapurna South Face expedition]]=== 
[[Chris Bonington]] and others, including Estcourt, had been discussing ideas for expeditions beyond Europe. Because Pakistan and Nepal were at the time off-limits for mountaineering they were initially considering targets in Alaska. However, in autumn 1968 it was announced that expeditions would once again be allowed to Nepal so Bonington applied for a permit to climb the south Face of Annapurna, one of the fourteen [[Eight-thousander|8000ers]].<ref name="Annapurna"/> At the time that the expedition set out, in March 1970, the only 8000ers which had been ascended more than once were Everest, Cho Oyu and Nanga Parbat; only Everest and Nanga Parbat had been climbed by a route different from that used on the first ascent.<ref name=Braham>{{cite journal |last1= Braham   |first1= Trevor H. |last2= Dangar | first2= D.F.O |title= The Eight-Thousanders: A record of ascents, 1950-1979 |url=https://www.himalayanclub.org/hj/36/34/the-eight-thousanders/ |  journal= Himalayan Journal |volume= 36 |pages= 207–214  |date= 1980 |access-date=22 March 2024 }}</ref> Annapurna would be Estcourt's first expedition to the [[Greater Ranges]] and neither he, nor three other members of the climbing team (Martin Boysen, [[Mick Burke (mountaineer)|Mick Burke]] and [[Dougal Haston]]), had previously been above the height of [[Mt Blanc]] ({{cvt|4806|m}}).<ref>{{cite book | title = In High Places | date=1972|  first = Dougal| last =  Haston    |  isbn =  9780304290734 |publisher =Cassell  |pages=114  | access-date = 18 August 2024    | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=1MO5U_Lo_EkC&q=In+High+Places+Haston,+Dougal  }}</ref> Two team members successfully reached the summit ([[Don Whillans|Whillans]] and Haston) but, although it was Estcourt and Boysen who had forced the hardest piece of ice-climbing on the S face (between Camps 4 and 5), Estcourt didn't get above Camp 6 ({{cvt|7300|m}}), having become exhausted supporting others whilst carrying loads up to that point.<ref>{{cite journal | title = In Memoriam: Nick Estcourt (1943-1978) | journal =Alpine Journal| date=1979|  first =Chris | last = Bonington  |  issn= 0065-6569 |volume =#84 | issue =328 | pages= 265–268  |   access-date =20 August 2024 |url = https://www.alpinejournal.org.uk/Contents/Contents_1979_files/AJ%201979%20265-271%20In%20Memoriam.pdf#page=3 }}</ref>

===1972-1973===
In 1972 he was a member of the team led by Bonington who attempted the ascent of [[Everest|Everest's]] Southwest Face. Estcourt ''"led some of the key sections of the route"''<ref>{{cite book | title = Everest the Hard Way: the First Ascent of the South West Face | date=1980|  first = Chris| last =  Bonington    |  isbn = 9780340208335 |publisher =Hodder & Stoughton |pages= 34  }}</ref> and reached the highest point attained by the expedition ({{cvt|8300|m}}), but that was about 500m short of the summit, just below the 'rock band'.<ref>{{cite journal | title = Everest South West Face 1972 | journal =Himalayan Journal | date=1974|  first =Chris | last = Bonington |volume =#32 | pages= 1–5 |   access-date =  18 August 2024  |url = https://www.himalayanclub.org/hj/32/2/everest-south-west-face-1972/ }}</ref> 

The following year he took part in a successful attempt on the unclimbed peak [[Brammah]] ({{cvt|6416|m}}), in the [[Kishtwar]] Himalaya, again with Bonington. On August 24, 1973 Bonington and Estcourt reached the summit by the southeast ridge.<ref name="aaj_1974">  {{cite journal|journal=[[American Alpine Journal]] | department=Climbs And Expeditions   | author = Estcourt, Nicholas | year=1974 | volume = 10 | issue = 1   | title=Asia, India—Himachal Pradesh, Brammah, Southeast Ridge, Kishtwar Himal | page=215   | url = http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12197421503/Asia-IndiaHimachal-Pradesh-Brammah-Southeast-Ridge-Kishtwar-Himal   | access-date = 18 August 2024}}</ref>

