178:. They made an ascent by the West Ridge, which Graham described as "a fair climb, but presented no great difficulties." Modern observers, however, agree that whatever mountain Graham climbed it was not Changabang, which from the west presents a sheer wall which was not climbed until 1976, and certainly not the easy ridge that Graham described. It is more likely that he was on the wrong mountain; possibly a subsidiary summit on the southern ridge of Dunagiri.
201:
the area, but the onset of winter prevented him from making serious progress on any of them. Kabru, at 7,349 m (24,111 ft), was far higher than any other mountain climbed at the time, and its ascent was and remains the most controversial aspect of Graham's expedition. Doubt was cast on whether he really had climbed this mountain or whether he had mistaken a nearby, lower mountain called
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argued that Graham had not climbed Kabru, pointing to the vagueness of his description of the mountain, inconsistencies between his account and modern observations of the mountain, the remarkably quick ascent he claimed, and the fact that he appeared to have suffered little or no altitude sickness on
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After the
Garhwal trip, Graham and his companions returned to the Kanchenjunga area for the climax of their campaign; an attempt on Kabru, which Graham claimed to have climbed by the East Face in three days, reaching the summit on 8 September. After Kabru, Graham attempted several other mountains in
127:
in the canton Valais. While many of the lower mountains of the
Himalaya had been climbed by surveyors and explorers, mainly to make observations of more distant peaks, Graham was the first person to visit the range solely for the purpose of mountaineering. He spent the spring trekking in the region
242:
has been climbed in a single day without oxygen, Graham's claims seem less outlandish than they once did, so that he should perhaps be credited with the ascent after all. In a 10-page analysis in 2009, Blaser and Hughes argued that "it is time to put the doubts to rest, and give Graham, Boss and
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He disappeared from mountaineering history after his year in the
Himalayas and after making his initial report of his Himalayan expedition he never made any further comment or engaged in the ensuing controversy. For many years it was rumoured that he lost all his money and ended his days as a
91:, considered the last major prize in the Alps. While they used the fixed ropes and iron stanchions put in place over a four-day period by Jean Joseph and Baptiste Maquignaz, who twice concluded their ascent three to four weeks before at the slightly lower
272:
to
Guatemala and El Salvador. Graham's wife died young of a heart attack, on 18 July 1904 in Mexico City. In her obituary, he was described as a banker, but until 1910 Graham listed himself as a mining engineer in
189:, whom he credited with the finest cartographic work in the world at the time. The criticism was not well received by the Survey, and it may have made Graham more enemies to cast doubt on his accomplishments.
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his ascent. In a more recent history, Walt
Unsworth argued that the vagueness of Graham's account was to be expected from a man who was a mountaineer rather than a surveyor, and that now
55:. Motivated by adventure rather than a desire for fame, he had little interest in publicising his climbs, and as a result relatively little is known about his life and achievements.
233:– Freshfield having travelled extensively in the same area himself and Rubenson having reached the same point on Kabru in 1907. In his 1955 history of Himalayan climbing
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in the United States. Instead, he had soon moved to Mexico, where in
October 1888 he obtained the rights to explore and exploit up to 30 mines in a 600 km area of
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in
Durango. In 1927, when he went on vacation in the United States for three months, he was married to a person named Anette. The year of his death is unknown.
210:
209:, whose maps of the area Graham had criticized in his June 1884 presentation at the Royal Geographical Society, and by a few contemporaries including
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in the New York
Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island), 1892-1924. He describes himself as an engineer, and, on all such documents, as Scottish.
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Graham's confusion was partly due to the poor quality of the maps of the area, and on his return to civilisation he was critical of the
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was rejected for reasons which are unclear, but the size of the majority against him suggests that he had made influential enemies.
171:, where Graham claimed to have reached a height of around 22,700 ft (6,920 m) before being forced to retreat by bad weather.
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Graham and his companions next attempted a nearby peak, which they believed was the one marked on the map as A21, now known as
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268:, he married Marie Heimké. Marie was the daughter of William Heimké, since 1895 American consul at Chihuahua, and later
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217:, both of whom had rival (lower) claims to the world altitude record. However, it was supported by climbers such as
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83:, reaching most of the major summits. On 20 August 1882, Auguste Cupelin Alphonse Payot, and he made the official
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264:. In 1898, he still was registered as (the only) mining company owner in Copper Canyon. On 8 August 1900, in
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climber Emil Boss to find him another guide. Instead, Boss decided to join together with his hometown guide
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Immigration, Manifests of Aliens
Granted Temporary Admission at El Paso, Texas, ca. July 1924 - 1954, M1757
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to
William Frederick and Louisa Graham (née Neron or Heron). On 8 December 1880, he received a B.A. from
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and was an associate of the American Society of Engineers. From 1910 until 1932, he served as British
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By then, Imboden had contracted fever and opted to go home. Once in Darjeeling, Graham contacted the
95:(named after their clients), Graham's party's crossing of an 'extremely awkward notch' to the higher
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Blaser & Hughes, p. 224 footnote, quoting Walt Unsworth’s Encyclopaedia of Mountaineering (1992)
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Recopilacion de leyes, decretos y providencias de los poderes legislativo y ejecutivo de la union
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581:, Volume 52, Imprenta del Gobierno, en Palacio, 1889, Decree 197, pp. 913-24. (in Spanish)
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75:. He continued as a law student and in late December 1882 passed the exam at the
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205:(6,200 m, 20,340 ft) for Kabru. His ascent was doubted by members of the
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639:, American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers, 1908
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in The Solicitors' Journal and Reporter, Volume 27 (1883) pp. 184 and 234.
