STANDING on top of Mount Kilimanjaro after an exhausting 1,363mile journey, Oli France was relieved.
On the way, he'd faced extreme weather, police shakedowns, attempted extortion and wild animals.
Having grown up in a small village outside Wigan, a young Oli could never have dreamed of making a career from trips like this guiding teams through some of the world's most hostile destinations.
The married dad-of-two has spent the last 10 years of his life completing jaw-dropping adventures; including climbing the highest mountain in Iraq, a solo 400-mile crossing of Lake Baikal in Siberia, and a solo winter 8,000-mile from Hong Kong to Istanbul across the mountainous spine of Asia.
But now, Oli, 32, has his sights on an even bigger challenge. He has plans to complete a challenge which has never been done before - to journey from the lowest point in every continent, to the highest.
It's a project that will take him across 20 different countries and every imaginable landscape through jungles, seas, deserts, mountains, war-zones and polar regions.
"It's only in the last year or two that I've convinced myself the whole project is actually possible," Oli said, speaking to the Manchester Evening News.
Denne historien er fra October 15, 2023-utgaven av MEN on Sunday.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra October 15, 2023-utgaven av MEN on Sunday.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Bethell relishing Old Trafford T20 decider
JACOB Bethell was pleased to get down to business for England after admitting he struggled to shut out the external noise during a low-key international debut.
Is this turning point that boss so badly needs?
Victory buys Ten Hag breathing space, but now United must capitalise on it
Food for thought for the Insta diners
Why we need to disconnect from our phones for the best eating out experience
'It would normally be packed but now! it's a GHOST TOWN'
Traders warn they won't survive the loss of spaces after water company closed car park
Man used trafficked woman to make more than £100k
A MAN profited from the exploitation of a vulnerable woman to the tune of more than £100,000.
'You imagine there would be a lot of barking but it was silent?
The devastating Manchester Dogs Home fire ten years on
Couple's home hit by car for THIRD time
Pair forced to evacuate property
Shopkeeper faces £20k costs to undo changes he made
Business owner was refused permission for work already done
Disorder'more anti-government than racism'
Barrister makes claim as thug who attacked bus during trouble outside hotel housing asylum seekers jailed
'There's no characters left'
Traders and customers' sadness as shutters come down on market for final time