Meet the SummitFootprints team - Sean Waters and Jo Kippax

For over 10 years we have climbed, explored and adventured together all over the globe. During this time we have forged a strong partnership based on a huge respect for each others abilities and philosophies. We believe a small team enables us to adapt to changing circumstances, explore the fine margin between risk and reward, and leave the smallest footprint in the worlds' wild places.

Jo is THE man to have around basecamp. Give him a few hours of poor weather and he can convert any dusty, god-forsaken spot into luxury accommodation with a flick of his oh-so practical multi-tool. His bad puns take some getting used to, but he makes up for it through a fine touch with dehy haute-cuisine.

Being an expert in emergency medicine, Dr Jo is handy to have around when things get ugly. He's also a very talented climber who's happy to give things a nudge when most people are hiding in their sleeping bags. With a long list of accomplishments in the mountains of New Zealand, the Himalaya, South America and Central Asia he's equally at home on steep rock, gnarly ice, or on the couch. Jo is world renowned for his ugly feet.

Sean Waters

Sean is the ruggedly handsome chap with the huge grin and an infectious if somewhat unique sense of humour. He is famed for his ability to achieve demanding objectives despite remaining firmly ensconced behind the coffee pot until well after mid-morning. Once out the door, he is second to none in his ability to brew a cup of tea with little regard for the steepness of the terrain or personal safety.

Once well caffeinated however, there is little that can slow him down appreciably - let alone cause emotional unsettlement. If Sean is ever heard to mutter that there may be a minor problem, Houston, you know that things are about just about to turn very nasty indeed.

In his spare time between expeditions, Sean teaches soldiers a few things about leadership and stomping around the mountains, falls off mountain-bikes with great style, plays a terrible game of chess and successfully downplays a sensitive, artistic side evident in his writing and photos. He really does drink a lot of tea.