Bill McLeod

This remarkable story of Bill McLeod, legendary New Zealand mountaineer, is written by Ross Cullen with Pip Lynch.

Bill McLeod did not start mountaineering until he was thirty, when he moved to New Zealand in 1978. With an instinct for adventure and a fierce determination, he taught himself to climb, and over the next 25 years became one of this country’s finest alpinists.

Drawn from the letters he wrote to fellow climbers, Bill McLeod: Mountaineering Legend traces Bill’s remarkable journey from self-taught novice to tackling the hardest ascents in Aotearoa. Through his own words—wry, reflective, and often brutally honest—and those of his peers, this book offers a rare, unfiltered glimpse into the mind of a mountaineer driven by vision, courage, and commitment. His climbing record is unique, as is his character—an outsider who aimed high, set his own rules, and always did things his way.

A compelling read for climbers and adventurers alike, Bill McLeod is a tribute to a man who climbed for the love of the mountains and a testament to the spirit of those who dare to say yes to challenge.