Whillans
Kate
Anyone got any good Whillans quotes or stories ?
Kate
Geoff Hibbs
>Kate
Not long after I started climbing around 1970, I was a pimply 16 year
old youth hitch hiking outside the Vaynol Arms trying to get back to
Staffordshire. A green Capri pulled up driven by a little guy with a
beard. He gave me a lift until he turned off for Manchester. On the
way he smoked about 5 cigarettes and chatted about what I had been
doing. I asked him the dumbest question which I still cringe about
now when I think about it......."have you ever done any climbing ?".
He replied that he had done a bit in his time. I only realised who he
was when I saw a picture of Don Whillans in a climbing magazine a few
weeks later in an article on the International Everest expedition he
had just got back from.
Ben
Hibbs <ge...@hibbsco.demon.co.uk> writes
DOH!
Cheers.
Ben.
"The ultimate good is to not be afraid" - Rob Parker.
--
Ben
Steve
>I just looked on the web but couldn't find much......
>Anyone got any good Whillans quotes or stories ?
How about "That last fall I took really hurt my tackle, I must design
a more comfy harness" ?
us...@simms.softnet.co.uk
him saying "When I pass the last pub"
Much missed.
Phil
Steve wrote in article <35cc9f8f...@news.demon.co.uk>...
B.Lewis
>
> When asked when he started training for his next big expedition I remenber
> him saying "When I pass the last pub"
I think the interview went along these lines:
Int: Don, you're an eight pint a night man, when do you start cutting
down before an expedition like this?
Don: After the last pub.
Int: Where's that?
Don: The Yak and Yeti.
Jon Read
[snipped]
> I asked him the dumbest question which I still cringe about
> now when I think about it......."have you ever done any climbing ?".
> He replied that he had done a bit in his time. I only realised who he
> was when I saw a picture of Don Whillans in a climbing magazine a few
> weeks later in an article on the International Everest expedition he
> had just got back from.
In a similar vein, I once asked Dave Cuthbertson if he'd ever done any
of the routes on Creag A'Bhancair (he's put up most of them), to which
he humbly replied: "A few ..."
Can we claim CRINGE (tm) points on this newsgroup?
Jon.
Matthew Hinkley
the chapter "Whillans the Villain" in Leo Dickinsons Book
The Jo Brown book "The Hard Years"
The chapter in some British classic climbing re him and Bill Peasgood &
A.N.other
on Cloggy route
chapter in Chis bonningtons big book "mountaineer"
there's plenty about his one liners e.g. "so I hit him" "dead birds dont
fall out of nests"
etc etc
matt ;¬)
John Baddeley
Man's Mountains. Highly amusing and full of excellent one liners.
An example: DW, retreating from Eiger North Face in storm meets
enthusiastic Japanese climbers who said they were going up. DW replies
"Aye, you may be going up; a lot higher than you think".
Or something like that.
John
Anders Strange
Kate wrote:
> I just looked on the web but couldn't find much......
> Anyone got any good Whillans quotes or stories ?
>
> Kate
Whilians tried to climb the north face of the Eiger on several
occasions, but never made it. If it was not bad weather he had to save
others who got into trouble. On one occasion Don and Tom Patey came
hurling down the Eiger with a storm on their tail. They met two japanese
climbers. "Going Up?" asked Whilians. "Yes Yes, we go up till the top,
first japanese ascent" The two japanese climbers answered. "You may be
going up, mate, but a lot ‘igher than you think! ” Whilians replied and
later said to Tom ”‘Appy little pair, I don’t imagine we’ll ever see
them again.” ..
Anders..
Anders Strange
Kate wrote:
> I just looked on the web but couldn't find much......
> Anyone got any good Whillans quotes or stories ?
>
> Kate
Another one:
On an expedition, Greg Child and Don where walking alongside a river,
looking for the place where a friend had been put to rest after the 1957
Masherbrum disaster. "We'll never find him after all theese years" Greg
said. "'Aye, a bad year was ‘57. Herman Buhl was killed, we missed out
climbing Masherbrum, my mate died and you were born” Don comented..
Anders..
Barrier Smith Ltd.
internet.fr> writes
>I just looked on the web but couldn't find much......
>Anyone got any good Whillans quotes or stories ?
>
>Kate
Have you seen the BBC film 'Don's last Climb.' ?
