Simon Yates is well known for pioneering new routes all over the world. Last month, he and fellow mountaineer Paul Schweizer travelled to the remote St Elias Range on the Alaska-Yukon border to attempt a new route on the vast snowy mountain of Mt Vancouver, the eighth highest peak in Canada.

The pair flew from Haines, Alaska to a glacial cirque only 30 minutes walk from the base of the route. From here they set out on their goal - to make the first ascent of the huge South West Spur of Good Neighbor Peak (4,850m).

After four nights, some precariously camped on exposed sites, and 3,000m of climbing, they reached the summit in perfect weather. This was an extremely challenging and steep climb, climbing on rock and ice in alpine style (mountaineering in a self-sufficient manner, carrying all of one's food, shelter, equipment etc. as one climbs, rather than expedition style mountaineering which involves setting up a fixed line of stocked camps on the mountain.) Yates described the route as "one of the best I have ever done in terms of the beauty of the line, the quality and sustained nature of the climbing and the commitment involved."

Mt Vancouver from the summit      Photo: Simon Yates

The two then moved east along the frontier ridge to reach the top of the original line on Good Neighbor, the 1967 Centennial Route on the South East Spur. A storm moved in as they were part way down this spur but two days later they were safely back in base camp.

This is the pair's second major success in the region. In 2005 they climbed a new route on the 1,800m West Face of Alverstone (4,439m), making a complex and committing descent to the north.