Expeditions
NOTABLE EXPEDITIONS
Trans-Sahara Desert, Algeria 1987 – a 2000 km solo journey on foot from Algiers to the town of Tammanrasset in the Hoggar Mountains in southern Algeria which included crossing the Erg Occidental and the Tademait Plateau, followed by a return into Morocco and crossing part of the Erg Chech dune desert.
Crossing of the Lago Naki Plateau, Russia 1999 – following the break up of the USSR and opening up of previously secretive areas of the country Gavin and his Russian friend Sasha Lebedev were the first to cross the Lago naki plateau on foot and horseback.
Millennium Seven Summits Expedition, 2000 – organiser and leader of a year long expedition to climb the Seven Summits, the highest peaks on each of the seven continents. An official Millennium event, Gavin raised £140,000 for Comic Relief and Moving Mountains and wore a red nose on each summit, and took teams of people on each mountain (except Vinson in Antarctica) to raise money for charity.
Low’s Gully, Mount Kinabalu, Borneo, 2007 – a descent of the infamous gully following the route of the British Army Expedition in 1994. With a team of four, the expedition attempted to make a fast lightweight descent but was thwarted by high water.
Magnetic North Pole, Canada, 2013 – co-leader of an expedition to walk to the magnetic North Pole from Resolute Bay, Nunavut, a distance of 650 kms over four weeks. Completed with ten clients.
NOTABLE EXPEDITION PEAKS
Mount Everest (8848m), South East ridge, 2000
Organiser of the Millennium Everest Expedition and the first summit of Mount Everest in the new millennium. The British team included guide John Barry and Andrew Salter, and Polly Murray and Chris Tiso from Scotland. Bottled oxygen was used and a team of Sherpas led by Lama Jangbu Sherpa to help stock the four camps. Barry, Salter and Murray summited, but Gavin was turned round at the South Summit, 8750 metres.
Mount Everest (8848m), North Face/North East ridge, 2002
Two man team of Gavin and Northern Irish climber Will Canning climbed without bottled oxygen and no Sherpas with only two camps at 7000m and 8100m starting from the Rongbuk Glacier on the Chinese/Tibetan side. The pair reached the Second Step at 8610m when Will dislocated his kneecap and was unable to continue up. There followed a dramatic three day descent in poor weather down the North Face and back to Advance Base Camp.
Mount Everest (8848m), South East ridge, 2005
Gavin climbed alone on this expedition without using bottled oxygen and employing only one camp at the top of the Western Cwm at 6500m. This was a ten week expedition, training on several other 6000m peaks nearby in order to avoid multiple journeys through the Icefall. Gavin also used the original 1953 Preliminary Base Camp at Deboche (near Thyangboche) as his base point, about 12 kms down the valley from the Advanced Base Camp at the base of the Icefall. He made a single push from Camp 2 to the summit but was turned back at 8750m by queues of other climbers between the South Summit and the Hillary Step.
Mount Everest (8848m), Traverse of North Face/North East ridge & South East Ridge, 2007
Gavin climbed alone and alpine style on this ten week expedition without using bottled oxygen and no high camps, intending a traverse from North to South. He trained on nearby Cho Oyu (8201m) for four weeks, then moved to Everest Advanced Base Camp on the Rongbuk Glacier at 5150m and did multiple rotations up to 8000m over four weeks. For the summit day he employed Pasang Tendi Sherpa to follow at a distance with bottled oxygen. On summit day Gavin climbed non-stop to the Second Step at 8610m before being overcome by a pulmonary oedema. Pasang Tendi found him and provided oxygen and there followed a dramatic descent over two days back to Advanced Base Camp.
Mount Everest (8848m) South East ridge, 2009
Organiser and leader of a commercial expedition with two clients to climb Mount Everest by the South side using bottled oxygen and the traditional four camps with an interim base camp at 6400m. A team of five Sherpas supported the team, led by Pasang Tendi Sherpa. On summit day one client turned back early with low energy, one client made it to the South Summit and Gavin turned back just above the Balcony at 8400m due to an iced-up valve on his oxygen mask.
Mount Everest South East ridge, 2011
Organiser and leader of a commercial expedition with two clients to climb Mount Everest by the South side using bottled oxygen and four camps. A team of five Sherpas supported the team, led by Pasang Tendi Sherpa. On summit day one client turned back at the Balcony due to tiredness, the second client Dave Hill summitted and Gavin summited with PT Sherpa.
Note: all the Everest expeditions were self-funded, self-organised and led. Gavin received kit sponsorship from Tiso’s of Scotland for the Millennium Expedition and from Berghaus.
Cho Oyu (8201m), Tibet, 1998
Gavin was a member of a four man team from Ireland on the normal (Herbert Tichy) route with no Sherpas and no bottled oxygen, using three high camps. Summit was reached by Gavin and Pat Falvey.
Cho Oyu (8201m), Tibet, 2007
Organiser and leader of a six man team with no bottled oxygen on the normal route. The team reached 7500m but were turned back by hard ice on the headwall. Gavin used this expedition as acclimatisation for his attempt at a North-South traverse of Mount Everest.
Mustagh Ata (7547m), Pamir Mt Range, Xinjiang, China, 2010
Organiser and co-guide of a fourteen man team on the Normal route. The four week expedition involved crossing the Taklamakan Desert and putting in two high camps. Gavin reached the summit on snowshoes with eight of the team.
Mount Aconcagua (6962m), Argentina, 2000 -2015
2000: Horcones Route, 12 man team, summit
2002: Horcones Route, 6 man team, summit
2004: Vacas Valley Route, 6 man team, summit
2007: Traverse, 4 man team, summit
2009: Horcones route, 5 man team, 6500m
2011: Horcones route, 14 man team, 6200m
2015: Horcones route, 12 man team, summit
Mount Ojos del Salado (6950m), Chile
2006: normal route, 7 man team, summit.
2007: normal route, 9 man team, 6900m
Mount Denali (6456m), Alaska, USA
1997: West Buttress route, 12 man team, summit (ski descent)
2000: West Buttress route, leader of 10 man team, summit (ski descent)
2004: West Buttress route, co-leader of 6 man team, summit
2012: West Buttress route, leader of 6 man team, reached 6000m
Mount Elbrus (5642m), Russia, 2000 – 2018
17 trips on both north and south side and 12 successful summits.
Mount Vinson (4897m), Antarctica, 2000
As part of the Millennium Seven Summits Expedition Gavin summited the peak in December 2000 with an international team.
Carstenz Pyramid (Puncak Jaya) (4884m), Irian Jaya, Indonesia, 2000
Organiser and guide of 6 man successful team on the normal route.
Mont Blanc (4808m), France
1995 & 2002: summits on Goûter Route
Island Peak (Imja Tse) (6185m), Nepal, 1998 – 2011
Organiser and guide on 17 commercial expeditions.
Pokalde Peak (5745m), Nepal, 1999 – 2011
Organiser and guide on four commercial expeditions.
Mount Kilimanjaro (5895m), Tanzania, 1991 – 2018
Organiser and guide of 56 successful ascents to Kibo summit using all routes.
Mount Kenya, Kenya 4995m
Organiser and guide of 46 successful ascents to Point Lenana.
Ascent of Nelion Peak with Kenyan guide, 2004.
Mount Kinabalu (4042m), Sabah, Malaysia
Organiser and leader of successful summits in 2001, 2005, 2009
Mount Toubkal (4167m), Morocco, 1998 – 2018
Organiser and leader of 11 successful winter summits on normal route.