Nigel Vardy is an English

mountaineer Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, an ...

whose experiences of recovering from severe frostbite injuries led him to become a

motivational speaker A motivational speaker is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. Such speakers may attempt to challenge or transform their audiences. The speech itself is popularly known as a pep talk. Motivational speakers ...

and author. Vardy was rescued after being overtaken by darkness at high altitude on a climb of

Denali Denali (; also known as Mount McKinley, its former official name) is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of above sea level. With a topographic prominence of and a topographic isolation of , Denali is the thi ...

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S ...

in May 1999, facing temperatures of . He suffered severe

frostbite Frostbite is a skin injury that occurs when exposed to extreme low temperatures, causing the freezing of the skin or other tissues, commonly affecting the fingers, toes, nose, ears, cheeks and chin areas. Most often, frostbite occurs in the ha ...

and his injuries led to the

amputation Amputation is the removal of a limb by trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on ind ...

of all his toes, fingers and his nose. In 2006 a 45-minute documentary was broadcast of his party's incident on Mount McKinley for the TV series ''

I Shouldn't Be Alive ''I Shouldn't Be Alive'' is a documentary film, documentary television series made by Darlow Smithson Productions, a UK-based production company, that featured accounts of individuals or groups caught in life-threatening scenarios away from civ ...

''. Months of recovery followed his accident, but Vardy eventually returned to

climbing Climbing is the activity of using one's hands, feet, or any other part of the body to ascend a steep topographical object that can range from the world's tallest mountains (e.g. the eight thousanders), to small boulders. Climbing is done ...

, explored mountains across the world, and three years later successfully returned to high-altitude climbing by reaching

Island Peak Imja Tse, better known as Island Peak, is a mountain in Sagarmatha National Park of the Himalayas of eastern Nepal. The peak was named Island Peak in 1953 by members of the British Mount Everest expedition because it appears as an island in a sea ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...

. In 2014, despite his lack of toes, Vardy reached

Gunnbjørn Fjeld Gunnbjørn Fjeld is the tallest mountain in Greenland, the Kingdom of Denmark, and north of the Arctic Circle. It is a nunatak, a rocky peak protruding through glacial ice. Geography Gunnbjørn Fjeld is located in the Watkins Range, an ar ...

, the highest mountain north of the Arctic Circle, as well as undertaking a further mountaineering expedition in Nepal. He also became the first Briton to achieve the "seven peaks-seven islands" challenge, summitting the highest peaks on the world's seven largest islands. Vardy uses his experiences of rescue, recovery and return to mountaineering as a motivational speaker, and is sometimes known as "Mr. Frostbite". In 2016 ''Mountain Rescue'' magazine announced that he had become an associate of the

Buxton Mountain Rescue Team The Buxton Mountain Rescue Team is a UK registered charity operating search and rescue missions from its base at Dove Holes near Buxton in Derbyshire. The team covers an area of about 400 square miles across Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Chesh ...

in the

Peak District The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It includes the Dark Peak, where moorl ...

, helping to fund raise and train others. Vardy was appointed a "Get Outside Champion" by the British

Ordnance Survey Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. There was ...

in 2017, and is an ambassador for the Mountain Heritage Trust.

Publications

*Vardy, N. (2008). ''Once Bitten''. Panoma Press, St Albans. *Vardy, N. (2011). ''Seven Peaks – Seven Islands''. Panoma Press, St Albans.

References

External links

*
Interview with Nigel Vardy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vardy, Nigel 1969 births Living people English amputees English male writers English mountain climbers