Without wishing to sound too much like a recorded pre-flight safety announcement, the thing I’m most concerned about when I’m planning, organising and carrying out expeditions is my own safety. Convincing sponsors, the media, the audiences I speak to, my girlfriend and my mum that solo expeditions without support over several weeks in one of the least hospitable places on the planet aren’t inherently reckless has at times been difficult.

And while I suspect I have a healthier appetite than most for challenge, solitude, hardship and risk, outright danger is something I’ll go out of my way to steer clear of.