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Mountain Kingdoms' founding fathers back together
Back in 1987, two friends and mountaineers, Steve Berry and Steve Bell, decided to give up their day jobs and forge a new career doing what they loved - climbing mountains and trekking. And so was born Mountain Kingdoms (then called Himalayan Kingdoms).
The company quickly developed a reputation for its expertise in creating and leading innovative and challenging treks in the Himalaya - including to the summit of Mount Everest. In fact, in 1993, they were the first company to successfully get paying clients to the summit, led by Steve Bell himself. In 1995 the company split when Steve Bell moved to Sheffield to focus on running mountaineering expeditions whilst Steve Berry continued with his passion for great trekking holidays.
Steve Bell, eventually moved to Australia but the two Steves have remained close friends and in 2014 Steve Berry flew to Australia for Steve Bell's wedding. On the way back he stopped off at Easter Island to recce our distinctive Easter Island walking holidays. This week, Steve Bell returned to the UK and the founding fathers were once again reunited at Mountain Kingdoms. The photo shows Steve Bell on the left with his wife and Steve Berry.
In recent times, both adventurers have written and published books about their thrilling, funny and often heart-stopping experiences as young mountaineers. Steve Berry's memoir is called Straight Up and Steve Bell's is Virgin on Insanity. Both make for highly entertaining reads.
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