The Topham Brothers (Harold Ward 1857-1915; Edwin **; Alfred George Wilberforce Newton Tribe (1855-1928) Over this period all our existing gear was increasingly refined based on comments from leading mountaineers the world over, and our own discoveries whilst on the mountains. In 1973 we received the ultimate accolade from Chris Bonington after an attempt on the South West Face of Everest. He stated that all members of the expedition considered Troll's Whillans harness to be best in the world. It was not surprising therefore that in 1975 Troll harnesses and tapes were chosen yet again for what was to be the successful ascent of Everest's South West Face. Troll harnesses went all the way to the summit. Herzog, Maurice (1954). Annapurna. Translated by Morin, Nea; Adam Smith, Janet. Reprint Society. Introduction by Shipton, Eric. The hut can accomodate up to 12 people, mixed, in two rooms. There are full cooking and dining facilities, a drying room and showers. Parking in lay-by approximately 400yards away.

I loved Don. I never saw him be mean-spirited, though I did know he drank and had his frustrations. He was especially intolerant of people who overrated themselves or simply did not know what they were talking about. I respected that quality in him, although he could have tempered his opinions, certainly, at times. I don't think I ever saw him get wrankled with someone who didn't deserve it. Siegfried Herford Way ahead of his time. Imagine looking up at an unclimbed CB with only a hemp rope to help you.Hamish died in his home in Glen Coe on 22 November. He was 90 years old and had led an extraordinary life. The word 'influential' is often used, but for Hamish, nothing could be more appropriate. From pioneering cutting edge first ascents in Scotland and the Greater Ranges, through development of mountain rescue and avalanche safety, inventing new ice tools and sharing mountain knowledge through his writing and guidebooks, Hamish MacInnes' influence continues to be both long lasting and profound. Unsworth, Walt (2000). Everest: The Mountaineering History. Seattle, WA, US: Mountaineers Books. ISBN 978-0898866704. Adam, Voiland (16 December 2013). "The Eight-Thousanders". www.earthobservatory.nasa.gov. NASA. Archived from the original on 3 May 2017 . Retrieved 18 January 2020. I were climbing up this steep face and I pulled up to a ledge and there were this huge tarantula staring me in the face, so I smashed it wid me peg 'ammer and it spiralled all the way to the ground a thousand feet below like a dead helicopter".

Thompson, Simon (2010). "Chapter 6. 1939–1970: Hard Men in an Affluent Society". Unjustifiable risk?: the story of British climbing. Milnthorpe: Cicerone. ISBN 9781852846275. Reaches the summit of Annapurna, in Nepal, with Bonington and his team, via the south face. It is the first ascent of such a difficult route in the Himalaya and the climb is said to have rescued Whillans from his demons. Lower down on the mountain, on 30 May, as the expedition was about to leave, Ian Clough was killed by a falling serac. Several members of the expedition rose to fame in Britain, and as a whole the expedition received international recognition in mountaineering circles on account of its innovative and extremely difficult nature.Messner, Reinhold (2000). Annapurna: 50 years of expeditions in the death zone. Seattle: Mountaineers Book. ISBN 9780898867381. 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. In 1958 Hamish returned to the Alps and again met his good friend Chris Bonington. They decided to climb the South West Pillar of the Dru ( Bonatti Pillar), a route considered at the time as one of the hardest in the world. They were joined by two Austrian climbers, Walter Phillip and Richard Blach, and later by Don Whillans and Paul Ross. The climbers ascended the Dru couloir and started up the pillar until a good bivouac was found for rest. The tired men enjoyed tea and watched a huge stonefall shatter the area they had climbed during the morning. Then a single stone fell from above and Hamish was hit. Blood poured from his head and he became weak and dizzy. Walter and Richard led the following day, Don climbed with Hamish and Chris and Paul removed pegs. Hamish struggled but kept going. The six endured another night on the pillar and summited the next day. Hamish, Chris, Don and Paul had completed the first British ascent of the South West Pillar of the Dru.

Hamish also worked on The Mission, Rob Roy and Five Days One Summer. During 2001 he actually played himself as leader of the Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team in a documentary with Michael Palin and Terry Jones called The Quest for The Holy Grail Locations. Rescues on the hills and mountains of Scotland became a significant part of Hamish’s life. Hamish writes, 'Only too often it is a fight for life: there is nothing more satisfying than the successful evacuation of a critically injured person on a highly technical rescue, where a single mistake could result in the death of the casualty. It is, on a grand scale, a game of chance in which nature holds most of the cards'.

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After experimenting with various dog breeds (in particular German Shepherds) to search for avalanche victims, Hamish was responsible for the formation of the Search and Rescue Dog Association in 1965. Always ahead of his time, MacInnes recognised the serious danger posed by Scottish avalanches and worked with Fred Harper and Eric Langmuir to establish the Scottish Avalanche Project. This eventually became the Scottish Avalanche Information Service that provides such an important safety role today. Later in 1957, Hamish joined ‘The Lahoul Winter Expedition’. The team would search for the yeti and felt that winter was the best time because yeti footprints would be clearly seen in the snow. Hamish found nothing in Lahoul so searched in the Kulu valley. He followed so many stories of sightings but without success. He spotted many bears on their hind legs, but he did not find a yeti. Hamish concluded: “Perhaps in one of the unfrequented valleys of Nepal or Tibet, where only the wild yak and the snow leopard roam, there may be a yeti, looking each day for the elusive human, the skin of which may bring him a fortune.” That first climb was a new route up a steep buttress at the Roaches, a series of gritstone crags that emerge from the Staffordshire moorland like a dragon's crest.

Following this success, Troll, already familiar in parts of Europe and the States, became internationally known, and expeditions from all over the world were using and recommending our gear. A lot of stuff goes on round here (North Lakes) which is very much off the radar. There are many climbers close by, quite a few famous, some less so. A couple of years ago we had a Hesket Spiders lecture evening where there were a couple of talks about new routes, climbing in France, then Doug Scott gave an excellent talk about Don. He wanted to correct the impression that Don was (according to Perrin) "a villain". It was a generous, adulatory little talk, much enjoyed and quite touching. Clearly Don to those who really knew him was a top man, very kind, likeable, tough yes, but very fair. Doug was certainly very complimentary about Don. There are many Whillans jokes doing the rounds, one of the best being the World Cup joke when Whillans gave his response to Dyrenfurth's comments on "national sports" on the International Everest Expedition. Located at the Roaches in Staffordshire, the Don Whillans Hut is a unique building, superbly located amongst the buttresses and boulders of this historic climbing area.

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Huts have a shared living area with a kitchen, a fireplace or heaters, and a sitting and dining area so that club members can cook together and socialise at the end of each day. You’ll need to bear in mind there might not be a shop nearby, and bring your own food and drinks. If cooking is your thing, you might like to get involved in making a meal for the group, or organising a BBQ. This is a big part of keeping costs so low – it’s often as cheap as camping (but less impacted by the weather). Since huts are shared, everyone is responsible for keeping the place clean and tidy, so pitch in with things like tidying and washing up to keep it as you’d like to find it. He could have fun. Life is short. Few, at least in the climbing world (but perhaps in any world) will -- at the end -- be able to say they did as much with their time and accomplished as much as Don Whillans. [2]