Tori James – Keynote Speaker

Tori James, at the age of 25, became the first Welsh woman to climb Mount Everest. Tori stars in the BBC documentary On Top of the World which was produced about her expedition and she is also the author of Peak Performance which describes her recordbreaking climb to the summit.

She was born in Pembrokeshire and grew up on a farm where she claims to have gathered much of her toughness for venturing outside in all weather. After gaining a degree in Geography from Royal Holloway University of London, Tori secured her dream first job working for British Exploring, a charity founded by a member of Scott’s Antarctic expedition and based at the Royal Geographical Society in London.

In 2005 she was a member of the Pink Lady PoleCats, the first all-female team to complete The Polar Challenge, a gruelling 360 mile race to the Magnetic North Pole. In 2010 Tori cycled the length of New Zealand, a total of 2400km, unsupported from north to south.

In June 2014 Tori was part of the Beeline Britain team who became the first to travel in a straight line from Land’s End to John O’Groats in aid of BLESMA (the British Limbless ExServicemen’s Association). Their 1,100km journey involved sea kayaking, road cycling, mountain biking and hiking and is documented in the award-winning film “As The Crow Flies”. The team set a record for the longest open sea kayak crossing in UK waters kayaking non-stop for 200km from Land’s End to Pembrokeshire.

In November 2014 Tori was awarded a Points of Light Award by the Prime Minister in recognition of outstanding volunteering over the last 10 years.