Q. Why did you choose the Himalayas? What was your motivation?
A. During my gap year between school and university, I spent some time travelling around Nepal. It was 2001 and the country was in the midst of a civil war. One afternoon, when I was sitting in an Internet café in Pokara, the owner burst in, pulling down the shutters and shouting something desperately in Nepali. A few minutes later, I heard gunfire. There was a violent protest against the current government and it had escalated into a riot. I was wondering what to do next when I met Binod, a Nepali man about my age, who took me under his wing and helped me until I could leave Nepal, which was becoming a war zone. I had no money but promised Binod that I would return to thank him for his kindness. So, 14 years later, when asked where I wanted to walk next, the Himalayas seemed like an obvious choice and Binod ended up walking part of the route with me.

Levison trekked up a two-mile icefall from the Gurez valley in Jammu and Kashmir