Canada, Gray's Publishing, 1974, 1st edition. 142 pp, 19 b/w photos, appendix, maps on end papers. Original blue cloth hardcover with silver lettering on spine and dust jacket. Jacket and DJ are Fine.
Visits by small boat to East and West Greenland in 1971-3. The author, a sailor, mountain climber and bit of an eccentric, recounts a voyage from the UK to Iceland and Greenland in a former Bristol Channel pilot cutter. This tells of a challenge that may never be satisfied. It describes three Arctic voyages after Bill Tilman set his heart on sailing his own boat to Scoresby Sound which, on latitude 70 degrees North on the East coast of Greenland, is the largest fjord in the world and is bordered by the highest mountains in Greenland. [Neate T37.]
Wikipedia: Major Harold William 'Bill' Tilmann (1898–1977) was a mountaineer and explorer, famous for his Himalayan climbs and sailing voyages.
Tilman fought in the First World War, including the Battle of the Somme. His climbing career began with his acquaintance with Eric Shipton in Kenya, East Africa, their traverse of Mount Kenya in 1929 and their ascents of Kilimanjaro and the fabled 'Mountains of the Moon' Ruwenzori, Shipton and Tilman formed one of the most famed partnerships in mountaineering history.
Tilman was involved in two of the 1930s Mount Everest expeditions – participating in the 1935 Reconnaissance Expedition, and later reaching 27,200 feet without oxygen as the expedition leader in 1938. After penetrating the Nanda Devi sanctuary with Eric Shipton in 1934, Tilman went on to the first ascent of Nanda Devi with Noel Odell in 1936. During his extensive exploration of the areas of Langtang, Ganesh and Manang in 1949 he was the first to ascend Paldor, 5896 meters, and found the pass later for named after him beyond Gangchempo.
After the Second World War, Tilman took up deep sea sailing. Tilman voyaged to Arctic and Antarctic waters in search of new and uncharted mountains to climb. Tilman disappeared during a sailing trip to climb Smith Island in the Antarctic in 1977.
He has been described by some as a self-indulgent risk-taker, impervious to the sensitivities of others; one who had little time for those who didn’t live up to his high standards and expectations; and he was even accused of disliking women. In reality, these labels were grossly inaccurate, for he was in fact a very shy, private man who was self-effacing and hated publicity. He was a deep thinker, an avid reader of the classics, and although he never married, he adored his sister and two nieces with whom he lived when not on some distant shore.
Tilman had a great sense of humor, perhaps too subtle for many of his listeners. It was one of his greatest joys to laugh at himself, and see the funny side of life's little foibles. An example is his 'discovery' of Tilman's Disease, characterized as 'the inability to put one foot before the other.' He wrote seven books about his mountain travels, and eight books on his years sailing to extreme climates. One of the last 'gentleman adventurers,' Bill Tilman's stoic and courageous exploits have earned him a place of honor as one of the greatest in the pantheon of explorers.