=== [[1975 British Mount Everest Southwest Face expedition]]===
The 1975 expedition, led by Bonington, not only achieved the ascent of the previously unclimbed Southwest Face of Everest, which had defeated several previous expeditions,<ref name=Isserman> {{cite book |title=Fallen Giants: A History of Himalayan Mountaineering from the Age of Empire to the Age of Extremes |isbn=9780300115017|last1=Isserman|first1=Maurice|last2=Weaver|first2=Stewart  |year=2008|publisher=Yale University Press| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=RxHJH73FgvkC | page= 380 | access-date = 18 August 2024 }}</ref> it also resulted in the first ascent of the mountain by British nationals ([[Doug Scott]], [[Peter Boardman|Pete Boardman]] & [[Dougal Haston]], along with the Nepali, Pertemba Sherpa). At the time it was the most difficult route ever climbed at that altitude<ref>{{cite book | title = High Risk: Climbing to extinction | date=2023|  first= Brian| last =  Hall    |  isbn = 9781839812156 |publisher =Vertebrate Publishing   |pages= 205 | access-date = 18 August 2024    | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=wRfeEAAAQBAJ&dq=High+Risk:+Climbing+to+extinction+Hall,+Brian&pg=PT9 }}</ref> and, although Escourt didn't reach the summit, the climbing team who ''"cracked the major problem of the rock band"'' was Estcourt and [[Paul Braithwaite|Paul ('Tut') Braithwaite]].<ref>{{cite book | title = Dougal Haston: The Philosophy Of Risk | date=2002|  first = Jeff| last = Connor | isbn = 9781841953403 |publisher =Canongate Books Ltd |pages=  177–178 | access-date = 18 August 2024 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=bzv5DAAAQBAJ&q=Dougal+Haston:+The+Philosophy+Of+Risk+Connor,+Jeff }}</ref> [[John_Hunt,_Baron_Hunt|John Hunt]] wrote shortly afterwards that ''"Estcourt's superb lead, without the normal safeguards or oxygen at 27,000 feet, up the rickety, outward-leaning ramp of snow-covered rubble which led from the gully .... must be one of the greatest in climbing history"''.<ref>Lord Hunt's Foreword to: Chris Bonington (1980), Everest the Hard Way: the First Ascent of the South West Face, Hodder & Stoughton {{ISBN|9780340208335}}</ref>

===The Ogre (Baintha Brakk) 1977===
In 1977 Estcourt, [[Doug Scott]], [[Chris Bonington]], [[Mo Anthoine]], Clive Rowland and [[Tut Braithwaite]] attempted [[Baintha Brakk|The Ogre (Baintha Brakk)]] in the [[Karakoram]] of [[Pakistan]]. Bonnington and Estcourt, climbing from the col between the main and west summits, made the first ascent of the lower West Summit ({{cvt|7150|m}}) on 1 July 1977.<ref name="him_alpine_style">Andy Fanshawe and Stephen Venables, ''Himalaya Alpine-Style'', Hodder and Stoughton, 1995, {{ISBN|0-340-64931-3}}.</ref> At a later stage Anthoine, Rowland and Scott, accompanied by Bonington, also reached the West Summit climbing via the Southwest Spur and the West Ridge. Bonington and Scott went on from there to reach the Main Summit on 13 July. On the first [[rappel|abseil]] whilst descending from the Main Summit, Scott broke both legs and Bonington then broke two ribs and contracted pneumonia during the week-long descent to base camp much of which took place in a major storm.<ref>{{cite journal | title = The Ogre | journal =American Alpine Journal| date=1978|  first =Chris | last =   Bonington  |  issn= 0065-6925 |volume =#21 |issue =52 | pages=  412–434  |   access-date = 18 August 2024    |url = http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12197841200/The-Ogre }}</ref>

===K2 West Ridge 1978===
There had only been two ascents of K2 before Estcourt left the UK with Bonington's 1978 expedition to attempt the mountain's unclimbed West Ridge. By 1 June all of the climbing team had reached the base camp and were ready to start on the mountain. After a few days spent reconnoitring possible approaches to the ridge, Camps I & II were quickly established and [[Peter Boardman|Boardman]] and [[Joe Tasker|Tasker]] started to explore the route towards camp III at {{cvt|6900|m}}. On 12 June [[Doug Scott|Scott]], Estcourt and a high altitude porter, Quamajan, set off from Camp I to transport supplies to Camp II. As they crossed a snow basin, with Scott in front, just approaching the tents of Camp II, and Quamajan at the rear, the whole slope avalanched. Estcourt was swept away and buried in the avalanche debris which had come from an area 500 feet wide and 300 feet high and swept 3000 feet down the mountainside. Following Estcourt's death the team decided that they would abandon the expedition although they had only been on the mountain for 12 days.<ref>{{cite book | title = K2 the story of the savage mountain | date=1995|  first = Jim | last = Curran |  isbn = 9780340606018 |publisher =Hodder & Stoughton |pages= 131–136 | access-date = 20 August 2024   | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=JSGBsSpURtMC&q=K2+the+story+of+the+savage+mountain+Curran,+Jim  }}</ref><ref name="Guardian"/>

