"Things in my life always seem to center around mountains," ponders Brian, "but maybe that's just a phase. Once I was really into travelling and thought that was forever, before it was sipping Chardonney and reading Shakesphere and shit. So who knows what the next big thing is."

For now Brian is pretty settled in Chamonix, France, living in the shadow of the Alps' highest peaks and tyring to alternately trying to climb up or ski down all of them.