In a nutshell

Tom was born in Portsmouth on May 22nd 1973. From his childhood he has always preferred the outdoor life and his passion for the hills has taken him all over the world. He is passionate about mountaineering, rock climbing, paragliding, mountain biking and ski touring.

Tom was introduced to walking and climbing in Scotland and Wales by his parents from an early age. He has skied most years since he was eight and has guided friends on peaks such as Mont Blanc, the Matterhorn and the Weismiss in the Alps. The first peak in the Himalayas that Tom climbed was Ama Dablam, a mountain previously described by Hillary as 'unclimbable'. He has climbed four of the seven summits, Kilimanjaro, Aconcagua, Elbrus and Everest where he and his brother Ben entered the record books becoming the first British brothers to stand on top of the world together, on 18th May, 2006. This was their second attempt - the first was made from Tibet in 2004, on the northern side but they became trapped in a violent storm for two days at 7,900m. They were forced to turn around. Eight climbers lost their lives.

Tom believes that if you want to do something enough you can - you just have to believe in yourself. He loves a challenge and has cycled from John O'Groats to Lands End with no support, he has ridden the Cresta run and fallen at Shutlecock corner, he has run with the bulls in Pamplona and flown with eagles on his paraglider over Mount Olympus in Greece.

Tom has a BA International Business Studies degree and speaks French and Spanish. In the early days, Tom worked as a cycle courier and barman in London, he then worked in the sports marketing world for a number of years before doing the marketing for an adventure travel company. Tom now speaks professionally on the lecture circuit in the UK having spoken at numerous schools and companies since 2001.

Tom in the Khumbu Ice Fall

Tom & Ben Clowes on the Summit of Everest