BAMLife Issue 2 | Page 13

Read more at bambooclothing.co.uk Interview: Squash Falconer adventurer, speaker and presenter Why Squash? My older sister couldn’t say my name, Louise. She called me Ease, then Peas, then Squashypeas and finally just Squash. What was your journey to this point? I grew up on a farm in Derbyshire and loved being outside and with animals. I animals. I wanted wanted to be awhich farmerslowly whichchanged slowly changed a vet.my During my A-levels, I that to be a farmer to a vet.to During A-levels, I realised realised that Itodidn’t want toactually be a vet didn’t and actually didn’t know what I wanted I didn’t want be a vet and know what I wanted to do. I felt to do. I felt pressured pressured to decide.to decide. Fortunately one of my best friends suggested a ski season and soon after we were on our way to Les Arcs in France and my first experience of the mountains. I had a view of Mt Blanc and I would regularly look at it and think, “People climb that mountain, that would be a cool thing to do.” The first mountain I climbed was in South America, Acconcagua 6,962m, the highest peak in the Southern Hemisphere. I was 23 and I loved it. Three years later my friends and I hatched another plan to climb Mustagata in China, 7,546m and we took skis and snowboards and made a film about it. We entered the Kendal Mountain Film Festival and did quite well. I enjoyed filmmaking, presenting and sharing the adventures but didn’t know how to make that ‘a job’. 13