Joe Brown and Don Whillans climb Cemetry Gates for old times sake,
unfortunatly Don died in his sleep a few weeks later but the banter
between these two masters is hysterical. Some examples from memory are:-
JB (leading) "are you standing on the rope Don?"
DW "yes"
JB "Oh, I thought it were a bit tight"
DW "shall I take me foot off?"
JB "yes please"
Or when he is interviewed by Chris Braisher?:-
CB "So Don how have you enjoyed the climb?"
DW "Well, it were a bit strenous. I think if I'm to get back into this
climbing I'll have to stop drinking 6 pints a day, give up the fags and
start training"
CB "You're not going to do that though are you?"
DW "No"
Sorry if I've mis quoted. The strange thing is that I may well have been
at the Cromlech Boulders when they filmed it. I was only a nipper at the
time but I remember the BBC film crew and my Dad telling me that Joe
Brown was with them. Still I guess JB has filmed other things there as
well.
Wasn't Jim Perrin writing an Autoboigraphy on DW? Anybody know?
Ian Waghorn. East Grinstead Climbing Club. "Save Stone Farm!"
See lots of EGCC stuff at www.bslgroup.demon.co.uk Whoops... too late.
To Email me remove LTD from the address above.
Gazzoh
>Wasn't Jim Perrin writing an Autoboigraphy on DW? Anybody know?
>
I think Jim Perrin's a little old to be the reincarnation of DW isn't he?
PP, please!
Vicki
Martin Xmas
>
> Geoff Hibbs wrote:
> In a similar vein, I once asked Dave Cuthbertson if he'd ever done any
> of the routes on Creag A'Bhancair (he's put up most of them), to which
> he humbly replied: "A few ..."
>
> Can we claim CRINGE (tm) points on this newsgroup?
My mate Mark Pudner who will remain nameless was at a homebrew party at
Steve Bancrofts gaff. They were talking about climbing when SB turned to
MP and enquired what he had been doing that day. MP replied that he had
done the first pitch of Coventry street at Millstone and was quite
pleased but had wimped out of the roof pitch. He enquired if SB had done
the top pitch.
"It's my fucking route" came the reply
--
Martin Christmas
Algal Research
University of Durham
Rob219021
going for ages
Richard Webb
wrote:
>I just looked on the web but couldn't find much......
>Anyone got any good Whillans quotes or stories ?
>
>Kate
>
>
It went something like this.
Lightning crack, Heptonstall Quarry , in the dim mists of time
Willans finaly gets up this infamous LGP.. The locals were suitably
impressed, watching the great man's long struggle with the crux.
' That must have been hard, he needed two cigarettes'
(or something like that)
Richard Webb
Jon Pearson
... in the same documentary, Joe Brown tells a story about Denny Moorhouse
trying Cemetry Gates and falling off. He was scared that he might have lost
his nerve, so instead of abseiling off a tree in the normal way, he took a
bootlace from his climbing boots, tied it round the tree, threaded the ropes
through the bootlace and then abseiled. On hearing this story, Don Whillans
says, "That's incredible that - with only one boot on?".
Dr J.S. Marsland
Expedition to Everest - Don was at Camp 3 or 4 when the
score for the England v. West Germany semi/quarter final
of the World Cup was given over the radio link from Base
Camp. Minutes later a German climber from another tent in
the same camp taps on Don's tent and says:
'Mr Whillans - Germany have beaten you at your national
game'
Quick as a flash Whillans replies:
'Aye lad, and we've beaten you twice at yours'
Stories about Whillans are legion - such as taking his
first leader fall on his mothers washing line (which broke),
(was that Whillans or was that his mate?) and falling off on
the Central Pillar of Freney and losing his flat cap and
banknotes which had been placed under cap.
'A Short Walk with Whillans' by Tom Patey can also be found
in one of the two anthologies; 'Mirrors in the Cliff' or
'Games Climbers Play'.
I'm sure that there must be some good Whillans stories in
the Lakeland Rock programme he did with Bonners. Must dig
out the video tape tonight. Maybe.
All the best
--
John
The Yorkshire motto updated: Hear all, see all, say nowt;
Eat all, sup all, pay nowt; Read all, lurk all, post nowt;
And if tha'ever do's owt for nowt allus do it for thi'sen.
Kate
Kate