WALES rugby player-turned adventurer Richard Parks had a lucky escape while taking on his latest mountain challenge.

Mr Parks, who last year became the first man in history to climb the seven highest mountains on the world’s seven continents as well as tackling the north pole and south pole and Everest, made it safely down Denali in North America – 24 hours before an avalanche killed four people.

Bad weather sawhim and his team stuck on the mountainside for five days ahead of their assent. But on June 11 the group woke to find a metre of snow had fallen overnight, which had caused their sleeping bags to ice over, and six inches of snow had built up inside their tents. As a result they were forced to abandon their climb and instead had to endure a 25-hour climb back downto base camp. It was only when they were safely off the mountain that they learned four out of a team of five Japanese climbers died in an avalanche, 24 hours after they walked the same route.

Now safely in Boulder Colorado, Mr Parks, who played rugby for Newport Gwent Dragons before a shoulder injury forced him to retire, wrote on his blog: “My overall feeling of the trip it that it was a really challenging one. All things considered I am really grateful and happy to be safely in Boulder now.”

Mr Parks caught the climbing bug while completing his world first 737 challenge last year, which he took on to try to raise £1 million for Marie Curie Cancer Care.