My favorite moments? Where it's all going swimmingly, the sun's out and I've got a fire going and a nice snake on the barbecue.

The appeal of the wild for me is its unpredictability. You have to develop an awareness, react fast, be resourceful and come up with a plan and act on it.

I love Ray Mears. He's brilliant. He's so rude about me in the press, it's outrageous!

Our fate is determined by how far we are prepared to push ourselves to stay alive - the decisions we make to survive. We must do whatever it takes to endure and make it through alive.

Is your ego small enough, and your backbone strong enough, to raise others up high on your shoulders?

I loved climbing because of the freedom, and having time and space. I remember coming off Everest for the last time, thinking of Dad and wishing that he could have seen what I saw. He would have loved it.

I come from a line of self-motivated, determined folk - not grand, not high society, but no-nonsense, family-minded go-getters.