Donald Desbrow Whillans (18 May 1933 – 4 August 1985) was an English
rock climber
Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...
and
mountaineer
Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, an ...
. He climbed with
Joe Brown and
Chris Bonington
Sir Christian John Storey Bonington, CVO, CBE, DL (born 6 August 1934) is a British mountaineer.
His career has included nineteen expeditions to the Himalayas, including four to Mount Everest.
Early life and expeditions
Bonington's father, w ...
on many new routes, and was considered the technical equal of both.
Early life
Born and brought up in a
two-up two-down
Two-up two-down is a type of small house with two rooms on the ground floor and two bedrooms upstairs.
There are many types of terraced houses in the United Kingdom, and these are among the most modest. Those built before 1875, the pre-regulat ...
house in
Salford
Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...
,
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
, Whillans began hiking on the
Pennine moors while still at
Broughton modern school; climbing was the next step for an adventurous young boy.
Career
Whillans was an apprentice plumber when he started his climbing career with Joe Brown in 1951. Whillans met Brown while climbing at
the Roaches
The Roaches (from the French ''les roches'' - the rocks) is a prominent rocky ridge above Leek and Tittesworth Reservoir in the Staffordshire Peak District of England. The ridge with its rock formations rises steeply to .
Along with Ramsha ...
in
Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...
. When Brown's climbing partner failed to follow him up a new route, Whillans asked if he could try—and subsequently led the second
pitch of Brown's new route, which became known as "Matinee".
From rock climbing he expanded into mountaineering with trips to the
Alps
The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
where ascents included the "
Bonatti Pillar" of the
Dru and the first ascent with
Chris Bonington
Sir Christian John Storey Bonington, CVO, CBE, DL (born 6 August 1934) is a British mountaineer.
His career has included nineteen expeditions to the Himalayas, including four to Mount Everest.
Early life and expeditions
Bonington's father, w ...
,
Jan Długosz
Jan Długosz (; 1 December 1415 – 19 May 1480), also known in Latin as Johannes Longinus, was a Polish priest, chronicler, diplomat, soldier, and secretary to Bishop Zbigniew Oleśnicki of Kraków. He is considered Poland's first histor ...
and
Ian Clough
Ian Clough (1937–1970) was a British mountaineer who was killed on the 1970 British Annapurna
expedition led by Sir Chris Bonington to climb the south face of the Himalayan massif. He was later described by Bonington as "the most modest man ...
of the Central Pillar of
Freney
Freney is a commune in the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.
See also
*Communes of the Savoie department
The following is a list of the 273 communes of the Savoie department of France.
The commun ...
on
Mont Blanc
Mont Blanc (french: Mont Blanc ; it, Monte Bianco , both meaning "white mountain") is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe, rising above sea level. It is the second-most prominent mountain in Europe, after Mount Elbrus, and i ...
. In 1962 with Bonington he made the first ascent of the Central
Torres del Paine
The Cordillera Paine is a mountain group in Torres del Paine National Park in Chilean Patagonia. The cordillera is located north of Punta Arenas, and about south of the Chilean capital Santiago. It belongs to the Commune of Torres del Paine i ...
,
Patagonia
Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and gl ...
and with
Dougal Haston
Duncan "''Dougal"'' Curdy MacSporran Haston (19 April 1940 – 17 January 1977) was a Scottish mountaineer noted for his exploits in the British Isles, Alps, and the Himalayas. From 1967 he was the director of the International School of Mountai ...
, he made the first ascent of the south face of
Annapurna
Annapurna (; ne, अन्नपूर्ण) is a mountain situated in the Annapurna mountain range of Gandaki Province, north-central Nepal. It is the tenth highest mountain in the world at above sea level and is well known for the difficu ...
in
Bonington's 1970 expedition.
