He has since gone on to not only summit the world's toughest peaks, but to cross continents to explore the most extreme places our planet has to offer - from the frozen mountains of Antarctica to the jungles of South America. Closer to the Edge is the story of a remarkable climber and free spirit who has been at the top of his game for over thirty years, with still more mountains to explore. How does he assess risk and judge what level he'll take himself to be successful, and how does he balance this with teaching his own children the lessons he has learnt in some of the world's most dangerous and extreme places.

The ethical debate as to where it was appropriate to place bolts for sport climbing or withhold them to maintain adventure values was a hot topic in Rogaland at the time. In the meantime, I'll try to channel all the stoke and enthusiasm this book radiates into my own adventures.

I stepped out of the car, walked the short way to the base of the sculpture and without pause shimmied my way up the iron fins that formed the body, onto the wing, then surmounted the overhanging head to stand on top.

Closer to the Edge' is Leo's 'warts-and-all' insight into the extreme life of one of Britain's best climbers who is active today and still planning epic adventures.

My catchphrase for that Norway trip was 'I'll climb anything you can in my trainers' and I did a good job of supporting my claim, favouring those specialist approach shoes that are good for climbing but disguised as regular trainers.