Angus Staples

It is hard not to really like unstoppable forces like Angus. His thirst for knowledge, challenges, and ever-higher standards is infectious. The way he combines climbing and polar travel puts him in a perfect spot to face the challenges we face in staying ahead on safety and reading what Mother Nature may throw at us. Happy to have you among us. Angus!

— Børge Ousland

Angus Staples in climbing gear with snowy mountains

• A GREAT BRIT • MOUNTAINAR • GLACIER EXPERT • GUIDE • ADVENTURER

A Brit?!? In the midst of Norwegian Polar Travel Holy Grail???

Yes, it’s true. But don’t you worry. That country, which may have invented the saying ‘heroic failure,' has also produced some of the finest. Shackleton was, and is today, ranked among the very top of the Heroic Age. He looked to Norway - as so has Angus.

As soon as Angus turned 18, he left his family farm for New Zealand. He had always been drawn toward the outdoors, and moving there was paradise. This little country, much like Norway, has everything – and real winter. Falling in love with the cold is infectious.

For all we know, he may have been reading the tales of the big polar explorers. But it was his aunt (yes, that's a new one ;-) who filled him with stories and challenges with and about this Norwegian called Ousland.

By the time Covid hit and sent him back towards home, the seed had become a snowflake, and he headed straight north of the Polar Circle to Manshausen. He wanted to be close to the source and forced his way in among the staff.

Once inside, there was no stopping him. As an accomplished alpinist, he soon traded cutlery for climbing gear and became the Manshausen Mountain Guide, eventually rising to the positions of Hotel Manager and Head Technical and Safety Guide. But being close to Børge, he soon understood he needed, and wanted, a broader understanding of the expedition world. Børge is the jack of all trades, so after 4 years in Norway, he headed east to Nepal to complete a winter climb, thus combining climbing, winter, and altitude. As the season ended, there he was straight back to winter Norway to crisscross our Mountain Plateaus.

FOR US, HE IS BOTH ENERGY AND FUN, HISTORY AND FUTURE. WE ARE REALLY PROUD TO HARBOR A BRIT IN OUR RANKS. AND YOU WILL UNDERSTAND WHY :)

Now there was no turning back, and his appetite had no boundaries. As endurance and stamina are a foundation for much of what we do, combined with travel safely, Angus threw himself at first 50km races, then 110km before a 1016km expedition on the longest footpath in England, bivvying every night. Then, more climbing in the Alps and Nepal, and extensive sled skiing. At the same time, cramping in the Glacier and Mountain Medicine courses.