STAVELEY adventurer Leo Houlding has battled sickness, bad weather and route problems during the first stage of his latest mission.

The Cumbrian climber and his team have successfully established a port-a-ledge camp on the north west face of the Mirror Wall, in Greenland, and have started to tackle a line on the main headwall.

But combinations of extremely thin and loose sections, and some very technical climbing, have made progress slow, difficult and dangerous.

With their helicopter pick up from the surface of the glacier scheduled for Leo’s birthday on July 28, the team now faces a race against time to complete the climb. Any more bad weather could also obstruct their efforts.

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After being dropped off on the Edward Bailey Glacier on June 25, Leo, along with Joe Mo?hle, Matt Pickles, Matt Pycroft and Waldo Etherington, first established a base camp, and then an advance base camp at the foot of the Mirror Wall.

In the process, three of the team were struck down by diarrhoea and vomiting, slowing down the whole expedition.

Once they had scoped out a potential route on the unclimbed north west face, the team set up a hanging port-a-ledge camp (the Bedouin Camp) on the wall and started the serious climbing.

As of July 19, and despite setbacks and at least one fall, Houlding and team still believe that they can complete their intended route.

For Houlding, the Mirror Wall is his first major expedition since becoming a father, which he says has given him a very different perspective on life in the vertical world.

While away, his daughter Freya has celebrated her second birthday, which he spent tackling one of the most crucial sections of the climb.

Leo said: “I'm definitely more risk averse - I'm extremely conscious all the time about the countless hazards my friends and I are facing, with more thought for potential consequences of things going wrong.

“And that is so far keeping us safe and on track, although heavily off schedule.”