About Tori James

I grew up on a farm in Pembrokeshire where I loved exploring the local countryside. I was always keen to help out on the farm whatever the weather, carrying huge buckets of milk to feed calves or throwing straw bales onto trailers.

When I was 14 I started the Duke of Edinburgh's Award and after completing my Gold I realised that the expedition element of the Award had triggered a desire to seek out a bit more adventure. In 2000, I was a member of a 4-week expedition to the Vatnajokull glacier in Iceland with BSES Expeditions where I studied glaciology and learnt how to ice climb, abseil and ski cross-country.

To continue this emerging fascination with snow and ice I went on to study for a Geography degree at Royal Holloway, University of London, which focussed on, among other things the cryosphere (anything to do with snow and ice cover on the earth's surface) as well as 'cultures of exploration'.

Immediately following my degree I started work for the British Schools Exploring Society (BSES Expeditions) which is based at the Royal Geographical Society in London. Here, I inspired hundreds of young explorers from all over the UK to take up the challenge of science work on overseas expeditions to some of the most remote and unique places in the world. It was during my time at BSES that I became part of a team that was determined to make the record books.

In May 2005 my team, the Pink Lady PoleCats, became the first ever all-female team to complete the Polar Challenge, a grueling 360 mile race to the magnetic North Pole. Not only did we finish the race in 6th position out of 16 teams, but we also beat some all-male teams along the way! We raced through polar bear territory, across constantly-shifting sea ice in white out conditions and in temperatures of -40°C. In addition, the team raised £30,000 for Breakthrough Breast Cancer.

Less than 6 months after returning from the Arctic I helped form a team of four from London Business School that wanted to climb Mount Everest. As part of our training, we travelled to Tibet to climb Cho Oyu (8,201 m/26,906ft), the world's sixth highest mountain and I was the only member of the team who successfully reached the summit, making me the highest Welsh woman in history.

With the confidence I gained on Cho Oyu, I set out for Everest and on 24th May 2007, at 0730 local time, I reached the summit (8,850m/29,035ft). In doing so, I became the youngest British female (at 25) and the first ever Welsh woman to climb Mount Everest. The team raised £10,000 for the Prince's Trust.

All of my expeditions have featured in the media and you can watch some of the best bits in the television section of this website (coming soon). When I'm not living out of a tent and cooking on a stove I support a number of youth organisations, some of which contributed enormously to my teenage years.