Bill Tilman Major Harold William " Bill " Tilman , CBE , DSO , MC and Bar ( 14 February 1898 – 1977 ) was an English mountaineer and explorer , renowned for his Himalaya n climbs and sailing voyages . Early years and Africa . Tilman was born on 14 February 1898 in Wallasey in Cheshire , the son of a well - to - do sugar merchant John Hinkes Tilman and his wife Adeline Schwabe ( née Rees ) . He was educated at Berkhamsted Boys school . At the age of 18 , Tilman was commissioned into the Royal Field Artillery and fought in the First World War , including the Battle of the Somme , and was twice awarded the Military Cross for bravery . His climbing career , however , began with his acquaintance with Eric Shipton in Kenya , East Africa , where they were both coffee growers . Beginning with their joint 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 . When it came time to leave Africa , Tilman was not content with merely flying home but rode a bicycle across the continent to the West Coast where he embarked for England . World War II . He later volunteered for service in the Second World War , seeing action in North Africa , and on the beaches at Dunkirk . He then was dropped by parachute behind enemy lines to fight with Albanian and Italian partisans , was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his efforts , and the keys to the city of Belluno which he helped save from occupation and destruction . Mount Everest & Nanda Devi . Tilman was involved in two of the 1930s Mount Everest expeditions - participating in the 1935 Reconnaissance Expedition , and reaching 27 , 200 feet without oxygen as the expedition leader in 1938 . He penetrated the Nanda Devi sanctuary with Eric Shipton in 1934 , and in 1936 he went on to lead an Anglo - American expedition to Nanda Devi . With the support of a team which included Peter Lloyd and H . Adams Carter , Tilman and Noel Odell succeeded in making the first ascent of the mountain , which remained the highest summit climbed by man until 1950 . Tilman later described their arrival on the summit : In 1939 , Tilman was the first man to attempt climbing in the remote and unexplored Assam Himalaya , exploring the Southern approaches of Gori Chen , 6538 metres , before his team succumbed to malaria . In 1947 he attempted Rakaposhi , then made his way to Kashgar to join up with Eric Shipton in a lightweight attempt on Muztagh Ata , 7546 metres , which nearly succeeded . On his way back to India , he detoured through Afghanistan ' s Wakhan Corridor to see the source of the river Oxus . During his extensive exploration of the areas of Langtang , Ganesh and Manang in Nepal in 1949 , Tilman was the first to ascend Paldor , 5896 metres , and found the pass named after him beyond Gangchempo . Sailing . Following his military career behind enemy lines in the Second World War , Tilman took up deep sea sailing . Sailing in deep seas on the Bristol Channel Pilot Cutter " Mischief " , which he purchased in 1954 , and subsequently on his other pilot cutters " Sea Breeze " and " Baroque " , Tilman voyaged to Arctic and Antarctic waters in search of new and uncharted mountains to climb . On his last voyage in 1977 , in his eightieth year , Tilman was invited to ship as crew in " En Avant " with mountaineers sailing to the South Atlantic to climb Smith Island . The expedition was led , and the boat skippered , by the youthful Simon Richardson . He and his crew aboard the old , converted steel tug made it successfully and without incident to Rio de Janeiro . Thereafter , en route to the Falkland Islands , they disappeared without trace - it was presumed the ship had foundered with all hands . Partial mountaineering timeline : 1929 - 1950 . Source : " The Seven Mountain - Travel Books " .