THE MOUNTAIN INQUISITION

Quadruple amputee Jamie Andrew recently climbed the Matterhorn. He’s clearly no ordinary mountaineer...

What’s your next big challenge? I’ve dreamed about climbing El Cap

Scafell Pike, Snowdon or Ben Nevis? Ben Nevis. Scotland is my country and Ben Nevis is the highest mountain. You could revisit its amazing north face pretty much every day for the rest of your life. The highest mountain you’ve climbed? It’s not that impressive! Kilimanjaro, just below 6000m [5895m]. It’s more about technical interest for me. Who’s your mountaineering hero? Robin Smith died tragically young [at 23, on an expedition in the Pamirs] but he was an Edinburgh University mountaineer and a pioneering climber in the Fifties and Sixties, really ahead of his time. What do you love most about the mountains? It’s wonderful being out in the some of the most remote and savage parts of the planet. There’s inspiring scenery, and challenges on a physical, mental and emotional level. It’s great for health, wellbeing and fitness, it contains an element of thrill and excitement; then there’s the camaraderie, teamwork and friendship. Hard to answer in one sentence! Who would play you in a movie? Brad Pitt, obviously! I have been played by people in TV documentaries, and it’s very weird to watch. The worst thing you’ve ever eaten? I was once in Morocco’s Atlas Mountains and all I had left was a packet of biscuits. I opened them to find them crawling with mealworms. I just picked them out and ate the biscuits. When was the last time you were naked outdoors? I quite often swim. A bit of skinny-dipping every now and again never hurt anybody! You’re in a pub. What’s on the menu? It’s got to start with a drink, so a beer to begin with; and then, if we remember to eat, something calorific and comforting. The weirdest place you’ve slept? In a cave in Borneo where they collect birds’ nests for soup. Your best ever pair of walking boots? Nowadays, I do most of my mountaineering in Walshes [a British hill-running shoe] and that’s what I climbed the Matterhorn in. They’ve got a neat sole and really good grips. Wild camp or posh hotel? Posh hotels are nice but a wild camp always gives you a more memorable experience. What’s your next big challenge? I climbed the Matterhorn this summer, and that’d been my big challenge for a while. I’ve always dreamed about climbing El Capitan in Yosemite, I don’t know if it will be next, but… Your ultimate mountain day in 3 words?

Safe pub return.

Jamie Andrew lost both hands and feet after being trapped in a storm on a 4000m Alpine peak. Since then he has run the London Marathon, and he summited Kilimanjaro in 2004 and the Matterhorn last summer. You can see him speak at Edinburgh (see left).