Seven Volcanoes Project

It’s hard to believe the dust is finally settling! There have been so many ups and downs throughout the last five months of mountain climbing that there was an undercurrent of mini-adventures behind the big events. What stands out most are the heart-rending views, the people along the way and the sense of achievement. Carrying … More Post-project thoughts

Two days ago, along with my great friend Tina I reached the summit of Mt Elbrus, the highest volcano in Europe! This concludes a 5.5-month journey across seven continents to raise funds for research into and awareness of oesophageal cancer. As far as I know, this is an unofficial world record. There have been ups … More June 12, 2014: Reached the summit of Mt Elbrus! The Seven Volcanoes Project is completed!!

May 1, 2014: Just a quick note to say that I’m back from Russia, and that for the first time in this project we had to turn back from the summit because of bad weather. We had gotten as far as high camp when the forecast called for tempertures of -37C and winds of 50km/h … More Foiled by weather!

April 25, 2014: Just arrived in the Caucasus region of Russia after an overnight flight to Moscow and another to Mineralnye Vody. Tired but excited – hard to believe this is the last climb! Wish me luck!!

April 17, 2014: Summited Asia’s highest volcano on Tuesday! Mt Damavand is absolutely beautiful – was a slog and managed to inhale a few lungfuls of sulphur at the top, but had a great climb all round. See photos and details here!

Mt Damavand was a very vivid climb which stands out from the rest. The strenuousness of the climb aside, the sheer beauty of the environment and the trippiness that ensued during the ascent made it a pretty uplifting experience. Map credit: Free World Maps. Getting to Iran is not easy if you have a British, … More Mount Damavand (Iran): Highest volcano in Asia*

April 4, 2014: Just a quick update from Tanzania! MADE IT up Kilimanjaro! Tough, tough summit day on the Marangu route, which took us from 2,700m-3,700m-4,700m-summit in 4 days. Seemed harder on summit night than the Lemosho route in 2009 – a lot of throwing up and everyone suffering. Myself and one other person were … More Made it up Kilimanjaro!

Exhausted, nauseous and happy: April 2, 2014 Back in time: Kilimanjaro summit with friends in 2009 Map credit: Free World Maps. MANDARA -> HOROMBO HOROMBO -> KIBO KIBO -> SUMMIT SUMMIT -> HOROMBO HOROMBO -> BASE

March 26, 2014: Quick update: a few people have been asking how things are going.. one word: HECTIC. I’ve been dashing about like a happy but headless chicken (see below for illustration) and will be posting detailed updates soon. In the meantime, it’s off to climb Africa’s highest volcano! The mighty Kilimanjaro was actually my … More Off to Kilimanjaro next week!

March 3, 2014: Greetings from Papua New Guinea! Just a short update for now – on March 1 we reached the summit of Mt Giluwe, which is located in the rugged Highlands of this beautiful country. The trip was quick but tough: 10 hours to hike to base camp, followed by summit day in the … More At the top of Mt Giluwe, Australasia’s highest volcano!