Perthshire adventurer Mark Beaumont has been forced to abandon his latest challenge amid fears one wrong move could kill him.
Beamont (30) narrowly escaped with his life during a disastrous cross-Atlantic rowing attempt last year.
He admitted a week into his bid to scale Patagonia’s highest peak, Cerro San Valentin, it was too dangerous to go on.
He said: “It is humbling to be found wanting.”
Beaumont was leading a team attempting to climb the seldom-conquered peak in the South American region shared by Argentina and Chile. One of the group had already been injured and the risk of avalanche and unstable ground was constant.
Speaking from Chile, Beaumont said: “While there was a week of bad weather coming in which wouldn’t have been nice, the reason we turned back was bad conditions on the mountain.
“I have certainly been in worse weather, but have never crossed such broken and difficult glaciers before. It has been a hot summer here in Patagonia and the glaciers are very unstable and dangerous.
“There have been lots of avalanches and rockfall and we found some very exposed and unstable sections where, if you slipped, you wouldn’t survive.
“So I made the decision that the risk was too high. Thankfully the rest of the team felt the same and we all turned back.
“One of my team-mates was also injured and that was another deciding factor. It is a great relief to be off the mountain, but it was still another amazing adventure.”
The trek had been due to last three weeks, but few people complete the 13,000 foot ascent due to the horrendous weather conditions frequently encountered.
Beaumont’s group had already had to use 4×4 vehicles and zodiac boats before the hike to the edge of the ice fields to begin the climb.
He said: “The summit of San Valentin would have been great, it would have been the headline and what would have been the simplest definition of success.
“But, and it is a big but, I have absolutely loved this journey through Patagonia and for that reason it has already been well worth coming.”