Wild Edge, Wigan (2025)

09/02/2025

Expedition Complete!

The lowest point in South America to the highest peak by human-power.

Over the last 34 days I have cycled and climbed 1,730 miles (2,784km) from Laguna Del Carbón (-105m) to the summit of Aconcagua (6,961m).

This marks the successful completion of the third phase of The Ultimate Seven project, following:
Africa 2023: Lac Assal to Kilimanjaro (28-days, 1,634 miles).
North America 2024: Death Valley to Denali (64 days. 3,588 miles).

After 13 days of shuttling kit up the mountain, acclimatising and waiting for a weather window, my climbing partner Mike and I reached the summit of Aconcagua.

While not a technical climb, Aconcagua is a serious high-altitude mountain with a typical summit success rate of just 30%. The thinning air made summit day a real challenge. We pushed hard, counting steps, our lungs pumping and searching for oxygen.

Once we reached the summit, we stood above the endless surrounding mountains of the Andes. An incredible feeling.

The expedition has been filled with diverse challenges: long empty roads, blazing desert heat, 49mph headwinds on the bike, then the demands of the arid and windswept mountain where the summit never seemed to get any nearer.

As with all of my expeditions, this one has been another great teacher. Doing hard things with an uncertain outcome always tests the mind and soul. Sometimes it can change them completely.

Having left home on the second day of 2025, this expedition has brought a new level of focus for the year ahead. I'm excited for what's to come, and grateful to have had the opportunity to undertake this adventure.

Thank you to everyone who has followed the journey. It's been another wild ride.

28/01/2025

Days 19-24: Going Up

With the 1,691 mile cycle phase of my expedition completed, it was time to shift my attention to the mountain.

My climbing partner Mike ( arrived in Argentina just hours after I finished my ride (I love it when a plan comes together...)

Next, straight into mountain prep: getting permits, organising logistics, buying food, unpacking, repacking, finding a bike box to pack away my bike and much more. A busy 24 hours.

Soon enough, we were at the trailhead (2950 metres) where I finished my ride. We had 22kgs on our backs and were ready to start the climb.

We are climbing as an independent team of two. In addition to the kit on our backs, following Aconcagua convention, we have hired mules to take our high mountain gear, food and fuel to the main base camp at Plaza de Mulas.

Two days of trekking followed across 25km, taking us up to Plaza de Mulas at 4350 metres.

With every bend in the route, the Andes mountains are getting grander and more colourful. The sun here is strong and the air dry and thin.

Today we are having an acclimatisation day around Base Camp, reorganising our kit, and getting ready to push on up the mountain tomorrow. With over 2600 metres of mountain above our heads, there is still a long way to go.

12/09/2024

➡️ Following my successful Death Valley to Denali expedition, I was proud to be invited to become a Member of the Scientific Exploration Society

The SES has backed so many important expeditions which I have admired over recent years.

For my London friends and contacts, I'll be joining the SES to deliver a special talk on all things expedition leadership and wild adventures stories in September. It will be a great evening! Here are the details:

Venue: Hollywood Arms, Chelsea
Date: 24th September
Time: 1900
Tickets:

See you there!

03/09/2024

One Year On! 🏔

In September 2023 I completed my 28-day human powered journey from Lac Assal, Djibouti, to Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, the lowest point in Africa to the highest.

This was the first phase of The Ultimate Seven project, my world first aim to journey from the lowest point in each continent to the highest by human power.

Starting in scorching 45°C heat, I set out from the shores of Lac Assal, Djibouti, which lies 160 metres below sea level.

Over four weeks, I cycled 1,636 miles through four countries (Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania), before completing this six-day push to the summit of Kilimanjaro on foot.

There were countless hard, exciting and dangerous challenges along the way. Equally, there were so many incredible moments of human connection, wildness and beauty which made this journey so special.

Following the completion of my 64-day Death Valley to Denali expedition in North America, two stages of my project are now complete.

Five remain. Plans are being made.

For now though, great to reflect on this adventure of a lifetime in amazing Africa.

29/08/2024

DECOMPRESSION

What happens when you complete a challenge you have been dreaming about for 10 years?

For 18 months I had planned towards my 3,588-mile Death Valley to Denali expedition. For 64 days I had pushed harder than ever before and with laser-focus. First, alone on the bike, then with my amazing team on the mountain, to eventually reach the summit. Risk, isolation, intensity, uncertainties, dangers, logistical and physical challenges; the expedition had it all.

And then it was over. After 22 days of living in a tent and joined by a rope with my mountain team, we parted ways and headed back to our homes. Back to ‘normality’.

I’m used to what comes next, yet it seems to remain unavoidable. First, the joy of seeing my wife and children, family and friends after 10 weeks away.

And then it hits. The lull. The post-expedition blues. The hole that is left behind. The knowledge that the only people who really know what it was like are now far away in their homes across the UK and Europe.

For days I empty and sort through my kit methodically. Hundreds of items, each with a connection to my journey. I crave human connection, but I know that my mind is still in a different place, hardwired to impending danger and relentless intensity.

On an expedition like this, bad decisions can have fatal consequences. Now I need to choose which sandwich to buy.

My teammates and I message each other. We crave the mountain. We are painfully withdrawing from the drug of adventure. The best addiction of all.

I always find that the dip is relative to the difficulty and intensity of the challenge. This one lasted about a month.

Next I craved type 1 fun. No suffering for a while thanks. Pure fun. Even in Chamonix this summer I was content looking up the mountains, rather than climbing them. A rare feeling.

