A CLIMBER from Penn has come back down to earth after being the first female to conquer seven summits in seven continents and reach both the the North and South Poles.

Jo Gamby, 35, and husband Rob, 46, have recently returned from an arduous trip which saw them reach the top of the highest mountains in the world on every continent and ski to the North and South Poles.

They are the first couple to have achieved this feat and, individually, Jo is the first female and Rob is the first Australian to complete the task.

Now Jo, who lived in Green Ridge, Penn, between the ages of seven and 18, is settling down in Chiswick to write a book about her travels. She told Midweek: "I have never written a book before but I'm glad to have another challenge to face.

"We are so used to having a daunting challenge in front of us, I think it would be quite hard for me to adjust simply going straight back into my old life again."

Some of the challenges they faced included coping with having their feet and lower limbs plunged through polar ice into freezing water trekking to a base camp in the South Pole.

Jo and Rob have always lead active lifestyles and share a love of the outdoors.

Jo said: "Our families have always done the outdoor thing. I remember going on activity holidays with the family when I went to Tylers Green Middle School and secondary school at Sir William Ramsay School and The Beaconsfield School.

"Rob comes from Australia so he was more used to sailing and surfing, but it seemed quite a logical decision for us to incorporate climbing into our travelling."

The motivation for the trip came after Rob underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment for the second time in 2001 for Hodgkin's disease.

The couple were planning to take a career break at some point in their lives and said the cancer changed their whole perspective acting like a catalyst' for the once in a lifetime trip.

Jo left her job as a physiotherapist in London and Rob quit his city life as a financial advisor to climb Mckinely, Denali, Everest, Kiliman-jaro, Vinson, Aconcagua, Kosciuzsko and Elbrus.