It all started in December 2015, when contemplating my first Alpine expedition. It dawned on me that it was not actually out of the question to be able to climb Mont Blanc, something I’d wanted to do from a very young age. Having spent hours studying photographs of Europe’s tallest peak, I decided it was time to have a go. New Year’s Eve, 2015, Dan was coming round for dinner. I had a proposition for him. So, after a few bottles of fine wine I came out with it. Fancy climbing

A long flight, Manchester – Abu Dhabi – Brisbane, then two nights in the vibrant city, to get over the jetlag. To show us around Brisbane we met up with Bob Fick (who accompanied us on the Annapurna Circuit and Chulu Far East expedition in 2007). We had a month to explore, walk and scramble around the Great Dividing Range based in a hired motorhome adept at avoiding Roo’s but think milk crate for sound quality. David was already in Queensland with the RAF for three months so

I was getting itchy feet (no not athlete’s foot), not having been off trekking for the last few years. Some problems with my back and knees had improved with a lot of hard work and I knew I needed to be off again before old age and decrepitude set in even further. My wife Christine had even given me a pass out ! But where to ? My long standing ambition, above all others, has been to do the full Karakorum Traverse, but for years no reputable agency has run this. I did the firs

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