Bill Tilman is one of my favorite authors. He was a mountaineer and explorer. Later in life he took up deep-water sailing. In fact, in 1977 he was lost at sea.
He wrote The Seven Mountain-Travel Books and The Eight Sailing/Mountain-Exploration Books.
He fought in World War II: A Bombardier from his battery in the western desert during the second world war recalls being told by Tilman to "stay 20 paces behind and step exactly where I do", only realizing, when told after a certain distance to relax, that they had been crossing a mine field.
One of his climbing partners said of him: He was always the first to cross turbulent streams, pass hard rocky sections, and shoulder awkward loads.
The following are my favorite Tilman quotes from The Seven Mountain-Travel Books.
I enjoy Tilman's wisdom and wit. He lived an interesting life. He had a lot of interesting experiences.
