Top climber tells of his battle to conquer illness

A former St Andrews University student who overcame adversity to become the youngest Briton ever to conquer the pinnacle of climbing challenges is inspiring others in a new book.

Geordie Stewart was only 22 when he climbed the Seven Summits, the highest mountain on every continent, and already counts the likes of explorers Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Bear Grylls as fans.

Now aged 29, Geordie is excited about self-publishing In Search of Sisu, which covers his personal transition from teenager to adulthood and personal struggles on and off the mountains.

The ex-army officer, who grew up in Edinburgh, has spoken publicly before about how he decided to take on the gruelling climbs to help conquer his bulimia, and the book reveals how the mountains became his “focus” set against that backdrop.

“I wanted to do it firstly because it was an exciting adventure as it enabled me to push myself and travel around the world,” he said of the ambitious challenge.

“However, ultimately it became a journey to find myself and grow up and get to understand myself better.

“I don’t have bulimia anymore but, in the same way an alcoholic would never call themselves fully recovered, you don’t want to be complacent about it.

“The odd thing about bulimia for me is it wasn’t always about my weight. It was more about my mindset.”

Aged just 17 with no climbing experience, Geordie read a book about Everest and became obsessed with achieving that ambition.

After extraordinary climbs across the world, he fulfilled that dream by standing on the summit of Mount Everest in 2011.

“This is my first book and one that was challenging to write,” he said.

“It was an intense and quite emotional experience putting my thoughts down on paper.”

Geordie Stewart on Everest.