From Arafat to Everest

From car bombings to meeting Yasser Arafat and making it to the summit of Mount Everest, Mark ‘Squiz’ Squirrell has experienced more than many dream about. When he headed to the East Timor Crisis in 1999 he was setting out on the adventure of a lifetime. It was a journey that would see him navigate some of the globes most brutal war zones to deliver emergency aid and conquer the worlds tallest mountain. Awarded the coveted “Green Beret” in his role as a commando with the Australian Special Forces, Squiz burned with a passion to put his skills to good use. His enthusiastic innocence was lost as the harsh reality of life in the emergency zone hit home. His aid work took him to countries such as Sudan, Palestine and Afghanistan where he met child soldiers, negotiated with rebels and narrowly escaped imprisonment. To raise awareness he ran the Athens marathon dressed in an Afghan burkha and put together an adventure team, comprising an Israeli and Palestinian. To top it off, Squiz battled thin air, freezing temperatures and malfunctioning equipment to raise the United Nations World Food Progamme flag on top of the world. To prepare for his 2006 ascent of Everest, Squiz climbed Imja Tse (Island Peak, 2005) and Ama Dablam (2005).