Exploration means different things to different people. For some, it is travelling the world, experiencing different cultures, linguistics and traditions. For mountaineers and other adventurous souls, exploration is going to places others have never been: to identify an unknown, to find a route, and if successful, to name your objective where otherwise it may only remain suggestively as a group of contours on a map.

Gerry Galligan's first book, Climbing Ramabang, will whet your appetite regardless of the camp you fall into. Galligan's adventurous spirit appears to have been moulded at an early age. Growing up by way of Kerry, Donegal and a Dublin boarding school, Galligan appears to have developed a somewhat alternative view on life.

The inspiration for the journey was to be the first to climb an unnamed 6,000m Himalayan peak. Galligan was accompanied in the expedition team by three other Irish mountaineers, Craig Scarlett, Paul Mitchell and Darach Ó Murchú, all of the Irish Mountaineering Club. The challenge of the peak, subsequently named Ramabang (6,135m), was not arguably the climbing itself but the logistics, the Himalayan weather and the obstacles that had to be overcome in order to place themselves in the right position to reach their objective. The account of this climb and Galligan’s subsequent attempts at other objectives is presented for all to be able to relate to.

Readers will also be interested in the Irish connection to this Himalayan region, Spiti, and the familiar mountaineering names of Lynam, O’ Leary, Hanlon and other Irish who had successfully climbed in the region before.

However, let this not fool you. Climbing Ramabang is not a typical expedition report, nor is it a self-congratulatory tale of adventure but rather a vivid account of life in the Himalaya and, by way of his overland journey back to Ireland, of modern-day Pakistan, Iran and Turkey in particular with commentary on the region's politics, offering an underlying challenge to the perception the western world has of these countries and their peoples.

While the book captures in diary form a journey of more than 11,000km, it establishes a remarkably local and personal connection with isolated places and people and reflects the time and respect that Galligan gave to those he encountered.

Galligan’s respect for people and his embracing of difference shines through every chapter. Absorbed by the people and traditions his path crosses on this journey – from snake charmers to monks, Zoroastrians to Sufis, Galligan reflects throughout on contrasts with the west and at times questions whether western progress is in fact progress. He often throws in a comparison that stretches the imagination but equally brings a perhaps unintentional humour to the book.

Climbing Ramabang is a mix of travel guide and a colourful personal diary with a strong sense of adventure and social conscience. The journey unfolds in an easy gentle style, which makes it comfortable and quick to read. The sketch maps provide a good orientation to the journey and the objectives.

Importantly, Galligan reminds us that despite a world that is constantly becoming smaller as technology brings us closer together there remains opportunities for exploration, pioneering new routes, exploring uncrossed valleys or passes and any one of us can be the next to do so.

Karl Boyle is the chief executive officer of Mountaineering Ireland