Days not Homeless: 4 Years, 259 Days  ...and loving every second of this alpine adventure!

not Homeless: 4 Years, 259 Days

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: Standing atop Mount Everest at 4.20am on May 22nd 2019 was the pinnacle of the Seven Summits, finally bringing to conclusion a twenty year quest to climb the highest peak on every continent
Recent Reads
The Shining Mountain – Peter Boardman
The White Spider – Heinrich Harrer
Beyond Possible – Nimsdai Purja
The Beckoning Silence – Joe Simpson
This Game of Ghosts – Joe Simpson
Life and Limb – Jamie Andrew
Endurance – Louis Rudd
Chasing the Devil – Tim Butcher
On The Burning Edge – Kyle Dickman
Finding Gobi – Dion Leonard
Annapurna – Maurice Herzog
We Wish to Inform you that Tomorrow we will be Killed with our Families – Philip Gourevitch
The Push – Tommy Caldwell
Touching the Void – Joe Simpson
Into Thin Air – Jon Krakauer

“It’s only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth – and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up – that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had.”
Elisabeth kubler-Ross

Penultimate US Highpoints

Penultimate US Highpoints

After what felt like an eternity it was a random email from a good friend in the US that prompted a plan of attack for the remaining 8 state highpoints. Unfortunately they were spread far and wide and included four that required some level of technique and multiple...

Route des Grandes Alpes

Route des Grandes Alpes

Approaching Greenland ice shelf from the air was humbling, the size of the glaciers tumbling into the sea, the iceberg’s with their turquoise underwater colours, the sheer expanse… and we were barely north of Greenland's narrowest point - there was a hell of a lot...

Norway Viewpoints

Norway Viewpoints

With the forecast calling for rain to fall for multiple days on Chamonix yet again it was time to search out another European city. Having recently got back from Nimes in the south of France it was the turn of Italy. We toyed with a return to Venice, then thought that...

Country Count: 115
Latest New: Norway
Bucket List
  • Ski tour the Haute Route
  • Traverse Isle of Skye’s Cuillin Ridge
  • Paraglide in Colombia
  • Take a glider over Acadia NP
  • Learn a Foreign Language
  • Cage Dive with Great White Sharks
  • See Aurora Borealis
  • Complete an Ironman (or five)
  • Hike the Inca trail to Macchu Picchu
  • Cruise Antarctica
  • Fly in a hot air balloon
  • Hang glide over Rio
  • Hogmanay in Edinburgh
  • Summit Mt Everest
  • Safari in Kruger NP
  • See a volcanic eruption with lava
  • Visit the Rio Sambadromo at Carnaval
  • Hike the John Muir trail in CA
  • Add my name to the 7-summit list
  • Swim in the Arctic Ocean
  • Cycle the Great Divide by Fatbike
  • Raft the Grand Canyon
  • Drink beer at Octoberfest in Munich
  • Trek the Annapurna Circuit
  • See elephants at the David Sheldrick Institute
  • Compete in Cape Epic, SA

See full list

Current Status

Since the previous Current Status update upon our return from Africa it’s not quite been business as usual. Two things stand out as the reasons behind this; firstly I decided to summit Mount Everest and secondly a small health problem caused chaos throughout the world. Being on Everest back in 2005 and coming oh so close to the summit left a bitter taste, so bitter that late 2018 the decision was made to return – only this time the entire 29,035’ was knocked off! However, it wasn’t without some suffering and a couple of amputations. We had spent winter before Everest in Colorado learning to cross country ski, then pretty soon after returning from Nepal we headed to what would become our new home in Chamonix, France. A couple months housesitting for friends, lots of hiking with a black toe, the toe’s removal at a local hospital, and we pretty much went from Europe to the US to Europe to the US. Finally in December 2019 I left the States with 2 bikes, 2 large duffels and camera gear, all in preparation for our long term relocation.

After a month in Morocco, followed by a month in NZ, Niue and Australia ours and millions of other lives suddenly changed. A highly contagious Coronavirus had leaked out of China with deadly consequences, the result being a world with closed borders, social distancing, masks, strict rules, and no travel. Sucks to be isolated in the beauty of the French Alps!

The 7 Summits
My desire to be one of the very few that claim to have stood on the highest summits of each of the seven continents began after successfully standing atop Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa, and a few years later Elbrus, the highest in Europe. From then on, with the camaraderie of my two climbing buddies from the US; Jeff Strite and Jose Rionda, I made it up, over the top and down the other side of Aconcagua, the highest in South America, and Denali, in North America (an extremely tough traverse). A quick ascent of Kosciuszko in the white mountains of Australia, followed by an amazing adventure in Indonesian Papua, or Irian Jaya, to climb Carstensz Pyramid, and that made up the fifth peak of Oceania/ Australasia. It depends on who you listen to as to which summit is the more legitimate, with one being a region including Australia and proximate islands, and the other being on the Australian mainland. Next up in 2005 came a dream shot at Everest with our Aconcagua guide Mike Hamill and International Mountain Guides, and although I only made it above the Balcony as far as 8,500m (28,000ft), it was still a life changing experience. Fortunately in December 2017 the opportunity to climb number six, Mount Vinson in Antarctica arose and instantly made Everest beckon. In April 2019 spouse consent was given and I finally headed back to Nepal to finish what I’d started fourteen years earlier, only on this occasion the Everest and 7summits dream was accomplished.

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