Johnny Ward: traversing the world's mountains and poles - one step at a time

Johnny Ward has his sights set on being the first person to visit every country in the world, reach the North and South Poles and scale the seven highest summits in the world. He talks extreme adventures with Mary Cate Smith

Johnny Ward at the summit of Denali: "it was freezing. I lost the feeling in my fingers and toes for months. My mate went blind and we had to evacuate the mountain."

Johnny Ward has rowed 3,200 miles across the Atlantic in a single boat, climbed Kilimanjaro on a diet of beer and crackers, and carried around a bag of his own poo for days.

The Galway-born 39-year-old has broken more bones than he cares to remember. He’s slipped two discs, smashed his tibia-fibula, and shattered his kneecap in a motorbike crash in Thailand.