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Mountaineer gives King's top lecture

4/ 4/2002

BRITAIN'S greatest post war adventurer Dr Stephen Venables gave a talk to an audience of pupils and parents at King's School in Macclesfield.

He visited the school as part of their Professor Tylecote lecture - held once every 20 years to celebrate Britain's most remarkable individuals.

"I had always enjoyed the mountains and walking and after university I soon gave up attempts to forge a career in the City to concentrate on my greatest love," he said modestly.

He added: "That's the only advice I would give the young. Find something you really enjoy and then exceed your own expectations. Be better than you expected."

The award winning author and photographer was the first Briton to reach the summit of Everest without the aid of oxygen in 1988.

He then went on retrace the footsteps of Sir Ernest Shackleton on his epic yet harrowing boat and foot journey from Elephant island to South Georgia, a deed portrayed in Kenneth Brannagh's Christmas TV epic.

Other memorable journeys, included to the Andes, the equatorial snows of East Africa and the sub Antartic island of South Georgia, plus classic climbs like the North face of the Eiger and the Himalaya, where he has made many first ascents.

Vice Principal of King's Boys' Division, Peter Edgerton, the master in charge of outdoor activities, said: "Stephen Venables is one of the greatest post war British mountaineers. His journey to retrace the footsteps of Shackleton was nothing short of amazing."

He added: "What is more, he is a highly entertaining and authoritative speaker with a wealth of breathtaking photography."

Dr Venables added: "Many people think there is no where else to explore, but 90 per cent of the oceans' beds have not been visited. That's our next challenge."