Paul Walker (Arctic explorer)

For other people named Paul Walker, see Paul Walker (disambiguation).

Paul Walker (born 9 March 1966) is an English born Arctic explorer, mountaineer and Arctic guide specializing in remote regions of Greenland. Since 1989 he has organized over 170 expeditions —personally leading over 30— to Arctic Greenland, Baffin Island and Svalbard and has made over 100 first ascents of new peaks in Greenland. Paul is widely regarded as the world's leading expert on first ascents of remote mountains and summits in east and northeast Greenland. He regularly acts as a location adviser and consultant to the TV and film industry and advises on and organizes military and arctic training expeditions.

Biography

Born in Shrewsbury, Walker moved to Wetherby aged 8 and later graduated from Charlotte Mason College, Ambleside in 1988 with an honours degree in Outdoor Education and Mathematics. It was here he led his first Greenland expedition, a 2 month climbing trip to the Schweizerland Alps, beginning a lifelong obsession.

At just 23, Walker became one of the UK's youngest Winter Mountain Leaders. In 1993 he made the first ascent of the 28 pitch northeast ridge of Mont Forel in east Greenland. At 3360m Mont Forel was once thought to be the highest mountain in the Arctic Circle before the discovery of Gunnbjørnsfjeld 3693m. In 1996 he climbed a number of the main summits of the Crown Prince Frederick Range together with members of the Tangent British East Greenland Expedition.[1]

In 1999 he led the first British guided ski crossing of the Greenland Icecap using kites. In 2001 he headed to Svalbard to lead the "Polestar" team to make the first British south-north ski traverse of Spitsbergen.

In 2004 Paul organized and led the US Navy Air Crash Recovery Expedition to the Kronborg Glacier, east Greenland. This expedition was commissioned by the US Navy to recover the human remains of US Navy personnel lost in an earlier air crash of a P-2V Neptune on January 12, 1962.

In 2006 he led an 8 man team to make the first winter ascent of Gunnbjørnsfjeld, the highest mountain in the Arctic Circle. During this expedition the team were attacked during the night at their base camp by a polar bear who ripped through several tents.

Paul owns and runs Tangent Expeditions Ltd which also operates under the trade names of Snow Dragons and Sea Dragons out of Constable Point, northeast Greenland.

Personal life

He lives in the Lake District, North West England. He has two children. He owns and runs the Arctic expedition company Tangent Expeditions Ltd, which incorporates the Greenland snowmobiling business "Snow Dragons" and boat transport business "Sea Dragons".

References

  1. ↑ Tangent Expedition Reports
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