Captain Shafiq, the Pakistani [[Liaison_officer#Expedition_Liaison_Officers_(ELO)|Liaison Officer]] for the 1978 K2 expedition on which Estcourt lost his life, hammered out a memorial plaque which rests on the [[Gilkey Memorial]] and reads ''"In memory of great hero who has sacrificed his life for the great cause of mountaineering God may rest his soul in peace !Amin! Late Mister Nick Estcourt"''.<ref>{{cite book | title = K2 Triumph and tragedy | date=1988|  first = Jim | last = Curran |  isbn = 9780340415269 |publisher =Hodder & Stoughton |pages=108  | access-date =  22 August 2024  | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=KXzSGaxukOAC&q=K2+Triumph+and+tragedy+Curran,+Jim  }}</ref>

==Personal life and legacy==
Estcourt married his wife Carolyn in 1966.<ref name="Kosterlitz"/> Maria Coffey has written about the impact of Estcourt's death on his wife and three children.<ref>{{cite book | title = Where the Mountain casts its shadow: The Personal Costs of Climbing | date=2003|  first = Maria| last =    Coffey  | page = 157-159 | isbn = 9780091795016 |publisher =Hutchinson | access-date = 18 August 2024   | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=bZyhCP9R49IC  }}</ref>

In 1974 Estcourt and Tut Braithwaite had made the first free ascent of the rock climb ''Giant'', on [[Dubh_Loch_(Glen_Muick)|Creag an Dubh Loch]], that climb is featured in ''Extreme Rock''.<ref>{{cite book | editor-last1=Wilson | editor-first1=Ken | editor-last2=Newman | editor-first2=Bernard |  title = Extreme Rock  | publisher = Diadem  | year = 1987 |   location =  | isbn = 9780906371367  }}</ref>

In 1977 he opened a climbing equipment shop in Altrincham, Nick Estcourt Outdoor Sports, which continued trading after his death and was managed by Dave Pearce.<ref name="Guardian"/><ref>{{cite news | title = Nick Estcourt Outdoor Sports | work =The Guardian| date= 25 Oct 1980|  access-date = 20 August 2024  |url = https://theguardian.newspapers.com/article/the-guardian-nick-estcourt-shop/58864403/ }}</ref>

Since 1980, the Nick Estcourt Award, established in his memory, to encourage future generations of mountaineers, has granted financial assistance annually to expeditions attempting a significant  mountaineering  objective.<ref>{{cite web | title = The Nick Estcourt Award | website =MEF – Mount Everest Foundation|  access-date = 18 August 2024 |url = https://www.mef.org.uk/information/the-nick-estcourt-award }}</ref>

There is a memorial to Estcourt in the [[Church_of_St_Mary_the_Virgin,_Bowdon|Parish Church of Bowdon]].<ref>{{cite web  | title = Guide to Bowdon Parish Church and the surrounding area |access-date = 20 August 2024 |url = https://www.bowdonchurch.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Guide-to-Bowdon-Church-and-the-Surrounding-Area-2016-Judith-Miller-Sue-Nichols-2016-AW-V22.pdf }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Joe Tasker]]
* [[List of deaths on eight-thousanders#K2|List of deaths on eight-thousanders]]
* [[Peter Boardman]]
* [[Baintha Brakk]], also known as The Ogre

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180813111851/http://nickestcourtaward.org/HTML/AboutNickEstcourt.htm Biography] by [[Chris Bonington]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180902234037/http://nickestcourtaward.org/HTML/PreviousWinners.htm Nick Estcourt Award winners]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Estcourt, Nick}}
[[Category:1942 births]]
[[Category:1978 deaths]]
[[Category:Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Deaths in avalanches]]
[[Category:English mountain climbers]]
[[Category:Deaths on K2]]