Expedition with Steve Backshall

Steve Backshall confidently claims that the “ever powerful urge to explore the remotest corners of the planet is part of human nature.” Speak for yourself, Steve, some of us just want to stay at home, eating ham sandwiches.

It’s another terrific adventure, this time Backshall and his team are in Southern Oman preparing to climb a terrifying rock face that’s said never to have been climbed by humans before. (But first everyone takes a quick abseil into a “giant sinkhole”, two words you never want to see side by side).

The climbing experts who lead the way say the mountain is made of “cheese” as great brittle lumps rain down on anyone standing below.