[1] He embarked on his first expedition outside Europe, on a University Mountaineering Club trip to the Stauning Alps of Arctic Greenland,[3] where he made the first ascent of a number of peaks up to 2,830 m (9,280 ft).

However, in autumn 1968 it was announced that expeditions would once again be allowed to Nepal so Bonington applied for a permit to climb the south Face of Annapurna, one of the fourteen 8000ers.

[10] Annapurna would be Estcourt's first expedition to the Greater Ranges and neither he, nor three other members of the climbing team (Martin Boysen, Mick Burke and Dougal Haston), had previously been above the height of Mt Blanc (4,806 m (15,768 ft)).

Estcourt "led some of the key sections of the route"[13] and reached the highest point attained by the expedition (8,300 m (27,200 ft)), but that was about 500m short of the summit, just below the 'rock band'.

[18] John Hunt wrote shortly afterwards that "Estcourt's superb lead, without the normal safeguards or oxygen at 27,000 feet, up the rickety, outward-leaning ramp of snow-covered rubble which led from the gully .... must be one of the greatest in climbing history".

[19] In 1977 Estcourt, Doug Scott, Chris Bonington, Mo Anthoine, Clive Rowland and Tut Braithwaite attempted The Ogre (Baintha Brakk) in the Karakoram of Pakistan.

As they crossed a snow basin, with Scott in front, just approaching the tents of Camp II, and Quamajan at the rear, the whole slope avalanched.

[25] In 1977 he opened a climbing equipment shop in Altrincham, Nick Estcourt Outdoor Sports, which continued trading after his death and was managed by Dave Pearce.