322:'s southwest face. The latter expedition was plagued with personality conflicts and the withdrawal of many climbers. While in camp, some other climbers overheard news that England had lost a football match to Germany. "It seems we have beaten you at your national sport", said a German. After a pause Whillans replied, "Aye, and we've beaten you at yours...twice." Another incident occurred one night in an alpine hut when two climbers were engaged in a whispered conversation disturbing the sleep of other climbers, one of whom was Whillans. Eventually he demanded that they shut up; there was a brief pause before one of the youths aggressively refused to be quiet, remarking into the darkness "Who do you think you are?" The gruff reply of "Whillans" was followed by complete silence. However, Whillans's biographer
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North Face on several occasions because of bad weather or rockfall. He had few climbing accidents, although there were several near misses, such as when a fixed rope on the
Central Torres del Paine snapped and he managed to put his weight on the holds with split-second timing before retying the rope.
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Whillans was well regarded for his capacity to deliver a cracking one-liner off the cuff. One example which encapsulates his wry humour concerns him encountering a team of—to his mind—poorly equipped
Japanese mountaineers attempting the north face of the Eiger. "You going up?" Whillans asked them.
266:. The expedition was unsuccessful: Bob Downes died on the mountain and the highest point reached by the team was about 200 m (660 ft) below the summit. Other more successful expeditions followed: in 1962 with Bonington he made the first ascent of the Central
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Whillans was a heavy drinker, which harmed his career after the expedition to
Annapurna and may have contributed to his early death. Although he was only 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) tall, he had a reputation as a brawler and stories of his prowess circulated.
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suggests many of these stories are myths. Whillans liked to emphasise his working class credentials, and on lecture tours, enjoyed telling the story of being stormbound in a tent high in the
Himalayas with
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He designed mountaineering equipment, including the "Whillans
Harness", once described as designed to safely transport beer-guts to great height, and the "Whillans-box" expedition tent.
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212:. When Brown's climbing partner failed to follow him up a new route, Whillans asked if he could try—and subsequently led the second
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Whillans was an apprentice plumber when he started his climbing career with Joe Brown in 1951. Whillans met Brown while climbing at
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and passed him the book. Whillans read a few pages and remarked: "I'm not reading that crap, it's full of fooking fairies"!
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Whillans, Don & Ormerod, Alick (1971), "Don
Whillans. Portrait of a Mountaineer.", Heinemann, London (
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307:"Yes! Yes!" came the reply. Pause, then Whillans: "You may be going a lot higher than you think."
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Whillans was attributed with safety and mountain awareness, as evidenced by his retreat from the
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He died at the age of 52 of a heart attack and was the subject of a biography titled
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From rock climbing he expanded into mountaineering with trips to the
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on many new routes, and was considered the technical equal of both.
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List of Joe Brown's first ascents, including many with Don
Whillans
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416:– A Short Walk With Whillans – SMC Journal 1963, and included in
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maintain a climbing hut near the
Roaches in memory of Whillans.
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196:; climbing was the next step for an adventurous young boy.
629:, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 2006
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Peter
Donnelly, 'Whillans, Donald Desbrow (1933–1985)',
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of Brown's new route, which became known as "Matinee".
542:"Welcome to The Mystery of Mallory and Irvine's Fate"
564:"Don Whillans – the 'ard little man in the flat 'at"
138:Rockhall Cottage, the Don Whillans Memorial Hut at
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407:Don Whillans – Myth and Legend (2006) – film by
16:English rock climber and mountaineer (1933-1985)
278:he made the first ascent of the south face of
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444:(online ed.). Oxford University Press.
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383:The Villain : the Life of Don Whillans
188:, Lancashire, Whillans began hiking on the
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627:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
441:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
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404:) (Harmondsworth, Penguin Books, 1973).
254:In 1957 he made his first visit to the
622:, Observer Sport Monthly, 6 March 2005
262:(7,821 m; 25,659 ft) in the
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684:20th-century British businesspeople
635:Information page at the BMC website
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586:"The Don Whillans Hut: A History"
316:1972 European Everest Expedition
370:British Mountaineering Council
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633:The Don Whillans Memorial Hut
312:1971 International Expedition
310:Whillans participated in the
458:UK public library membership
438:"Whillans, Donald Desbrow".
223:where ascents included the "
156:August 1985) was an English
420:ed. Jim Perrin, Diadem 1983
318:, each attempting to climb
284:Bonington's 1970 expedition
152:May 1933 – 4
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231:and the first ascent with
669:English mountain climbers
331:who had finished reading
243:of the Central Pillar of
180:Born and brought up in a
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639:Don Whillan's Last Climb
194:Broughton modern school
146:Donald Desbrow Whillans
620:"The vertical beatnik"
450:10.1093/ref:odnb/62488
356:by the author–climber
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664:British rock climbers
500:Walmsley, J. (1958).
479:Climbers Club Journal
418:Mirrors in the Cliffs
334:The Lord of the Rings
192:moors while still at
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53:, Lancashire, England
472:"The R O Downes Hut"
258:on an expedition to
83:Traditional climbing
29:Personal information
674:People from Salford
381:Jim Perrin (2005),
93:Expedition climbing
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502:"Masherbrum, 1957"
290:in 1971 and 1975.
164:. He climbed with
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456:(Subscription or
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76:Type of climber
71:Climbing career
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121:(1958, E4 6a)
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102:Highest grade
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594:. Retrieved
590:thebmc.co.uk
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158:rock climber
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23:Don Whillans
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659:1985 deaths
654:1933 births
515:: 169–184.
354:The Villain
302:Personality
274:, and with
237:Jan DĹ‚ugosz
206:the Roaches
162:mountaineer
140:the Roaches
47:18 May 1933
34:Nationality
648:Categories
460:required.)
376:References
358:Jim Perrin
324:Jim Perrin
260:Masherbrum
249:Mont Blanc
241:Ian Clough
176:Early life
570:1 October
548:1 October
544:. Wou.edu
521:0065-6569
414:Tom Patey
360:in 2005.
280:Annapurna
272:Patagonia
264:Karakoram
184:house in
166:Joe Brown
596:18 April
526:22 April
485:22 April
288:Everest
225:Bonatti
190:Pennine
186:Salford
119:Goliath
51:Salford
38:English
592:. 2013
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481:. 2013
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400:
389:
364:Legacy
245:Freney
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505:(PDF)
475:(PDF)
425:Notes
348:Death
295:Eiger
214:pitch
106:E4 6a
598:2013
572:2012
550:2012
528:2024
517:ISSN
487:2024
398:ISBN
387:ISBN
368:The
314:and
239:and
221:Alps
168:and
160:and
59:Died
44:Born
513:#63
446:doi
282:in
270:in
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247:on
229:Dru
208:in
148:(18
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
