UKC

I recall seeing a photo in a book once showing Don Whillans puffing away on a cigar whilst sat next to someone else who is sucking on oxygen whilst high on route somewhere. It may have been Dougal Haston he was with and I have a feeling it was either Everest or Annapurna, but there's a fair chance I'm wrong on all counts there! Does anyone have a link to such a photo, or know which book it was in? I've done the search and come up blank. Cheers.

In reply to chrisireland: Sounds like it was Annapurna,South Face in 1970.

In reply to deepstar: I reckon you could be right there. I'll just need to find the book somewhere I guess.

In reply to chrisireland:

I think it's in Bonington's 'I Chose to Climb', but I can't find my copy

In reply to chrisireland:
There's no picture like that in the original Penguin paperback version of Bonington's book. Sounds more like something from one of the Everest SW Face books - maybe the International Expedition.?

In reply to telemark: I meant Bonington's Annapurna book ...

In reply to chrisireland: I've got most of CB's 1st edition books at home, i'll have a look later on.

In reply to chrisireland:
I think it may have been in The Villain by Jim Perrin

In reply to chrisireland: Yeah I also reckon it is in Jim Perrin's book "The Villan", but don't have a copy to hand.

In reply to Andy Hudson:

There is a photo of him smoking a cigar in The Villain but alone and not on a mountain. The cover photo shows him smoking fag, high on a mountain; taken by Bonington. But it doesn't say where.

In reply to digby: Summit of the Central Tower of Paine

In reply to chrisireland:
There's a shot of Haston and Whillans on Everest in Haston's 'In High Places', Haston with his oxygen mask on and Whillans with his off, but no sign of a cigar, at least in that photo as printed. I guess smoking in those circumstances might be a bit hazardous ... not that that would have deterred Whillans.

In reply to bobaitken:

hmm would have probably been rather hazardous considering what you'd need to get a cigar to burn at an altitude that dougal would be using oxygen....

In reply to chrisireland: i remember seeing it somewhere but cant place it, the comment on the photo was something like haston on oxygen and whillans on cigars. when they decended haston was described as staggering in looking like a belsen victim while whillans was seen to decend casually kicking a snowball around like a small football.think it was the everest sw face expedition.

In reply to deepstar: As far as Im aware the only photograph of Whillans on the summit of Annapurna is a frame from a cine camera and that was the only camera taken to the summit.

In reply to buzby: As he bounced back into ABC he remarked 'Dougal must be mad. He left me with the whisky!'

In reply to Sean Kelly: Thanks for the pointers folks. I'm glad to see there's something like it out there and I wasn't dreaming it!

I've seen it too. I think it's in a Bonington book though I don't remember which.

And the caption goes along the lines of, "Don enjoys a cigar while Dougal makes do with oxygen".

In reply to chrisireland: I've seen the pic in an old High Mountain. The caption was "Haston on oxygen; Whillans on cigar."