Jon has climbed more big mountains that anyone we know. From his youth in the scouts to now becoming the first (and only) Brit to have guided the ‘Top 5’ highest mountains in the world, his passion for expeditions, extreme high altitude and introducing pe
Jon has climbed more big mountains that anyone we know. From his youth in the scouts to now becoming the first (and only) Brit to have guided the ‘Top 5’ highest mountains in the world, his passion for expeditions, extreme high altitude and introducing people to the world of climbing is unwavering.
“Guiding expeditions & instructing climbing is not just his job, it’s his life; he does it brilliantly & seemingly effortlessly” Kenton Cool. 16 x Everest.”
Jon’s passion for expeditions and the mountains started in 2005 when he was 18 years old. Living deep in the remote jungles of Belize, Jon spent over 2 months pushing himself both physically & mentally harder than ever before and learnt what expedition life was all about. He loved every aspect of it and was hooked - and never looked back!
During the following years Jon gained experience and went through the first of many national outdoor qualifications to access the world of the outdoors, whilst simultaneously ploughing all his money into self-organised high-altitude expeditions around the world.
His work soon became focused solely around climbing in both summer and winter and the high-altitude world, which was quickly becoming his forte. Completely absorbed in the bigger mountains and wanting to share these with more people he set a specialist expedition company offering UK instructing & guiding, worldwide expeditions & expedition specific training. His little company has gone from strength to strength almost entirely by word of mouth.
Fast forward a few years and Jon has now organised, climbed and guided mountains on over 100+ major expeditions all over the world – including organising and leading the current Guinness world record for the 7 summits and successfully guiding the top 5 highest mountains in the world including Everest (4 times) and K2.
His love for the mountains is continually growing and whilst adapting to the restrictions throughout 2020, he began concentrating his time locally to home. In North Wales the options for rock climbing are endless and he has been busy exploring the local crags. Jon spends much of his winters in the alps and in 2022 hopes to begin the British IFMGA scheme.
In moments away from climbing Jon enjoys playing tennis and squash, mountain biking and writing about his expeditions for a number of magazines and journals.
“The mountains have shaped my life in so many multifarious ways, it’s difficult to begin to explain. The opportunities that the mountains offer is limitless and at all levels for everyone. My life has become so intrinsically linked to the mountains that being up at high altitude feels so comfortable, it’s like my normal world.”
Notable Achievements
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Guiding 8000m peaks twelve times: Everest (4 times), Lhotse (twice), Makalu (twice), K2, Kanchenjunga, Manaslu and Dhaulagiri
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Organising and guiding the current 7 Summits Guinness World Record
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Successfully organising and guiding a rare winter ascent of Denali in Alaska
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24 Himalayan expeditions including 13 summits of Ama Dablam of which one was the FKT
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Climbing 3 x 7000m peaks in 28 days in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan alpine style
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The first British ski descent of Peak Lenin 7134m
Other fun highlights include: running the Bob Graham round in 22hr 30, setting a new British record running up Kilimanjaro and completing the brutal Yukon Arctic Ultra 430 mile race (this was hard!).
Jon is supported by Rab, SunGod and The Johnston Quarry Group.