From hill walks to high altitude

I grew up in Bedfordshire, but a lot of my family are Welsh — so from a young age our holidays were spent in the valleys. That's where my love for the mountains began: long damp walks, soggy sandwiches, and the quiet satisfaction of a summit cairn.

I never went to university. Instead, in my early twenties I reignited that childhood love for the hills — recruiting a handful of mates and dragging them up the main Welsh ranges, again and again, in every kind of weather.

Five years on, I've chased bigger goals in the mountains — taking those skills to the Alps with my uncle for my first true alpine experience. Crampons, ropes, glacier travel: a whole new language to learn.

I'm 28 now, and the Seven Summits is the long arc of where this is heading. Below is the short version of how I got here.