Alex Staniforth (born 1995) is an English adventurer, speaker, author, and charity ambassador. He has made two attempts to climb

Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow ...

and completed numerous endurance challenges. His debut book 'Icefall' was published in March 2016 and is an autobiographical account of his attempts to climb Everest. In July 2017, Staniforth became the fastest person to climb all 100 UK county tops in 72 days.

Early life

Staniforth was born in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's coun ...

in 1995. He grew up in

Kelsall Kelsall is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is located around east of Chester, west of Northwich and north west of Tarporley. The village is s ...

and attended

Tarporley High School Tarporley High School and Sixth Form College is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form with academy status, located in the village of Tarporley, Cheshire, England. Admissions It has around 1,000 students with 800,000 teachers. It is a ...

and Sixth Form College.

Everest

Staniforth first attempted to climb

aged 18. After reaching

Everest Base Camp There are two base camps on Mount Everest, on opposite sides of the mountains: South Base Camp is in Nepal at an altitude of (), while North Base Camp is in Tibet, China at (). The base camps are rudimentary campsites at the base of Mount Ev ...

from

Lukla Lukla ( ne, लुक्ला ) is a small town in the Khumbu Pasanglhamu rural municipality of the Solukhumbu District in the Province No. 1 of north-eastern Nepal. Situated at , it is a popular place for visitors to the Himalayas near Mount Ev ...

, he and his team were preparing for their bid on the summit when an

avalanche An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and ear ...

in the Khumbu Icefall killed 16 climbing Sherpas. The decision was taken to abandon the expedition. Staniforth returned to

Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow ...

in 2015. On 25 April 2015, the Nepal earthquake struck. The earthquake measured 7.8 on the Richter scale and precipitated several avalanches on Everest, one of which hit base camp and killed 3 Sherpas in Staniforth's team. He and his team was just below Camp 1 (6,050m) and became stranded on the mountain for two days before evacuation by helicopter.

Cho Oyu

In Autumn 2016, Staniforth attempted to climb the world's sixth highest mountain

Cho Oyu __NOTOC__ Cho Oyu (Nepali: चोयु; ; ) is the sixth-highest mountain in the world at above sea level. Cho Oyu means "Turquoise Goddess" in Tibetan. The mountain is the westernmost major peak of the ''Khumbu'' sub-section of the Mahalang ...

which stands at over 8,000 meters, in preparation for another attempt on Everest in the near future. He reached Camp 2 (7,125 meters) before abandoning his summit bid.

Book

Staniforth's autobiography, 'Icefall', was published in March 2016 by

Coventry House Publishing Coventry House Publishing, LLC is an American non-fiction book imprint located in Dublin, Ohio. Notable authors * Jake Anderson, TV personality on Deadliest Catch * Josh Flagg, TV personality on Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles * Madison Hi ...

. It tells how he has overcome adversity since his childhood in Cheshire and his two

attempts. Adventurers Bear Grylls and Mark Wood both endorsed the book. 'Icefall' won a bronze medal in the Readers Favorite International Book Contest 2016. In summer 2016, Staniforth toured the UK signing books and talking about his experiences.

Charity work

Staniforth is a charity fundraiser and ambassador for YHA England and Wales and PHASE Worldwide. In August 2016, Staniforth became an ambassador for PHASE Worldwide. He has worked with PHASE since he helped to organise the 'Walk for Nepal' event on the anniversary of the earthquake in April 2016. Over 120 people, including Staniforth, climbed

Mount Snowdon Snowdon () or (), is the highest mountain in Wales, at an elevation of above sea level, and the highest point in the British Isles outside the Scottish Highlands. It is located in Snowdonia National Park (') in Gwynedd (historic ...

in Wales and raised over £20,000 for PHASE.

Awards

After fundraising over £24,000 for mental health charity Young Minds UK, Staniforth won the

Pride of Britain The Pride of Britain Awards is an annual award ceremony which has taken place in the United Kingdom since May 1999 and first televised on ITV in April 2000. The awards honour British people who have acted bravely or extraordinarily in challen ...

'Fundraiser of the Year' award for the

ITV Granada Reports ITV News ''Granada Reports'' is a British television news service broadcast and produced by ITV Granada. Overview ''Granada Reports'' is produced and broadcast from studios in the Orange Tower at MediaCityUK in Salford Quays. Before this, the ...

region.

Speaking

Staniforth tours the UK as a speaker to a variety of audiences including schools, corporate audiences, charities and conferences

References

External links

Mount Everest Interview with Alex Staniforth
{{DEFAULTSORT:Staniforth, Alex 1995 births Living people People with epilepsy English writers with disabilities English motivational speakers English mountain climbers People from Chester 21st-century English writers