Mark and team in pole position
A FEARLESS explorer from Ettington has returned to the UK after completing an epic 120-mile trek to the North Pole. Mark Wood, 50, who headed up the three-man team that reached the pole last week, received praise from the great explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes on the achievement. Mark, accompanied by soldiers Paul Vicary and Mark Langridge, completed the journey in 13 days.In a message to the Race Against Time Team, Sir Ranulph said: “Very well done to Mark and all the team on a great achievement under extremely difficult conditions, very best wishes, Ran Fiennes.”
The expedition, sponsored by Jupiter Marketing, was aimed at exposing the true extent of climate change in the Arctic Ocean, with the team reporting “warmer than usual” Arctic conditions.
Mark said: “As a team we had to overcome extreme and diverse conditions to reach the North Pole. “But, thanks to the vision, and the support, of Jupiter Marketing, we are proud to have achieved our mission statement to film through explorers’ eyes this remarkable, but hostile area of our planet.
“It was an epic journey through nature’s freezer, which took us through fields of ice boulders, across open stretches of fatally cold sea, over giant ice cliffs and finally, to the North Pole. “We are the only British team to attempt, and to reach, the North Pole this year. “Both the footage we took of our 13 days and nights on ice, and the ice samples we brought back, will help scientists to analyse and gather important data about the state of the ice melt and conditions at the North Pole.”
During the expedition the Race Against Time Team experienced just how fragile the Arctic Ocean is becoming, narrowly avoiding falling into the freezing cold water as sections of ice broke away.
They also documented the differences in the ice conditions explorers normally expect to see in Antarctica, with a series of dramatic photographs. Among the other challenges faced by the team were ice boulder fields, ice rubble, and an “amphitheatre of ice walls.”
Expedition sponsor, Mark Tweddle, said: “It was abundantly clear from conversations we had that the conditions the team was facing were dangerous, and far different to what would be expected. “The video footage and pictures the team is now starting to reveal has indicated the dramatic conditions being caused by our planet continuing to change at what is an alarming rate.
“I’m extremely proud to have been able to make this expedition a reality, and my hope is that it will encourage a different approach to tackling climate change going forward.”
