“You’re doing what..? Speaking on a cruise ship..? Why..?” These were only some of the barrage of questions I fielded when I announced that I was going to speak on the Cunard Liner Queen Victoria. “You’re a Mountaineer and boats are at sea level..!” I certainly hope they are as I’ve never seen a liner fly, but let’s get past the obvious shock. Besides being a mountaineer, I’m also a speaker.
After speaking at TEDx Derby in 2014, I was approached by organiser Christine Cawthorne to mentor the speakers for the 2015 event. I was honoured to take up the challenge…Read More »TEDx Derby 2015 – Remade
When I was a child, I watched the Saturday morning TV programme TISWAS. It stood for ‘Today is Saturday, Watch and Smile’, but should we restrict smiling to just one day..? I can’t remember how many countries I’ve traveled to, how many cultures I’ve encountered, or how many people I’ve met, but one thing is for sure – a smile goes a long way…
Friends across the Alps had been complaining to me about the lack of snow for the skiing season. Indeed I experienced this myself in Austria during January, where the pistes were turning a delicate shade of brown. Scotland was to be another matter…
Read More »Scotland – What Did I Expect..? – The Fifth Frostbite Report…
My 2014 New Year’s resolution was to have the best and most productive 12 months of my life. Plans were bursting out of my brain, and within weeks my diary was filled to overflowing – speaking engagements across the UK, ski racing in Greenland, climbing in Scotland – the list went on.
The modern world seems to rely on instant news media. Satellite communications and Social Networking relay information around the globe within milliseconds, against the hours, days, weeks and even months that used to be required. Though this has a good side, it can also cause unnecessary stresses and tensions, as my family found out recently…
The Kendal Mountain festival has traditionally been held in November, when nights are dark and the weather (usually) wet. Things are changing, and a new festival ‘Kendal Mountain Festival On the Edge‘ has been launched for the weekend of July 25 – 27th 2014.
Language is full of sayings and quotes about time. ‘Time is of the essence, ‘Time is money’, ‘Time marches on’ etc. This unending continuum drives many people’s lives at a relentless pace and without respite. For some, it rules their lives, but should it..?
Here’s the TEDx Derby presentation I gave asking the question “Is modern communication is destroying adventure..?” Whats do you think..?
Technology has entered our modern lives with a vengeance. Whether we like it or not, the digital age has crossed the globe and there seems little escaping it. I recently spoke at TEDx Derby, and challenged an audience of creative and technology driven people to think differently about the umbilical cord of the mobile phone, wi-fi and worldwide web…
The Seven peaks – Seven Islands challenge encompasses freezing Polar ice to burning tropical savannah, ski touring to scrambling, volcanoes to glaciers and everything in-between. It may not have the altitude of the Seven Continents climbs, but brings huge challenges and rewards for those will to take up the baton.
The best partnerships are those where both sides work to help each other. Therefore I am very pleased and proud to announce that I have accepted a role with Terra Nova Equipment as a Brand Ambassador. We are both based in Derbyshire and have worked together for many years. Where we exactly first met is lost somewhere in the mists of time, but they have helped me on many occasions with my expeditions across the world. Initially it was with the specialist needs that Frostbitten hands require in the way of gloves. Getting any to fit was an almost impossible task, but with a little imagination and a lot of pinning we have succeeded. Since then I have also tested many tents, sleeping bags and rucksacks, and regularly place gear reviews on their website.
After our drenching in the Drakensburgs, Sibu and I set off NW towards a place that has gone down in British colonial history – Rorke’s Drift.
Read More »A South African Saga part II – Standing together…
The flight to Johannesburg is nothing like going to the far reaches of SE Asia, but still I felt exhausted when I arrived. I had been working and presenting hard for the last few months and it was beginning to show. Also, a nasty chest infection had caught hold of me in Austria recently and didn’t want to let go. A few days out in the mountains should do me good then…
Read More »A South African Saga part 1 – Getting drenched in the Drakensburgs…
During late 2012, I worked with Derbyshire filmmaker Nicola Harris on a project about my fateful climb on Mt. McKinley. Here’s the film she has… Read More »Against All Odds…
To a Mountaineer like myself, a weekend away is nothing new. I’m often off into the hills of Britain or even Europe for a day or two’s climbing, but this weekend was different and rather special.
Here’s a short video of me speaking at the Inspired Adventure opening evening at the East India Club, London in August 2012…
It’s a simple enough question really. After all, would you employ a mechanic who couldn’t fix your car..? The reason I ask is due to my experiences observing speakers over the last 20 years. Some have been outstanding, some have been good, but many have been (at best) average.
Read More »So you think you’re a speaker, but can you really speak..?
You only have to walk down a city street or sit in a shopping centre to see one of the most destructive elements in modern society – the quest for more, more, more. Why am I saying this? Because society today never seems happy unless it can have the latest gadgets and accessories. I have to ask ‘What happened to the simple things in life..?’
And now, part III of the trilogy…
My final week in Brazil saw me where my heart feels the strongest – In the mountains. Many people think Brazil is all Amazonian Rainforest, due to TV documentaries and the environmental news it generates. However only 57% of the country is cover by rainforest, with the rest being grasslands, savanna, wetlands and mountains. There are many mountain areas, some climbing close to the 10,000ft (3000m) mark. Getting into them is a slow and arduous job, unless you have the nerve to drive out of Rio and into the hills.Read More »Going nuts in Brazil part III – Into the mountains…