- Bill Tilman
Infobox Celebrity
name = Bill Tilman
caption = Bill Tilman by Sandy Lee
birth_date = 14 February 1898
birth_place =Wallasey ,Cheshire ,England
death_date = 1977
death_place = SouthAtlantic Ocean
occupation =Mountaineer ,Explorer
salary =
networth =
spouse =
website = [http://www.tilman.tv]
footnotes =Major Harold William "Bill" Tilman, CBE, DSO, MC and Bar (14 February 1898–1977) was an English mountaineer andexplorer , renowned for hisHimalaya n climbs andsailing voyages.Early years and Africa
Tilman was born on 14 February 1898 in
Wallasey inCheshire , the son of a well-to-dosugar merchant and educated at Berkhamsted Boys school. At the age of 18, Tilman was commissioned into theRoyal Field Artillery and fought in the First World War, including theBattle of the Somme , and was twice awarded theMilitary Cross for bravery. His climbing career, however, began with his acquaintance withEric Shipton inKenya ,East Africa , where they were bothcoffee growers. Beginning with their joint traverse ofMount Kenya in 1929 and their ascents ofKilimanjaro and the fabled "Mountains of the Moon"Ruwenzori , Shipton and Tilman formed one of the most famed partnerships in mountaineering history. When it came time to leave Africa, Tilman was not content with merely flying home but rode a bicycle across the continent to the West Coast where he embarked for England.World War II
He later volunteered for service in the Second World War, seeing action in North Africa, and on the beaches at Dunkirk. He then was dropped by
parachute behind enemy lines to fight withAlbania n and Italian partisans, was awarded theDistinguished Service Order for his efforts, and the keys to the city ofBelluno which he helped save from occupation and destruction.Asian mountaineering
Tilman was involved in two of the 1930s
Mount Everest expeditions - participating in the 1935 Reconnaissance Expedition, and reaching 27,200 feet without oxygen as the expedition leader in 1938. He penetrated theNanda Devi sanctuary withEric Shipton in 1934, and in 1936 he went on to lead an Anglo-American expedition to Nanda Devi. With the support of a team which included Peter Lloyd andH. Adams Carter , Tilman andNoel Odell succeeded in making the first ascent of the mountain, which remained the highest summit climbed by man until 1950. Tilman later described their arrival on the summit:::Odell had brought a thermometer, and no doubt sighed for thehypsometer . From it we found that the air temperature was 20°F but in the absence of the wind we could bask gratefully in the friendly rays of our late enemy the sun. It was difficult to realise that we were actually standing on top of the same peak which we had viewed two months ago fromRanikhet , and which had then appeared incredibly remote and inaccessible, and it gave us a curious feeling of exaltation to know that we were above every peak within a hundred miles on either hand.Dhaulagiri , 1,000ft higher, and 200 miles away in Nepal, was our nearest rival. I believe we so far forgot ourselves as to shake hands on it. H. W. Tilman, 'Gentleman's Relish', in "Mirrors in the Cliffs", ed J. Perrin, (Diadem), pp. 220–1. ISBN 0-906371-95-3In 1939, Tilman was the first man to attempt climbing in the remote and unexplored
Assam Himalaya , exploring the Southern approaches of Gori Chen, 6538 metres, before his team succumbed to malaria. In 1947 he attemptedRakaposhi , then made his way to Kashgar to join up withEric Shipton in a lightweight attempt onMuztagh Ata , 7546 metres, which nearly succeeded. On his way back to India, he detoured throughAfghanistan 's Wakhan Corridor to see the source of the riverOxus . During his extensive exploration of the areas ofLangtang , Ganesh and Manang inNepal in 1949, Tilman was the first to ascend Paldor, 5896 metres, and found the pass named after him beyond Gangchempo.ailing
Following his military career behind enemy lines in the
Second World War , Tilman took up deep sea sailing. Sailing in deep seas on the Bristol Channel pilot cutter "Mischief", which he purchased in 1954, and subsequently on his other pilot cutters "Sea Breeze" and "Baroque", Tilman voyaged toArctic andAntarctic waters in search of new and uncharted mountains to climb. On his last voyage in 1977, in his eightieth year, Tilman was invited to ship as crew in "En Avant" with mountaineers sailing to the South Atlantic to climbSmith Island . The expedition was led, and the boat skippered, by the youthful Simon Richardson. He and his crew aboard the old, converted steeltug made it successfully and without incident toRio de Janeiro . Thereafter, en route to theFalkland Islands , they disappeared without trace - it was presumed the ship had foundered with all hands.Partial mountaineering timeline: 1929-1950
* 1929: Tilman is introduced to rock climbing in the
Lake District ofEngland .
* 1930: He ascends Mawenzi and almost ascends Kibo onKilimanjaro , with Eric Shipton.
* 1930: He makes first ascent of West Ridge of Batian, and traverses to Nelion, with Shipton.
