Norma Grieve, who writes under her married name of Rowlerson, is now in her seventies, and is an experienced travel journalist. Following confirmation from Guinness that she is the first woman in the world to ski on every continent, she has published 'Downhill to the Top', which traces her progress on her adventures around the world.
Norma's parent's are from Montrose, and her grandparents lived in Johnshaven. She still maintains the family's "but 'n' ben" in the village, and visits every month.
She said: "I started skiing at 51 and wrote an article about it. But then in order to keep getting published I had to think of more and more unusual things to do. Then I became the first woman to ski all of the continents."
The remarkable feat came about "by chance" when Norma was travelling through Antarctica. "When I was in Antarctica, someone said that if I skied there, I could go on and do Australia and then I would have completed all five continents. So I just did it."
In describing her book, Norma insists it is more than a mere travel journal.
She said: "It can also be seen as a motivational book. It shows that any clown can do it. If I can do it, anybody can!"
Norma can count Japan, Morocco, South Africa and even Hawaii as some of the places that she has skied, but prior to embarking on these adventures in her fifties, she worked as a college cookery demonstrator at Queen Margaret College in Edinburgh.
'Downhill to the Top', published by Northern Press and costing £7.99, is illustrated with paintings Norma produced while on her travels. Anyone interested in finding out more about Norma and her remarkable life can visit her website, www.normaskier.com.