I am 21 years old and come from Torbay in South Devon. In spring 2012, six weeks before the start of the London Olympics, I am planning on becoming the youngest British woman to climb Mount Everest. I have always had a passion for mountaineering from my first climbing expedition to Mount Kenya when I was 17. Since then I have had the opportunity to take part in many other expeditions which have included climbing in the Himalayas, the Andes, the High Atlas and East Africa.

I have just finished my final year at the University of the West of England where I studied Psychology with Sports Biology. For my dissertation this year I decided to incorporate my passion for mountaineering into the project. I conducted a research study investigating the 'Psychological Experience of Climbing MountEverest'. As part of this study I interviewed a number of high-altitude climbers who had successfully climbed Mount Everest and explored their psychological experiences on the mountain.

Climbing Mount Everest has always been a long term ambition of mine. Drawing on the inspiration of interviewing and studying high-altitude climbers during my thesis I have decided to climb Mount Everest myself during spring 2012, raising money for ActionAid and becoming the youngest British woman to climb Everest at the age of 21.