* 1932: Tilman ascends Mounts Speke, Baker, and Stanley in theRuwenzori Range , with Shipton.
* 1932: In April, he is involved in an accident in the Lake District which leads to the death of J. S. Brogden.
* 1932: Later that year, he makes various climbs in the Alps.
* 1933: Tilman ascends Kilimanjaro (to summit) alone.
* 1934: Tilman and Shipton, with three others, make the first recorded entrance into the Nanda Devi Sanctuary. They also explore the nearbyBadrinath Range.
* 1935: Tilman participates in theMount Everest Reconnaissance Expedition, and climbs various peaks near Everest.
* 1936: Tilman attempts various peaks and passes, including the Zemu Gap, inSikkim , nearKangchenjunga . Later, he leads the first ascent ofNanda Devi .
* 1937: Shipton and Tilman make a major reconnaissance and surveying expedition in theKarakoram .
* 1938: Tilman leads another Mount Everest Expedition; he and three others reach above 27,300 ft (8,320 m) but fail to reach the summit.
* 1938: He traverses the Zemu Gap.
* 1939: He leads an expedition in the remoteAssam Himalaya , which ends in disaster. They attemptGori Chen , but reach only the lower slopes. The party was ravaged byMalaria , causing the death of one member.
* 1941: Tilman climbs various peaks inKurdistan .
* 1942: He makes a night ascent of Zaghouan, inTunisia .
* 1947: Tilman leads an attempt onRakaposhi which explores five different routes, none of which get near the summit. The expedition then explored the Kukuay Glacier on the southwest side of theBatura Muztagh .
* 1947: He attemptsMuztagh Ata , with Shipton and Gyalgen Sherpa.
* 1948: Tilman attemptsBogda Feng , in northernXinjiang , with Shipton and two others, but they only reach outlying summits.
* 1948: He attemptsChakragil , in westernXinjiang .
* 1948: He travels in theChitral area of theHindu Kush .
* 1949: Tilman leads a four-month exploratory and scientific expedition to theLangtang , Ganesh, and Jugal Himals inNepal , in the early stages of that country's re-opening to outsiders. He climbs Paldor in the Ganesh Himal.
* 1950: He leads the BritishAnnapurna Expedition, which gets close to the summit of Annapurna IV, and attempts other nearby peaks.
* 1950: Tilman and Charles Houston view Mount Everest from the lower slopes ofPumori , on the recently opened Nepalese side of the peak.Source: "The Seven Mountain-Travel Books".
Resources
Documentary DVD
*"Warrior, Wanderer" The Life & Times of the Legendary Explorer Bill Tilman. DVD. Mistral Films. Due for release July, 2008.
Books
*"Warrior, Wanderer" The Life & Times of the Legendary Explorer Bill Tilman. Author David Glen. ISBN 1-887062-02-5
* Eric Shipton, "The Six Mountain-Travel Books" (Mountaineers Books, 1997), ISBN 0-89886-539-5.
* H. W. Tilman, "Mount Everest 1938" (Pilgrims Publishing) ISBN 81-7769-175-9 (contains the infamous Appendix B on theYeti )
* H. W. Tilman, "Nepal Himalaya" (Pilgrims Publishing) ISBN 81-7303-107-X
* H. W. Tilman, "The Seven Mountain-Travel Books" (Mountaineers` Books) ISBN 0-89886-960-9, comprising:
** "Snow on the Equator" (1937)
** "The Ascent of Nanda Devi" (1937)
** "When Men and Mountains Meet" (1946)
** "Everest 1938" (1948)
** "Two Mountains and a River" (1949)
** "China to Chitral" (1951)
** "Nepal Himalaya" (1952)
* H. W. Tilman, "Eight Sailing/Mountain-Exploration Books" (Diadem Books) ISBN 0-89886-143-8, comprising:
** "Mischief in Patagonia" (1957)
** "Mischief among the Penguins" (1961)
** "Mischief in Greenland" (1964)
** "Mostly Mischief" (1966)
** "Mischief Goes South" (1968)
** "In Mischief's Wake" (1971)
** "Ice With Everything" (1974)
** "Triumph and Tribulation" (1977)References
* Anderson, John Richard Lane, "High Mountains and Cold Seas: Life of H. W. Tilman" (Gollancz Books) ISBN 0-575-02806-8
* Glen, David, "Warrior, Wanderer: The Life & Times of the Legendary Explorer Bill Tilman" (Progeny Books) ISBN 1-887062-02-5
* Madge, Tim, "The Last Hero - Bill Tilman: A Biography of the Explorer" (The Mountaineers' Books) ISBN 0-89886-452-6External links
* [http://www.tilman.tv/ 'Warrior Wanderer' The Life & Times of the Legendary Explorer by David A. Glen]
*Chris Bonington, ‘Tilman, Harold William (1898–1977x9)’, rev., [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/31762 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography] , Oxford University Press, 2004
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