I was introduced to rock climbing and mountaineering by my father in my early teens. In the late 1970s I was the first ascentionist of numerous technical rock climbing routes in Britain which were among the hardest of their day, such as Linden (E6) in 1976 at Curbar Edge in Derbyshire. As one of the first E6 climbs in Britain this received extensive press coverage. Some of my other most notable first ascents in Britain include Stone (E5) in the Hebrides, Ludwig (E6) at Gogarth, Stairway to Heaven (E5) on Skye and Caveman (E6) in Devon.

I have always enjoyed on-sight adventure rock climbing and in 1979 and 1981 my ascents of the intimidating sea cliffs of Henna (450ft, XS) and Bukator (600ft, XS) on the North Devon/Cornwall coast were widely regarded as setting new standards. I also pioneered "ice" climbing on the chalk cliffs at Dover using ice axes and crampons and, with Monster Crack (500ft, XS) was the first person to achieve a free ascent of the chalk cliffs at Beachy Head.

Elsewhere in Britain and Eire I have undertaken some serious sea cliff climbs. Clo Mhor Crack (E3) is the only route on the biggest cliffs in mainland Britain (at Cape Wrath in Scotland) and was climbed after an approach by inflatable dinghy. The approach to BeriBeri (E4), on the Isle of Hoy, was also a challenge, involving a 200ft abseil into the sea, difficult sea level traversing and some challenging swimming to reach the foot of the climb. Big John (E4), also on Hoy, was the first one day, and first free, ascent of the biggest sea cliff in Britain.

In addition to sea cliffs I have been the first ascentionist of many spectacular sea stacks. Notable first ascents include Branaunmore, Lovers Leap Rock and Doonbristy in Eire. The latter is particularly well known, since it was formed in 1393 when a connecting arch collapsed leaving a solitary building in splendid isolation atop the freshly formed stack. In Scotland The Needle (Hoy), Spindle (Shetland) and Clett Rock (Thurso) were notable climbs, while in the south of England the chalk stacks of Old Harry, The Tusk and Press Gang Pinnacle were long standing and well known problems.

I am aware of my reputation for being the driving force behind London teams regularly driving to the north of Scotland, a round trip of 1,300 miles, for winter weekends. My record was 11 consecutive weekends. During such weekends I was able to make the first ascent of fine lines such as The Fly (VI) on Creagh Meaghaidh, Deep Gash Gully (VI) on Skye and The Shield (VI) on Ben Nevis. The latter was the first Scottish winter route to be given a guidebook rating of VI - before it had been repeated, even though we graded it V! In North Wales my most noteworthy winter first ascents include the ice-fall climbs of Cascade (V) and Central Ice-fall Direct (VI) on Craig Rhaeddr. The Daily Telegraph also reported on my first ascent of a 65ft ice streak created by a leaking toilet outflow at St. Pancras station in the heart of London.

In 1969, at the age of 13, my father took me to the Swiss and French Alps for the first time where I gained a traditional grounding on 12,000ft peaks. Since then I have climbed all the classic north walls including the Eiger North Face, Walker Spur, Dru Couloir, Matterhorn North Face, Freney Pillar, Cima Oveste, Piz Badile and Croz Spur. I have climbed a new line on the Eckpfeiler Buttress of Mt.Blanc and further afield, in the Caucasus range, a new direct line on the West Face of Ushba, the highest mixed face in Europe.

In 1982 my first trip outside Europe was to the South Face of Taulliraju in Peru. The South East Buttress was one of the best known unclimbed objectives in Peru and along with Chris Watts we achieved a pure Alpine Style ascent (ED sup). This was the start of an important era in my climbing career. Since then I have made notable ascents in Africa (Western Gully, Kilimanjaro) and Yukon (N Buttress, Mt. Kennedy) but the main focus of my mountaineering energies has been new technical objectives on sub 7000m unclimbed peaks across the Himalaya. Notable ED Sup Himalayan first ascents include Taweche NE Pillar (Nepal), Golden Pillar of Spantik (Pakistan) Cerro Kishtwar NW Face (India), Changabang North Face (India), Arwa Tower, NW Face (India) and Siguniang NW Face (China). In 2003 Paul Ramsden and I were the first British team to win the prestigious Piolet d'Or and Golden Piton awards for our route on Siguniang.

During the last 20 years, I have been a regular contributor to the climbing press and lectured extensively throughout the world. My first book, Vertical Pleasure, was published in 1995 and in total has sold some 7,500 copies. I have been Vice President of the Alpine Club and a director of the Mount Everest Foundation.

Since 1977 all my climbing has been done during my holidays from my career in the UK tax office where I am currently Assistant Director of Capital Taxes. I live in Melbourne, Derbyshire with my wife Nicki and two children Tessa (12) and Alec (10).

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