Villain

Don Whillans has an iconic significance for generations of climbers. His epoch-making first ascent of Annapurna''s South Face, achieved with Dougal Haston in 1970, remains one of the most impressive climbs ever made - but behind this and all his other formidable achievements lies a tough, recalcitrant reality: the character of the man himself.

Whillans carried within himself a sense of personal inv...