Spaghetti on a Vertical Wall

Andy Kirkpatrick on the wild eats from his climbs

Andy Kirkpatrick has a speciality for climbing big walls in winter, pitting himself against vertical climbs of over 1000 metres, often in temperatures as low as minus 30 degrees. He has scaled Yosemite's El Capitan — one of the hardest walls in America — over 24 times, and reached the top of Ulvertanna in Antarctica, which climbers consider the hardest mountain in the world. These expeditions have been documented by him in a number of books, including the award-winning Pyschovertical and the soon-to-be-finished Higher Education: The Complete Big Wall Manual. The latter, which promises a how-to guide on climbing some of the world's toughest walls, is being funded by a kick-starter campaign, nearly at its end. You can still pledge your support, and be one of the first to receive this book, by visiting kick-starter.

Here is Andy on his best and worst eats in the wild:

Best: “We met some Italians as we were coming down from a long climb. They’d only made a simple dish — just spaghetti, olive oil, pepper and a bit of chilli and parmesan — but wow, it was something special.”

Worst: “The worst food I’ve had on a climb is probably no food at all. It’s hard to cook on a vertical wall, so you have to plan carefully. I’ve done several routes that have lasted over two weeks and made the mistake of not packing enough calories. I was hungry almost as soon as I’d finished eating.”