Chris Bonington had this to say about Hamish: “I owe and value Hamish so much for our long and rich friendship. He has been a great mentor, has contributed so much to our success on the South West Face of Everest and most important of all is one of my oldest friends in whose company I always delight.”

Thompson, Simon (2010). "Chapter 6. 1939–1970: Hard Men in an Affluent Society". Unjustifiable risk?: the story of British climbing. Milnthorpe: Cicerone. ISBN 9781852846275. Perrin knew both men well and believes their climbing styles reflected the differences in their characters. In the Himalayas he forged an alliance with Mo Anthoine and enjoyed trip after light-hearted trip – many of them unsuccessful in reaching their objectives and that did not matter to him one iota – to difficult peaks in Garhwal and elsewhere. Even in his 60s he took part in an expedition dogged by bad weather to Everest’s then unclimbed north-north-east ridge. Isn't Perrin Brown's friend? and as the book seems to cast Brown in a much better light than Whillans (his only real competition?)it would be hard for Brown not to praise the book. They took 18,000 feet (5,500m) of rope for fixing (they did not use their climbing rope), 40 cylinders of oxygen and six breathing sets. [20] The baggage was sent from London by sea with Whillans and Lambert flying to Bombay [note 1] to see to its unloading and transport to Pokhara by lorry. However, the ship was then delayed by about three weeks so Bonington arranged for Whillans and Lambert to travel to Kathmandu to reconnoitre the approach route instead of waiting at Bombay, and Clough would go to Bombay to deal with the baggage. [21] They took oxygen cylinders intending to use supplementary oxygen above about 22,500 feet (6,900m) but it was very little used for climbing and not at all above Camp VI. It was used, however, for people who had become ill. [22] Expedition [ edit ] March-in and Base Camp [ edit ] Approach route from Pokhara to Annapurna Base CampWe can speculate till the cows come home as to WHY Don might have felt insecure, and felt the need to adopt a confrontational stance to the world: genetics? being evacuated during the war? absent father? distant non-emotional parenting? macho tough culture? etc etc. Jim Perrin has had the luxury of having more evidence at his disposal to piece together a version of Don's persona that 'fits' his behaviour. All we can do is indulge in amateur speculation. Of course, no one is entitled to judge anyone else's life or make definitive statements as to how happy he was. However, Perrin (or anyone else) is entitled to their opinion that, given Don's talents as a mountaineer, he could have achieved even more; and, given the evidence of his behaviour to others, he did not SEEM to be a contented soul.

Messner, Reinhold (2000). Annapurna: 50 years of expeditions in the death zone. Seattle: Mountaineers Book. ISBN 9780898867381. Taylor, Derek (3 August 2016). "Behind the Shot: Dougal Haston at Annapurna Basecamp". Adventure Journal. Archived from the original on 11 November 2016 . Retrieved 18 January 2020. With this proliferation of equipment, climbs and expeditions were taking on ever more technical challenges which as before, led to a demand for even more sophisticated gear. The ultimate trip of that time was the Annapurna South Face, and to meet the totally new requirements of such an undertaking, Don Whillans conceived the idea of his sit harness. Originally a rather bizarre object, the idea was worked on and modified by the Troll team over a period of six months and the result was hailed as the most indispensable piece of gear on the climb.In the early seventies, Margaret Thatcher was the leader of the opposition party in England. As part of a project to increase publicity she met famous people, like "grass-roots". Dennis Gray, who was secretary general of the British Mountaineering Council, being one of Don’s oldest friends knew of none more "grass-root" than Don Whillans. A meeting between Mrs Thatcher and Don Whillans was arranged. "Who's going to pay me bleedin' train fare?" Don wanted to know before he agreed to anything. Well at the meeting it appeared that the "Iron Lady" was delayed. A pub visit and a number of pints later Whillans waited recumbent on a couch. The only problem was that he had his fly open. The moment Mrs Thatcher came into the room a servant observed the situation, leaned forward and whispered "Mr. Whillans, Mr. Whillans. Your flies are undone." Don immediately delivered perhaps his most famous one-liner "Tha need not have worried, yer know. Dead birds never fall out the bleedin' nest!" Don seemed to get along well with the Iron Lady and regretted that she was not at the pub earlier on the day. Chris Bonington first climbed with Whillans in 1958. He grew up in a one-parent family and, though well spoken, was more of an outsider than his contemporaries assumed.

While Brown is making the first ascent of Kangchenjunga, the world's third highest mountain, Whillans is left at home, his hell-raising reputation causing him to be alienated. I'm one of Don's nephews. I read the book but was disappointed in that I don't feel that I know any more about Don than I did before I read it, except perhaps that the booze was a much worse problem for him than I had realised.Siegfried Herford Way ahead of his time. Imagine looking up at an unclimbed CB with only a hemp rope to help you.