As far as I know he planned on publishing them from very early on, although he did say they were for him to reflect upon later on.
The books are also extremely well (hand) written and illustated, and very accurate.
I don't think he thought of them as "his" hills, just his and people like him - who appreciated them fully and treated them as such.
My only gripe is how the books were set up to be exactly the same size for each region - for example, in the relatively unintersting Northern Fells book, where the likes of the utterly pointless Mungrisedale Common is given pages, whereas in the Southern Fells book Ill Crag and Broad Crag get only the slightest mentions (comparatively) in Scafell Pike section. How much publisher pressure he was under to get them the same size is unsure, but I wouldn't have thought the local newspaper would have been that fussed about it....?
Also on the pointless additions list: Sallows or Sour Howes, Bakestall....
Possible additions: Stickle Pike, Black Combe, Bowness Knot....
Any other ideas for ins and outs?