Mark Wood (explorer)

Mark was born in Coventry and attended two local schools: Stivichall Junior School[3] and Coventry Finham Park Comprehensive School.[4] Both schools are in Coventry, Warwickshire, England.

Mark served in the British Army in the Second Battalion, of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, UK. He was in the military for a number of years.

Once he left the military he became a firefighter in the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service.

Once he left his career as a firefighter, he commenced his career as an expedition leader and explorer in 2003. Four years later he established a polar expedition company called Snowball Expeditions.[5] Mark on average undertakes an expedition every year and each has a specific goal usually connected with climate change[6] and empowering the younger generations. During his expeditions, Wood uses the ipadio service via satellite phone to transmit video and make phone calls.[7]

Various expeditions have taken place. In 2019 – an expedition to ascend Mount Everest occurred called '8848 Expedition'[8]. This expedition was designed to "create the biggest and most extreme classroom on the planet involving 4 million students worldwide. Visual Skype[9] Communication intend to link the explorers in real time from the mountain directly into the classrooms worldwide."[10]. Expeditions have been undertaken in Kenya, Alaska[11], Geographic North Pole, Norway, and Iceland. In 2015 Wood undertook an education programme in the Himalayas for Skype in the Classroom[12], and Oman. While in 2014, Wood undertook, as an IGGY Ambassador, an expedition for Cycle New Zealand[13] educational schools programme. His 2013 expedition using Skype to Mount Everest Ascent expedition was called "My Life In a Freezer" [14]/ and it reached over 40 countries around the globe. It followed an expedition between 2011/2012 solo expedition to the North and South Geographic poles.[14][6][15][16] This expedition built on previous expeditions in 2011nd}} to the High Arctic Svalbard, Himalayas, a Global Schools Project to the Himalayas involving Warwick University[17], a Himalayan expedition for the Global Schools project in 2010[18]. These had been preceded by a 2010 solo 30-day training expedition in Svalbard, having led three expeditions involving over 60 people to Everest, Base Camp in 2009 with the Snowball Exp, schools project; having, in 2009, both led a British first expedition in the Arctic highlighting the Inuit communities affected by climate change and an Alaskan dog sledding expedition – filming for an educational films programme. In 2008 he led a team through the Himalayas to base camp Everest as part of an educational schools programme, he led an expedition linking the two highest Inuit settlements in the Canadian high Arctic, filming for a documentary on how global warming is affecting the Inuit people and led a dog sledding expedition in North America. In 2007 he was a Polar guide and provided operational support for BBC Top Gear programme, Race to the Pole and provided Arctic expedition technical support for the Polar Race at the Magnetic North Pole (a biennial event)(1996 pole position). In 2006 he Cycled across the United States – 3500 miles from Seattle to New York and led an 8-person team on a successful Geomagnetic North Pole expedition. In 2005/2006 he was an Instructor on an Arctic training expedition – Northern Canada and an instructor in 2005 on an Arctic training programme  – Norway. In 2004 – he led a geomagnetic North Pole expedition and in 2003 he led a 70-day training expedition and research for Cancer Research UK (CRUK) – in the Canadian High Arctic.

• Chair of the Great Britain and Ireland Chapter, The Explorers Club[19]
• Member of The Explorers Club, Norwegian Chapter[20]
• Royal Geographical Society Fellowship of the Royal Geographical Society, London, England
• Explorer for IGGY[21]
• Polar Explorer for Warwick University[17]
• Ambassador of The Prince's Trust
• Scout Ambassador[22] to 1st Pillerton Scout Group[23]
• The Peoples Moon[24] Ambassador - Apollo 50th anniversary[24]
• Ambassador[14] to Sporting Equals[25]
• Patron of Children's University
• Patron of Patron for Hire A Hero[26]

• Mark Wood – Explorer
• Coventry man's solo polar expedition for climate change
• Coventry explorer Mark Wood reaches North Pole
• Wood, Mark (2020). Rock & Ice: Expedition Photography (1st ed.). UK: Words by Design. p. 142. ISBN 978-1-909075-53-5. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
• Wood, Mark (2020). Solo Explorer (1st ed.). UK: Words by Design. pp. 162pp. ISBN 978-1-909075-52-8. Retrieved 1 May 2020.