It was a huge success, not only because the summit was reached, but was a difficult technical climb to the summit of a major world peak. [102] In mountaineering circles, the expedition was recognised as a paradigm shift in alpine-style climbing. The expedition was at the beginning of a trend that shifted away from taking the easiest route on a high Himalayan peak towards choosing a more direct and difficult route. [103] 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. His reputation as a hard drinker went hand in hand with his notoriety for the odd bit of fisticuffs. There are many tales covered in a book called ‘The Villain’ by Jim Perrin. It’s well worth a read if you can get a copy. I didn't know Don at first hand well at all, most of my knowledge of him and his activities I gained second-hand from my parents and grandparents. That's why I had hoped this book would give me a broader understanding of the man.

His dry wit and humour were legendary (though some of the better known stories probably didn't happen) .

Rock Up Abroad with BMC Travel Cover

In 1972 Hamish was a member of both the European Expedition, led by Doctor Karl Herrligkoffer, and the British Expedition, led by Chris Bonington, to the South West Face of Everest. During 1973 he travelled to Guyana with Don Whillans, Mo Anthoine and Joe Brown to trek through dense rain forest and swamp to reach the great wall of Mount Roraima. It was a horribly challenging ascent drenched in almost continuous water and with rare ledges for rest already inhabited by scorpions. The climbers eventually reached a ‘fairyland summit’. Hamish comments: “There was always something new of interest. It was a wonderland like nothing on earth. For me, Roraima is still one of the wonders of the world.” Bonington, Chris (1986). The Everest Years: a climber's life. London: Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 0340366907.

Brown and Whillans were heroes from outside the mainstream but, in their way, their climbs are as much part of British sporting history as Roger Bannister's sub-four minute mile or Geoff Hurst's extra-time goals in the 1966 World Cup final. The two men were certainly afforded a similar level of respect by those in the know. It seemed inevitable that they would go on to achieve similar things in the mountains . Most active in the 1950s and 60s, Brown established a number of new routes in Snowdonia and the Peak District, which were at the leading edge of the hard grades. Peter Donnelly, 'Whillans, Donald Desbrow (1933–1985)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 2006

DON'T MISS

When Chris Bonington returned to the South West Face of Everest in 1975 Hamish joined him as deputy leader of the team. Chris described Hamish as the ‘ultimate engineer’. An avalanche hit and Hamish was caught in its ferocity. Snow filled his lungs and after some consideration, he decided to leave the team. Chris knew he had lost a very strong climber who had contributed so much with his fine-tuning of the oxygen equipment, his tents designed to withstand the battering that had caused so much devastation in 1972, his bridge-building in the Icefall and Western Cwm and his quiet sense of humour and good judgement. And with him, too, came a character generous, playful and straightforward. His mind may not have been academically trained, but he was sharp, informed, argumentative, and I think very wise. He loved the contest, be it physical or intellectual; he loved to wrestle. Long-standing problems feared and revered by the sport’s elders were vanquished beneath the insouciant plimsolls of a ragged and humorous 17-year-old youth. As a young climber myself in Manchester at the start of the 60s, I was intensely aware of his presence and how much he had achieved by then. Don was a diamond. I met him once in the Llanberis pub, and college friends of mine lived next to him in Lancashire, Loveclough or Crawshawbooth, somewhere like that, but he had already started his beer training.