Climber explores life's peaks and troughs

Climber and record breaker Thomas Bubendorfer is used to facing death and this has driven him to think about the meaning of life.

The Austrian, 49, began his climbing career at the age of 12. At 16, he was the youngest solo rock climber to conquer the Alps. At 18, he scaled the 7,000 meter Pamir Plateau, in Central Asia.

Bubendorfer climbed Aconcagua, the highest peak in South America, within 16 hours. He is famed for conquering five mountains in the Dolomites, Italy, in just one day.