The Aspire Story

In 1963 a group of young adventurers explored numerous virgin peaks in Greenland. They were led by brilliant Cambridge University and Commonwealth scholar Colin F Knox. Colin was only 23 when he led the group in their six weeks in Greenland. Incredibly he was the oldest.

Colin went on to become an accomplished climber summiting all the major peaks in New Zealand and Europe.

From Mount Cook to Mount Blanc, Colin took on the challenges with the same unquenchable thirst that he studied theoretical physics at Cambridge University.

In 1964 he was tragically killed in an Alpine accident at Chamonix in France. To this day he is sadly missed by brother John and his family.

In 1965 John and wife Helen had a son they named Colin Richard Knox in his memory. Colin has also developed a passion for the mountains and intellectual pursuits. In 1996 he founded Aspire.

'Aspire is all about what Colin F Knox stood for; taking challenges both physical and intellectual. This website and Aspire are dedicated to that spirit and most of all to the uncle I never met but have come to know.' - Colin R Knox.

Colin and - of late - his colleagues are carrying on the mountain tradition and the images you see around this site range from Greenland to the mighty Himalaya. These pictures are not stock shots.