AT

The BMC has been running lectures called Alpine Dreams around the country for the last week or so and I was at the final date in the series, at Coventry University, last night (2 May). I’ve never done any Alpine climbing, but I went winter walking in Wales (see the current edition of AT) and ski touring in the Swiss Alps this winter and both made me think I might like to try. So was I inspired – or put off?

The lectures were run by mountain guide Tim Neill and alpinist Rob Greenwood and they were aimed at giving people who hope to climb in the Alps an idea of what to expect and how much they need to know. Tim, who lives and works partly in Snowdonia but mostly in the Alps, was up first, explaining various alpine mountaineering techniques. He described two different types of glaciers: wet glaciers, still covered in snow and therefore full of hidden hazards, and dry glaciers, where the snow has melted and you can see the crevasses. He also talked about Alpine weather (unlike the UK, if the weather is bad in the Alps you don’t go out); the reasons for the Alpine start; different ways of moving together; whether to stay in a hut or bivouac; kit, and he suggested different areas of the Alps to visit, depending on what sort of climbing you’re after. 

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Jason Lewis completed what is believed to be the first circumnavigation of the world using human power alone. From crossing the Atlantic aboard a one-of-a-kind pedal boat and rollerblading across the USA, Jason has depicted the triumphs and tribulations of this epic journey in his new books. Without sails or motors Jason finished Expedition 360 in October 2007 – 13 years after he began the 46,500-mile journey from London. We caught up with him to talk about the highs, lows and a croc encounter.

Adventure Travel: You were not a seasoned adventurer before this trip. How did the idea for a human powered circumnavigation of the earth come about?
Jason Lewis: It was my former university friend Steve Smith’s idea. He rang me up several years after uni and said, “I’m bored of my office job, I have thought of this amazing idea that no-one has done.” I was a musician at the time and had travelled a bit but I’d never kayaked, never rollerbladed and I had no experience of the sea. It was ridiculous but the concept was incredible; it involved no sophisticated equipment like engines or balloons. The means to do it had been around for centuries and theoretically anyone could do it, so I signed up.