The Hardangervidda Plateau was something I dreamed of as a boy, well before I decided to spend my life travelling. It was portrayed in the film ‘The Heroes of Telemark’, the story of heavy water at the Vemork Hydro Plant. I loved watching war films with my Dad, and this one was a favourite.
Read More »Hardangervidda 2025 – Not (quite) the Heroes of Telemark…
The internet and e-mail, Messenger, Instagram, Twitter, Linked-In etc etc, have all increased the ability to contact one another, but are we listening..?
Read More »Calling Occupants…Recently I recorded a podcast with Jane Booth MBA of the OPUS 29 Consultancy about Finding the Happiness in Being You. We covered a lot… Read More »Coffee and Conversation Podcast…
Last week I spoke with Sally Pepper on BBC Radio Derby about the 21st Anniversary of my Fated Mt McKinley Climb. If you fancy a… Read More »BBC Radio Derby Interview with Sally Pepper
21 Years have passed since my fateful expedition to Mt McKinley in Alaska. Besides the obvious surgery, I also experienced isolation, fear, mental fatigue, physical… Read More »Learning to Survive and Thrive…
Recently I was interviewed by Ian Skye on BBC Radio Derby about the present COVID Lockdown. I come in at 1:36:36…
Many of us have mentors in our lives. They are the people who inspire us, drive us, motivate us, rollock us and guide us (usually in equal measure). Only a few days ago, I said goodbye to one of the best…
An Article from the Daily Star from October 2014 “The family of one man feared dead in the Himalayan snowstorm disaster celebrated last night that… Read More »‘Mr Frostbite’ escapes Nepal disaster but many Brits remain missing
Social networking is both a useful tool and an invasive curse. It has allowed us to advertise what we do and where we are, but also invite the world into our homes and create a world of voyeurism and mental stress. Last year I noticed an invitation on the web to a reunion party from my comprehensive school. It was over 30 years since the class of 1985 had walked away from Belper High School and made their way in the world. I didn’t think long before pressing accept. I thought it would be good to catch up with old friends and talk over old times. It was to be held in January, in a local pub, so I could wander down on foot, enjoy a few drinks and wander back home. It seemed perfect…
My first connection with the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme was in the early 1990’s, when I was a young engineer at East Midlands Electricity. They were a major sponsor back then and had purchased a number large of box trailers, filled with expedition equipment. I ferried them around schools, helped set up a DofE group at the office and volunteered where I could. Those days seem long gone as corporate takeovers scrapped sponsorship and abandoned the award.Read More »The Duke of Edinburgh Award – Diamonds, Diving and Derbyshire…
The phrase ‘The day we stop learning is the day we die’, may be old, but it’s true. I thought after 17 years I had learned all there was to know about my frostbite injuries, but I was wrong. Though the amputations were very visible, regular treatment kept my skin grafts in good condition, and all was well with the world. The last few months however, have taught me a hard lesson in reality.
It might surprise you that a mountaineer such as my self may write about Mental Health Awareness Week. People make assumptions in this world, and I’m afraid to say that many of them are wrong. “You must be rich”, “You can’t have a job”, You’re never at home”, “You just travel the world as you please”. If only they knew…
It is with great sadness that the news of Georges death was announced. My thoughts go to his wife Mary and to all the family. The last of the John Hunt 1953 expedition has gone and with him a great mountaineering dynasty is over. I met George many times as we only lived a few miles apart in Derbyshire, and what I remember about him is a tall, quiet, unassuming gentleman, who never boasted about his adventures, but gladly shared them…
Ok, so I’m not a horse, but if you want to know what it’s like to climb in the remote mountains of Tien Shan, then come and hear me speak on March 10th at St. John’s Church Memorial Hall, Hazelwood, nr Belper, Derbyshire.
I still feel a bit shell-shocked from last nights reception as I write this blog, but I’ll do my best…
I often come home from an expedition and find the doormat covered in post. Many of the letters are full of sales pamphlets, offers and bills, but one postmarked Buckingham Palace caught my eye. I carefully opened the envelope to find a wonderful invitation to the Palace to commemerate Robert Falcon Scott’s fateful South Pole journey in 1911 – 1912.
It’s on occasions like this where countries stand still and pay their respects. War is not something to be celebrated, nor is it something that should be boasted about. It is something whose lessons need to be learned unless we risk repeating the destruction that it can bring.