Accomplished climber, author and public speaker Andy Kirkpatrick featured in new show Steel Fingers, Steel Wheels this morning.

Sheffield-based Andy has made some astonishing ascents on Alpine faces, in Patagonia, and on the soaring granite rock faces of Yosemite in the USA.

Not only that, he’s twice won the Boardman Tasker Award for mountain literature for his books Psychovertical and Cold Wars.

But it’s Andy’s journey from remedial student to successful climber, writer and author that often fascinates his audience the most. Brought up from the age of 6 on a council estate in one of Britain’s flattest cities, Hull, Andy suffered from severe dyslexia which was undiagnosed until he was 19.

Andy spoke openly in the interview about his climbing, danger, suffering, reconciling personal life with ambitions and obsessions, and the process of writing. And he chose a few tracks of music that have accompanied him on his travels. During the course of the hour-long show Andy revealed many fascinating and thoughtful insights into his own motivations.

Download and listen to the podcast of the show here.

More about the Steel Fingers, Steel Wheels series here including details of how to enter two exciting competitions.