Although mountaineering has played a large part in his life Tony has also travelled extensively and had a colourful and varied career. This includes 5 years in the Royal Navy where he saw active service in the Falklands conflict, working in New Zealand on a bungy platform and as a deck hand on an Australian prawn boat. As well as climbing in this country, Tony has climbed in India, Nepal, Morocco, New Zealand, Indonesia and the Alps. As an instructor/ expedition leader he has worked all over the UK and has successfully led expeditions to altitudes of over 6000m in the Himalayas. Life changed dramatically for Tony in 1998 when he was diagnosed with End Stage Renal Failure. This meant he needed to spend 10 hours every day on a dialysis machine if he wanted to survive. This was devastating news both in terms of his career and life style.
Despite this debilitating illness and being told he would never climb again Tony did continue with his mountaineering exploits. During 7 years of dialysis he completed a number of remarkable achievements including carrying out the worlds highest dialysis exchange at 4000m on the slopes of Mont Blanc – the first of 3 world records he holds.
Thanks to his brother, Tony had a successful kidney transplant in 2005. Since starting No Limits, Tony has less time for the more committing expeditions but is still very active in the hills. He now gains a great deal of pleasure by providing opportunities for young people to experience the outdoor environment and the limitless possibilities it offers. Tony is proud to be associated with the DofE Award scheme as the owner of an Approved Activity Provider. “Providing opportunities for young people to participate in DofE Expeditions has proved to be a means of giving something back to a scheme which has given me so much. Participating in the DofE gave me a sense of independence and exploration at a young age which has stayed with me ever since.”