Talk:Don Whillans

Untitled
Do we have "downs" in the north of England? I think not.

Well change it then! (Sheffield is only 'North Midlands' anyway :-)) The paragraph as a whole doesn't really flow, since the next second our man is apparently climbing in the greater ranges with young Bonnington. Linuxlad 14:28, 24 June 2006 (UTC)

climbing hut
We now see the silliness of merging climbing hut and alpine hut :-) Propose demerge! Linuxlad 22:38, 6 May 2007 (UTC)

supposed witticism
I deleted the following from the article:
 * Also another classic piece of Whillans' razor sharp wit was when he was in the company of some German climbers who happily announced after a victory on the football field by West Germany over England that "We (Germany) have beaten you today at your national game". Whillans prompty, and very cooly, retorted that, "So what, we (the British) have beaten you at YOUR national "game", TWICE!" (1914-18 & 1939-45).

This is clearly an urban legend garbled from the actual source: before the 1966 World Cup soccer final of England vs. West Germany (where I think West Germany was favored to win, although it was England that won) an editorial in a prominent British newspaper (The Times of London?) said something like (this from memory -- not from the original, but reading about it somewhere): "If, as seems likely, Germany defeats us in our national sport tomorrow, let us remember that twice in this century we have defeated them at their national sport." (I.e. war). 137.82.188.68 (talk) 05:32, 15 December 2007 (UTC)
 * But he is meant to have said, of Harrisons Rocks, when someone asked him if he wanted a copy of the guide-book for half-a-crown, that he wouldn't give half-a-crown for the crag?... Bob aka Linuxlad (talk) 21:26, 15 December 2007 (UTC)

Didnt he also call the rou8tes at Harrisons "mucky, 'ard little climbs" or was that someone else? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.153.252.39 (talk) 13:06, 25 February 2008 (UTC)

Where is the Everest SW Face?
Arm chair climbers write this page? 171.66.84.125 (talk) 00:55, 12 March 2011 (UTC)


 * I don't understand the nature of your question. Where is the Everest SW Face mentioned in this article? Am I missing it? Are you implying it should be there? Are you suggesting its location should be specifically indicated? Are you saying it doesn't exist at all?
 * According to my map of Everest (and I have never climbed Everest so I guess I am an "arm chair climber"), there are three named faces of Everest: the North Face, the Kangshung Face and the Southwest Face. If I assume your question to be a simple request of information, I can answer it: The Everest SW Face is located in Nepal, on the southwest side of Mount Everest.
 * As for your second question, Arm chair climbers write this page?
 * Yes. And climbers do as well. Both of whom add valuable contributions to mountaineering related acticles.Racerx11 (talk) 01:36, 22 March 2011 (UTC)
 * Ahah, I got it now. Sorry I'm slow tonight. Don Whillans attempted the SW Face in '72. Your question perplexed me so much, I kept thinking about it and it finally dawned on me. That expedition, according to a source, is actually the setting for the "we have beaten you at your national sport..." quote. I will work it into the article since it appears you think it notable enough. See, this is how I (a non, or actually extremely novice climber), can help to write this page. Should I assume that an avid climber would have immediately known what you were talking about? In any case, please excuse the above remarks, but I will leave them to illustrate how a vaguely worded question can be misunderstood and troublesome; and how in this case it resulted in me putting my foot in my mouth. Racerx11 (talk) 03:01, 22 March 2011 (UTC)

Serious need of a link make over
This page is horrible. It is in need of a serious rewrite. Even this talk section reveals problems. Even Don's friends would say that this page doesn't do the man justice, not that he was in need. That the CPF gets mentioned and has a link to Freney misses the fact of where the route is located. If the contributors are going to quote Patey, they should really take the time instead to summarize Whillans biography instead. I'm wasting my time telling you this. 143.232.210.38 (talk) 16:05, 3 August 2012 (UTC)

External links modified
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Yeti sighting
Does anybody think the Yeti sighting he had in 1968 (which he recounted on a episode of In Search of...) is worth mentioning? Rja13ww33 (talk) 22:18, 31 July 2023 (UTC)