Cave started out as a Yorkshire coalminer and later went into higher education where he gained a PhD. As one of the world's top mountaineers he has led expeditions in the Himalayas where he made the first ascent of one of the 20th Century’s greatest climbs. In the Alps he summited on ‘Divine Providence’, considered to be the hardest climb on Mont Blanc. In Alaska he tackled Mount Kennedy’s North Face, his team succeeding where many others had failed. Andy has written two books on climbing.