The Villain

* Whillans has an iconic significance for generations of climbers * His epochmaking first ascent of Annapurna's South Face set a standard to which modern Himalayan climbers aspire * Whillans reputation for toughness led to complete strangers punching him in bars, just to see how he'd take it At age 20, Whillans was 5ft. 4in. tall, a blue collar guy with the build of a miniature Atlas. Within a year of entering the climbing world...