Whillans was attributed with safety and mountain awareness, as evidenced by his retreat from the
Eiger
The Eiger () is a mountain of the Bernese Alps, overlooking Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland, just north of the main watershed and border with Valais. It is the easternmost peak of a ridge crest that extends a ...
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.
Personality
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. "Yes! Yes!" came the reply. Pause, then Whillans: "You may be going a lot higher than you think."
Whillans participated in the
1971 International Expedition and
1972 European Everest Expedition, each attempting to climb
Mount Everest
Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heig ...
'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
Jim Perrin
Jim Perrin (born 30 March 1947), is an English rock climber and travel writer.
Biography
Jim Perrin was born Ernest James Perrin in Manchester, England, to a family of Huguenot descent. His father played rugby league for Salford in the late 1930 ...
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
Dougal Haston
Duncan "''Dougal"'' Curdy MacSporran Haston (19 April 1940 – 17 January 1977) was a Scottish mountaineer noted for his exploits in the British Isles, Alps, and the Himalayas. From 1967 he was the director of the International School of Mountai ...
who had finished reading ''
The Lord of the Rings
''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...
'' and passed him the book. Whillans read a few pages and remarked: "I'm not reading that crap, it's full of fooking fairies"!
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' 4" tall, he had a reputation as a brawler and stories of his prowess circulated.
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.
Death
He died at the age of 52 of a heart attack and was the subject of a biography titled ''The Villain'' by the author–climber
Jim Perrin
Jim Perrin (born 30 March 1947), is an English rock climber and travel writer.
Biography
Jim Perrin was born Ernest James Perrin in Manchester, England, to a family of Huguenot descent. His father played rugby league for Salford in the late 1930 ...
in 2005.
Legacy
The
British Mountaineering Council
The British Mountaineering Council (BMC) is the national representative body for England and Wales that exists to protect the freedoms and promote the interests of climbers, hill walkers and mountaineers, including ski-mountaineers. The BMC ...
maintain a climbing hut near the Roaches in memory of Whillans.
References
* Jim Perrin (2005), ''The Villain : the Life of Don Whillans'', Hutchinson, .
* Whillans, Don & Ormerod, Alick (1971), "Don Whillans. Portrait of a Mountaineer.", Heinemann, London () (Harmondsworth, Penguin Books, 1973).
* Don Whillans – Myth and Legend (2006) – film by
Leo Dickinson
Leo Dickinson is a British cameraman, director and adventurer. He has made 68 films, winning every major mountain and adventure film award. Dickinson specialises in mountain, ballooning, skydiving and underwater films. During his mountaineering ...
*
Tom Patey
Thomas Walton Patey (20 February 1932 – 25 May 1970) was a Scottish climber, mountaineer, doctor and writer. He was a leading Scottish climber of his day, particularly excelling on winter routes. He died in a climbing accident at the age of 38. ...
– A Short Walk With Whillans – SMC Journal 1963, and included in ''Mirrors in the Cliffs'' ed. Jim Perrin, Diadem 1983
Notes
External links
List of Joe Brown's first ascents, including many with Don Whillans Observer Sport Monthly, 6 March 2005
*Peter Donnelly, 'Whillans, Donald Desbrow (1933–1985)'
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 2006
The Don Whillans Memorial HutInformation page at the BMC website
Don Whillans - Myth and Legend by Leo Dickinson introduces his new film, exploring the myths and legends of rock climber Don Whillans
Don Whillan's Last ClimbFilmed shortly before his death, Whillans and
Joe Brown re-climb Cemetery Gates in
Llanberis Pass
The Llanberis Pass ( cy, Bwlch Llanberis; alternative English name, Pass of Llanberis) in Snowdonia carries the main road ( A4086) from the south-east to Llanberis, over Pen-y-Pass, between the mountain ranges of the Glyderau and the Snowdon ma ...
33 years after their first ascent.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whillans, Don
1933 births
1985 deaths
British rock climbers
English mountain climbers
People from Salford
British plumbers
20th-century British businesspeople