Tony Howard started climbing in 1953 and was on the first ascent (simultaneous to a Norwegian team) of Europe's tallest and steepest north face, the Troll Wall, in 1965. He became a British Mountaineering Council guide that year and founded Troll Climbing Equip, soon to be one of the world's leading brands of climbing equipment. He designed the world's first rock climber’s sit harness – the template for most of today's designs.
He helped with trail development in Nagaland and Bodoland’s Manas National Park, North East India, and along with Di Taylor discovered and developed Wadi Rum in 1984. The story was one of the subjects of BBC Two series The Face.
Elsewhere, he had first ascents in the UK, Norway, Greenland, the Middle East and North Africa. Along with Di Taylor, he conceived the idea of the 650km Jordan Trail in the 1990s and continued with its exploration, participating in its inaugural through walk in 2017.