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to become a barrister. Graham is known to have climbed extensively in the
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México, Distrito Federal, registros parroquiales y diocesanos, 1514-1970
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in the American Society of Civil Engineers list of Engineers of 1909
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119:, Graham made a visit to the Himalayas in the company of Swiss
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Kauffmann their due credit for an extraordinary achievement".
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was marked by the British alpine community as the end of the
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the previous year. At the end of June the party set off for
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in the Commercial Directory of the American Republics, 1898
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Wedding of William Woodman Graham and Marie Crancer Heimke
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The Leavenworth Times, Tuesday, 29 November 1904. Page 4.
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who led the first pure mountaineering expedition to the
438:
Hold the Heights: The Foundations of Mountaineering
618:at the History of the Department of State website
270:Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
410:Willett, Maxine; Wells, Colin (6 August 2006).
367:in the Ecclesiastical Gazette, 15 January 1881
25:William Woodman Graham by unknown photographer
324:, General Register Office, Southport, England
115:In 1883, shortly after he had qualified as a
8:
196:Kabru, which Graham claimed to have climbed.
103:. Nevertheless, his application to join the
575:Mining concession to William Woodman Graham
412:"Graham, William Woodman (c. 1859–unknown)"
396:. London: Mountaineers Books. p. 154.
63:Graham was born in the summer of 1859 in
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136:by the cold weather and the fact that a
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334:1861 England, Scotland and Wales census
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159:where they explored the region around
606:Times, Thursday, 19 July 1900, Page 5
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336:, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.
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510:. Rupert Hart-Davis. pp. 93–94.
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167:they turned their attention towards
322:Birth Registration, Hackney, London
140:had accidentally burned his boots.
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481:Quoted in Unsworth (1994), p. 234
455:The late Emil Boss, of "The Bear"
132:, but he was forced to return to
512:Reprinted 1987 by Diadem Books,
394:Encyclopaedia of Mountaineering
365:Oxford graduation announcements
697:Willy Blaser and Glyn Hughes:
637:List of members and Associates
304:Willy Blaser and Glyn Hughes,
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738:British expatriates in Mexico
723:Alumni of New College, Oxford
602:Wedding Announcement, in The
661:William Woodman Graham, 1910
207:Great Trigonometrical Survey
700:Kabru 1883 – A Reassessment
759:
733:Explorers of the Himalayas
672:Unsworth (1994), pp. 392–3
616:William Heimke (1847–1931)
306:Kabru 1883, a reassessment
183:Great Trigonometric Survey
163:. Unable to penetrate the
728:British mountain climbers
414:. Mountain Heritage Trust
743:People from Durango City
704:In: Alpine Journal 2009
547:Unsworth (1994), p. 236
531:Unsworth (1994), p. 235
493:Unsworth (1994), p. 234
472:Unsworth (1994) p. 233
215:William Hunter Workman
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101:silver age of alpinism
30:William Woodman Graham
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49:world altitude record
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260:(Copper Canyons) in
165:Nanda Devi Sanctuary
111:Himalayan expedition
258:Barrancas del Cobre
73:New College, Oxford
47:and may have set a
16:British mountaineer
591:Graham, William W.
463:, 7 November 1888.
310:The Alpine Journal
227:Douglas Freshfield
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518:978-0-906371-91-6
508:Abode of the Snow
312:2009, pp. 219-228
123:Josef Imboden of
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130:Kanchenjunga
121:Alpine guide
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97:Point Graham
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85:first ascent
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718:1859 births
649:W.W. Graham
604:Leavenworth
556:Mason, p.94
440:. Seattle:
266:Mexico City
203:Forked Peak
145:Grindelwald
125:St. Niklaus
105:Alpine Club
93:Point Sella
41:mountaineer
37: 1932
712:Categories
285:References
247:Later life
187:Swiss Army
176:Changabang
161:Nanda Devi
153:Mount Cook
134:Darjeeling
59:Early life
460:The Press
418:8 October
262:Chihuahua
117:barrister
45:Himalayas
506:(1955).
436:(1994).
392:(1977).
169:Dunagiri
32:(1859 –
275:Durango
157:Garhwal
87:of the
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279:Consul
254:cowboy
229:, and
138:porter
53:Kabru
514:ISBN
420:2008
213:and
81:Alps
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51:on
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