Currently...

I am an adventurer, mountaineer and public speaker. It’d be great to say that I spend all my time away climbing and on expeditions, but unfortunately I spend much more planning trips, trying to secure funding and doing motivational speaking.

Before I escaped...

Luckily, I’ve been doing this for an awfully long time!

In terms of ever having a proper ‘job’ I gave up a career in the Army to become an adventurer, but I am still in the Territorial Army, and still get my ‘warry fix!’

My moment of truth...

I first dreamt of doing exciting expeditions when I was 14 years old, but it wasn’t until my final year at university that I decided to take the plunge and become a ‘full time’ adventurer!

Climbing and expeditions are such an incredible way to see the world, and some of its most wonderful natural sites. I use climbing as an excuse to travel, not travel as an excuse to climb.

Planning for it...

Always building on my experience from trip to trip.

The scope for expeditions is only confined by your own imagination. Making it happen is more often confined by the depth of your (or your sponsor’s) pockets. They say that an expedition is a holiday that someone else pays for! I fund all my trips through sponsorship, so attracting potential sponsors and encouraging them to invest in an expedition is always a struggle, but nobody said it would be easy!

The worst and best bits...

Worst: Money money money!

Best: You are quite literally ‘living the dream’.

Best advice...

Success on a trip is having an amazing experience, getting loads of great photos and, most importantly, coming back with all of your team/fingers/sanity intact. A summit is just a bonus. Oh, and when the wind chill is -70C, don’t piss into the wind…

Stop day dreaming and start planning! Ultimately, success in life, or the ‘meaning of life’, is not about climbing Mt Everest or any mountains.

However, it is all about looking back over what you have achieved and saying "I’ve tried my hardest to be true to myself and make all my dreams a reality", with confidence, sincerity and a smile.

If you can look back over what you’ve done for the last few years and feel that, then you are doing great. If not, you need to stop, take stock, and sort out what is really most important to you.

Useful resources and information...

The ‘http://www.rgs.org/Explore/" rel="nofollow">Explore’ expedition planning conference at the http://www.rgs.org/" rel="nofollow">RGS, held in November each year, is a great event if you are thinking about planning an expedition.

My inspiration comes from the maps on my wall and the atlas on my shelf. Everyone needs a good atlas...