Last month Mark Wood reached the South Pole after 50 days alone on ice, completing the first leg of his record breaking North South Solo Expedition. Today we can reveal that due to a fundamental change in direction, Mark will now be briefly returning to the UK on his way to the North Pole, and will be available for media interviews!
Mark will be available for face-to-face interviews in London on Tuesday 21 February and his home town of Coventry on Wednesday 22 February. To secure a slot please contact Suzy today on 07528 527272 or suzannah.greenwood@life-size-media.com.
See the full press release below, and here’s a snippet from the man himself, live from his training base in Canada:
PRESS RELEASE
Melting planet means a change in direction for Mark Wood
Climate change’s impact on the Arctic causes fundamental change to record breaking expedition
- Mark reached the South Pole on 10 January after 50 days alone on ice.
- He sets off from the North Pole to Cape Discovery next month.
- Mark will be available for mid-expedition face-to-face media interviews from London and Coventry. To secure a slot, please contact Suzannah on the details below.
14 February 2012 – Explorer Mark Wood, who last month completed his solo journey to the South Pole, is facing a major change to his record breaking expedition due to climate change’s impact on the Arctic ice cap.
For three years Mark has been planning his North South Solo Expedition, aiming to become the first person in history to solo ski both the South and North Geographic Pole’s consecutively.
On 10 January he successfully reached the South Pole after experiencing temperatures of -25C and wind speeds of 27 mph. Mark coped with broken ski bindings and extreme isolation, losing three stone in body weight and half his left foot in the process. Remarkably he covered the 612 nautical miles in precisely 50 days as planned.
Mark ranks the South Pole challenge at four out of ten. In comparison, he always knew the North Pole would be the ultimate test – under the veil of complete darkness, with unpredictable melting ice and roaming polar bears – an undeniable ten out ten for toughness.
He knew the environment was his biggest opponent. What he didn’t plan on was that it might almost derail the expedition due to rising global temperature causing a shortening of the polar seasons.
Due to the uncertainty of the ice, Mark realised that he his original intention to ski from Cape Discovery to the North Pole would almost certainly end in failure.
Not one to be defeated Mark has come up with a new plan, ensuring his record-breaking expedition stays on track. Reversing the journey, his world-first attempt will now involve skiing the 500 nautical miles from the North Pole back towards Cape Discovery, reporting live from the Arctic on the state of the ice as he travels.
“It was always my intention to use the expedition to raise awareness of climate change and experience the effects first hand but I wasn’t prepared for the level of impact I’m learning about. The new reverse expedition gives me a unique opportunity to report on the changing state of the ice live from the Arctic,” explained Mark Wood.
The change to Mark’s expedition means he will briefly return to the UK, en route to the North Pole. This provides a unique opportunity for the media to meet Mark and learn first-hand about his incredible expedition. Please contact Suzannah Greenwood.