Life.Culture.Discovery.

Everest climber Adrian Hayes on a challenge that was even harder than tackling K2

The British adventurer talks about his unconventional education, his experiences on the notoriously difficult mountain K2 and life’s greatest challenge

He reflects on the advantages of climbing in the pre-social-media age, when there wasn’t the urge to to show the world ‘look where I am’, ‘look what I’ve achieved’

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Adrian Hayes, the fastest man to complete the Three Poles – the North Pole, South Pole and Mount Everest. Photo: EPA

Published: 8:00pm, 19 Jun 2019Updated: 8:00pm, 19 Jun 2019

THE GREAT OUTDOORS I was born in 1959 and grew up in the New Forest, in the south of England. I have two brothers – one older and one younger – and our childhood was spent outdoors. I was fascinated by the world we lived in. I had a globe that I used to look at for hours. Aged 12, my walls were covered with pictures of polar explorers. My heroes were British climber Chris Bonington and explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes.

Looking back, I think there was a desire for escape. It was a happy childhood, but I had struggles. I was shy and reserved, and I wasn’t great at school; I left at 16 with five GCSEs and went travelling. I hitchhiked to Norway and worked in farming there; I farmed in New Zealand; I was a builder’s labourer and a bricklayer. In between that I was climbing mountains – I had learned to climb in Scotland. It was six years of the university of life, embracing every outdoor adventure I could.

A SOLDIER’S LIFE I realised there’s an organisation that pays you to do that, so I joined the army. I chose the reserve unit of the SAS (Special Air Service), which was two years of full-time soldiering. I managed to get into the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and I was commissioned in 1985 with the Gurkhas. I did two years in Hong Kong, two in Brunei, two more in Hong Kong and then took a secondment to southern Oman.

After eight years with the Gurkhas, I felt it was time to leave. The chances of commanding a regiment were slim and I could see my life in the army moving towards pen-pushing.

Hayes (centre) with Gurkhas in Hong Kong in 1990.

EYE ON EVEREST I decided to do an MBA. I envisioned following the well-trodden path of the army officer into the City (London’s financial hub). However, the thought of spending my life in front of a screen was as bad as the thought of pen-pushing. I ended up in sales, eventually returning to the Middle East as a sales director for Airbus. It was a fantastic job, travelling the world and dealing with ministers, CEOs, sheikhs and the odd president. And the adventuring carried on; I was racing, doing ironmans and triathlons, along with pursuing an interest in personal development.

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