That may change, because Venables is in Otago this month as part of a New Zealand Alpine Club lecture tour and is keenly eyeing the Darran Mountains in Fiordland and the Aoraki-Mt Cook National Park.
"I hope to do some ski touring and climb in the Southern Alps. That's been a big gap in my CV," Venables said when contacted yesterday.
"It is all so tempting, but it will be very much handled by local experts, especially because of all this snow around at the moment. I would love to do something . . . but I am very wary of making plans until I see the conditions and see what's feasible."
Venables, who will speak in the Hutton Theatre at Otago Museum tonight and in the Lake Wanaka Centre on Friday night, was two decades ago the first British climber to reach the top of Mt Everest without oxygen.
That feat left him with several frostbitten toes, which were amputated.
Venables made a name for himself on the 1988 expedition for his decision to spend the night near the top of Mt Everest without a tent.
He had reached the summit alone and later than expected, leaving him with two deadly options: stay put or descend in the dark.
He told The Times journalist Simon Crompton in December last year it required a huge mental effort to make his body do what was required to survive the night and descend the next day.
Everest largely quenched his need to overcome fears in extreme adversity.
"After Everest, I came back more confident. I enjoyed the banality of acclaim. My wife, Rosie - though she wasn't my wife then - thought I came back less selfish," Venables told Crompton.
Venables' first Himalayan expedition was in 1976, when he explored the Hindu Kush area in Afghanistan.
He has returned to climb in the Himalayas at least 11 times in the past 30 years, and he has also climbed in many other parts of the world.
Despite his extensive experience, Venables claims New Zealand climbers seem fitter and hardier than he is.
He puts this down to the forest tramping New Zealanders do before climbing a peak - something he favours rather than flying into location.
"I think walking is the best part of the expedition. I am never fit when I arrive, so it is a chance to get fit and you get to see some wonderful country," he said.
Venables is also keen to see inside the fabled New Zealand alpine hut.
"The alpine huts in Europe are quite luxurious, particularly in Austria where they are almost a hotel."
Venables is a writer and journalist who has published several best-selling books, including one on his autistic elder son, Ollie, who died aged 12 in 2003 of a brain tumour, after battling leukaemia.
His talks in Dunedin tonight and in Wanaka on Friday will focus on Himalayan expeditions, first ascents, journeys in the steps of British explorer Eric Shipton, travels through Northern Kashmir war zones - and his worst mountain accident.
In 1993, he almost died while climbing a Himalayan peak after falling 300m when an anchor failed.
