 Born into a traditional Roman Catholic family in 1948, Tasker was the second of ten children and spent his early childhood in Port Clarence, Middlesbrough.The family later moved to Billingham and Joe attended Ushaw Seminary, County Durham between the ages of 13 and 20, in training to become a Catholic priest.Fascinated by "The Climb Up to Hell" by Jack Olsen, a book recounting harrowing tales of tragic attempts to climb the North Face of the Eiger, he started climbing in a nearby quarry in 1966.