Leo Houlding

Considered one of the all-time best adventure climbers, Leo is a climbing prodigy who started by scaling the Old Man of Hoy at just ten years old and later became the British Junior Indoor Climbing Champion aged sixteen.

Now 42, he has climbed the most difficult and highest mountains in the world. A veteran of scores of epic ascents, Leo specialises in free climbing the most technical peaks and biggest walls on the planet.

His new ‘audience with’ style lecture show Closer to The Edge, presented by Speakers from the Edge in association with Berghaus, will celebrate the launch of Leo’s first book, also called Closer to The Edge. The show will be at the Pavilion Arts Centre in Buxton on Wednesday October 5.

Leo has captivated and inspired audiences with his tales of extreme adventure and adrenalin-fuelled exploits. He famously raced and beat Jeremy Clarkson on BBC's Top Gear, took the role of Sandy Irvine in the IMAX movie The Wildest Dream, retracing the last steps of Mallory and Irvine on their fateful 1924 Everest expedition, using clothing and kit from the same era, and has hosted adventure TV shows including Fierce Earth on BBC and Lost Worlds on Discovery. He has also produced and featured in many multi-award-winning adventure movies including The Asgard Project, The Prophet and The Last Great Climb, earning the respect of peers and an engaged following amongst outdoor enthusiasts around the world.

In Closer to the Edge, Leo offers a brief overview of his life so far, before following on from his previous best-selling 2019 tour, The Spectre Expedition, bringing audiences up to date with his audacious expeditions, including his more recent ascent of Mount Roraima, the high, rain forest-engulfed South American plateau which inspired Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World!

Leo’s book Closer to the Edge, which will be released to coincide with this theatre tour, given the significant crossover between the two, is a 'warts-and-all' insight into the life of an extreme climber. He describes his childhood climbing inspirations, his mentors, and the exhilaration of those teenage years when he broke into the public consciousness and reveals what drives him, how he assesses risk and judges how close to the edge he can go and return safely, and how he balances this with teaching his own children the lessons he has learnt in some of the world's most dangerous and extreme places.

Tickets for Closer to the Edge at the Pavilion Arts Centre are priced at £18.50. Book at https://buxtonoperahouse.org.uk/boxoffice/ticket/725991 or call the box office on 01298 72190.