William Spotswood Green was born 10 September 1847 in Youghal, Co. Cork, the only son and eldest of six children of Charles Green, JP, merchant of Youghal, and his wife Catherine Frances, daughter of Walter Fitzsimons.
Educated at Rathmines School, Dublin (1859–61), Midleton College (1861–7), and TCD (1867–71), he spent his childhood in the family home on the seafront in Youghal, where an obsession with boats, the sea, and fishing began.
His first written observations on natural history date from this period and include records of distribution of molluscs in Youghal Bay.
His first climbing expedition abroad was in 1869, when, at the age of 21, he went to Switzerland with his friend J.S.Lyle. He intended to climb Monte Rosa but his guide accidently burned the soles of his only boots. He recorded little about this expedition except to say that 'I returned home feeling that a whole new world had opened up for me'.
The following year he was in Switzerland again with Lyle and his own cousin Henry Swanzy. As well as doing a long walk of about 100Km they climbed Monte Rosa, Aiguille Bricola, Sparrenhorn, Finsteraarhorn and returned to Ireland on 31 of August.
After graduating in 1871 he took off to Norway's Lofoten area that was then largely unexplored and later became a popular mountaineering destination. He had set his sights on climbing Higravstinden but seems to have made the first ascent of a lower summit.
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| On Aoraki |
Ordained deacon of the Church of Ireland in 1871 and to the priesthood the following year and was appointed curate of Kenmare from where he moved to Carrigaline in 1878.
Aoraki, or Mount Cook (3,754m) as it was then called, is the highest summit in New Zealand and this is where Green focused his attention. Along with two Swiss guides he reached, almost, to the summit in what turned out to be an epic of survival in extreme weather conditions. in 1882.
Returning to Ireland he wrote an account of the expedition (The High Alps of New Zealand) and lectured on it to the Royal Irish Academy (R.I.A) and the Royal Geographical Society (R.G.S).
Green's cousin and climbing partner of earlier years was a member of the British Association for the Advancement of Science and attended its convention in Western Canada. He returned with tales of magnificent and almost untouched mountains.
In 1888 the cousins made up what was perhaps the first solely Irish expedition team to explore and map any mountain range outside of Europe. To Green, it must have seemed as if he was upholding the standard of Ball, Tyndall and Adams-Reilly during the Golden Age of Alpinism. (R.W Sandford).
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| Selkirks. |
As part of their surveying they climbed as many summits as they could in the time available and named Mounts Dawson, Fox, Donkin, Deville, Macoun and Perley Rock. Two peaks were later named Mount Green and Mount Swanzy.
His account of the expedition was published as 'Among the Selkirk Glaciers', was published in 1890 and was the first book written about the Canadian mountains and his description of the 'perfect alpine paradise' led many European climbers to head for the Canadian west that resulted in a burgeoning climbing fraternity in that country.
He is credited with recommending the location for a small chalet to the Canadian Pacific Railway that would grow to become the Chateau Lake Louise hotel.
Another aspect of his life was that he made a notable contribution to the Irish sea-fishing industry.
For on overview of his life see here (DIB)
Detailed accounts of his mountaineering in:
In Search of Peaks, Passes and Glaciers, Frank Nugent (The Collins Press); and
William Spotswood Green, Paddy Leahy, Vol 4, IMEHS Journal of Mountaineering Ireland
