Venables and his dramatic ascent of the Kangshung face of Everest is described by Lord Hunt as ‘one of the most remarkable ordeals from which men or women have returned alive.

Higher than the Eagle Soars is autobiographical exploration of how and why Stephen Venables became a mountaineer and includes a revelatory series of never-recorded adventures on four continents.

As Venables writes: ‘Although we didn’t go seeking deliberately an epic near-death experience, it did turn out that way – the ultimate endurance test for which all the previous adventures seemed, retrospectively, to be a preparation.