Nat Geo Live: Life on the Vertical with Mark Synnott
Mark Synnott is a man ever on the brink of new discovery. A big wall rock-climber of the highest order, he’s made legendary first ascents of some of the world’s tallest, most forbidding walls, from Baffin Island to Pakistan. Today, he uses his skills to break scientific ground, reaching incredibly inaccessible environments in search of rare species. It’s all in the spirit of adventure and exploration in order to educate about these sites of strange, remote beauty. Mark Synnott is a pioneering big wall climber and one of the most prolific adventurers of his generation. He has pioneered four big wall first ascents on Baffin Island’s remote east coast, including a grade VII on the 4700-foot north face of Polar Sun Spire. In Pakistan’s Karakoram Mountains, he established two grade VII big wall first ascents. One, a 6000-foot wall topping out over 20,000 feet, is one of the longest rock climbs in the world. Closer to home, Mark has climbed Yosemite’s El Capitan 22 times, including several one-day ascents.