'Russell Square Tube station has the longest staircase, and I managed to work out exactly how many steps were equal to a typical daily altitude gain on the mountain expeditions.' Each time I'd climb it while dodging tourists coming the other way, then take the lift up and start all over again. 'A few times I couldn't get away, so I decided to climb up the spiral staircase in Russell Square Tube station about 30 times, again carrying the heavy backpack. It wasn't easy to fit in training around work, but on the weekends, I would head out to hilly areas outside London to trudge around with my huge backpack. 'I slowly built up to carrying 25kgs of water in a backpack on the treadmill. I started doing cardio and lifting weights, and also began carrying water bottles in a backpack, in preparation for carrying heavy loads and dragging sleds on the mountains. She explained: 'I knew that there is no such thing as an 'easy' mountain expedition, and preparation can be the difference between survival and injury or worse.

In a bid to achieve her goal, Cairns went about crafting a vigorous training routine that she said she took 'very seriously'. I'm thinking of you and sending you all my love.''Īfter plotting her around-the-world adventure, Cairns realised she had to get into shape as she had 'virtually no' experience with hiking and climbing. 'Several times when I messaged her from some windy isolated mountainside to say I was exhausted and homesick, she would message back: 'I know it's hard but you can do this. A little voice in my head said, 'Maybe you could do that too.' I needed to do something big, something difficult, to get me out of my sadness and do something positive.'Ĭairns' adventure took her to Mount Sidley in Antarctica, Pico de Orizaba in Mexico, Giluwe in Papua New Guinea, Ojos del Salado in Chile, Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Damavand in Iran and Mount Elbrus in Russia 'I found myself drawn to a photo of her on the mountain, with a glowing orange-red sunrise behind her, and read about how painful yet inspiring the climb was for her. There was a feature on Cheryl Cole's climb of Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for Comic Relief. One day, I happened to leaf through Hello magazine. 'I had just turned 30 when Dad passed and was finding it hard to cope. Recalling the chain of events, she said: 'Chery Cole actually inspired me to start climbing, and oddly enough this had nothing to do with her music! A few months after dad passed away, from oesophageal cancer at the age of 64, I was existing in a kind of dark cloud of grief. She's pictured above (on the left) on the summit of Mount Elbrus, Russia, with climbing buddy Tina Bowman For the crater good: Sophie Cairns, 43, went about summiting seven volcanic peaks on each of the continents in just under six months.

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