As I write, the loop is closing. The hunger is returning. My training is intensifying once again. My sights are set on the next challenge.

Expeditions always have a gravitational pull like that for me.

You can stay away for a little while perhaps. Soon enough though, the mountains will come calling once again.

15/07/2024

This weekend I led a training walk with most members of my next .edge.global Kilimanjaro team, in the Lake District.

Despite the wet weather, team spirits were high and everyone breezed through our hilly 7-hour loop around Bowfell in the Langdale Valley.

Two months to go until our Tanzanian adventure!

Want to join our journey to the Roof of Africa in September (14th-22nd)? There's still a couple of places left - get in touch!

Africa

09/05/2024

We are on the mountain!

After a few days of final prep and sorting kit, our 26-day climb of Denali is underway. Our journey begins from the exact point where I finished the cycle leg of my Death Valley to Denali expedition.

We began at the snowline along Petersville Road at Kroto Creek, loaded with heavy packs and sleds.

Our journey will start with a 110km ski to reach Base Camp, via a long hilly section of backcountry, rivers and morraine fields, then a ski along the full length of the vast Kahiltna Glacier.

Once we reach Base Camp in 6-9 days, we will continue up Denali via the West Buttress Route.

Two days into the ski approach, the team (Ryan, Mike and Aaron) are looking super strong and we are making great progress.

I'll update again when I can, but signal is very limited on the mountain.

See you soon 🏔

06/12/2023

Happy 1st birthday to my little adventure buddy 🏔️

Here we were, when he was six weeks old, about to climb his first mountain..

We climbed Pillar, the eighth highest mountain in the Lake District, with snow and icy winds on the summit.
.. And he snoozed through it all.

This year, it's time to take your adventures up a level!

25/11/2023

Did you enjoy following my recent expedition from the lowest point in Africa to the highest?

The first episode of this challenging adventure is now live on YouTube (hit the link in my bio).

Thanks to those who have already watched and shared!

In episode one, I'm dropped straight into the fire, as I cycle through the extreme midsummer heat of Djibouti. It was a brutal introduction to this journey.

I'd love for you to check out the video.

02/11/2023

What does adventure mean to you?

I was recently asked this question in an interview, and thought I'd share my answer here:

'Adventure is a very personal quest; an internal quest. For me it’s not about climbing a mountain or crossing a jungle or a continent even, but more about conquering something within yourself.

Adventure can be anything relating to pushing yourself in an unfamiliar environment and, really seeing what you’re capable of. To me it’s so much more than just an activity; it's a way of life.

It's about pushing not only physical boundaries, but also psychological ones. The real quest begins when you're hanging on by your last thread and still decide to keep going. That's when you explore your own limitations, and often, you find out that they're far beyond what you thought they were.'

By my definition, I don't believe adventure necessarily means exploring far-flung lands.

It can equally mean exploring a corner of local countryside you haven't seen before, or indeed embarking on any new goal which lies beyond the edges of your comfort zone.

The spirit of adventure, for me, exists in everyone. Sometimes we just need to rediscover it.

Interview by the brilliant

01/11/2023

Here’s my story about risking it all.

In 2015 I had a ‘good job’ with a company car, laptop, phone, attractive bonus scheme and minimal pressure from my boss.

The pay check was nice. The car boosted my ego. The ladder of progression was tempting.

Yet I’ve never felt so miserable.

Nothing about the job aligned with who I am or what I wanted to do with my life.

With no job prospects, an expensive ongoing house renovation and an upcoming wedding, I decided to quit my job to become an ‘adventurer’.

(Being an adventurer is sometimes a fancy way of saying you’re unemployed).

Building this life and career has been a long hard road with more challenges than I can mention (earthquakes, arrest, interrogations, spies, guns, minefields, meningitis etc).

Now though, eight years on, I have travelled through 75+ countries, guided hundreds of travellers through dozens of destinations, completed numerous big solo expeditions, spoken at events across the UK and Europe, built two growing businesses and have experienced an exponential growth in all kinds of new opportunities.

So, was ‘risking it all’ walking away from the ‘good job’ and all its trappings?

Absolutely not.

Risking it all would have been staying in the job I hated, failing to take that big step, and never discovering what life really had in store for me: risking everything that lay on the other side of that decision.

Is that really a risk worth taking?

opportunities

31/10/2023

'What if...'

⬆️ The opening line to all the most exciting ideas.

Whether it's climbing the highest mountain in Iraq, crossing frozen Siberian lakes, guiding teams on active Congolese volcanoes, or riding an iron ore train across the Sahara Desert, all of these adventures have started with the same question.

Curiosity and exploration are the traits which separate humans from all other species.

Whatever your field or industry, asking 'What if...' is so often the start of the most exciting innovations.

We humans didn't get to where we are today by resting for too long in familiar territory.

📸:
1. Danakil Depression, Ethiopia
2. Halgurd Mountain, Iraq
3. Iron Ore Train, Mauritania
4. Solo climbing, Kyrgyzstan. Komsomelets Summit 4150m
5. Danakil, Ethiopia
6. Socotra Island, Yemen
7. Lake Baikal, Siberia
8. Virunga National Park, D.R. Congo
9. Syrian TV interview, Aleppo, Syria
10. Naqsh e Rustam, Iran

Wild Edge

09/02/2025

28/01/2025

12/09/2024

03/09/2024

29/08/2024

15/07/2024

09/05/2024

06/12/2023

25/11/2023

02/11/2023

01/11/2023

31/10/2023

Address

Website

Alerts

Contact The Business

Shortcuts

Share

Category