Paul Walker is an
Arctic explorer and
Polar Guide. He was born in
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...
, England on 09 March 1966. He achieved a B.Ed Honours degree in
Outdoor Education
Outdoor education is organized learning that takes place in the outdoors. Outdoor education programs sometimes involve residential or journey wilderness-based experiences in which students participate in a variety of adventurous challenges and out ...
and
Mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
and has organised more than 250 arctic expeditions to Spitsbergen (Svalbard), Baffin Island (Canada), Iceland and Greenland over 32 years. In 2006 he led an 8 man team to make the first and only winter ascent of
Gunnbjørnsfjeld, the highest mountain in the Arctic Circle. Paul is married and has three children.
Biography
Born in
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...
,
Shropshire Walker moved to
Wetherby aged 8 and later graduated from Charlotte Mason College,
Ambleside in 1988 with a B.Ed Honours degree in
Outdoor Education
Outdoor education is organized learning that takes place in the outdoors. Outdoor education programs sometimes involve residential or journey wilderness-based experiences in which students participate in a variety of adventurous challenges and out ...
and
Mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
. It was here he led his first Greenland expedition, a 2 month climbing trip to the
Schweizerland Alps
Schweizerland, also known as Schweizerland Alps, is a mountain range in King Christian IX Land, eastern Greenland. Administratively this range is part of the Sermersooq Municipality.Google Earth Its highest point is one of the highest peaks in G ...
.
At 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
Mont Forel is a mountain in King Christian IX Land, Sermersooq Municipality, Greenland. It is part of the Schweizerland range, also known as 'Schweizerland Alps'.
This peak is located in a popular climbing destination, together with the Watkins R ...
in east Greenland. In 1996 he climbed a number of the main summits of the
Crown Prince Frederick Range
The Crown Prince Frederick Range ( da, Kronprins Frederik Bjerge) is a large mountain range in King Christian IX Land, eastern Greenland. Administratively this range is part of the Sermersooq Municipality.
Despite being relatively unknown it has ...
together with members of the Tangent British East Greenland Expedition.
In 1999 he led the first British guided ski crossing of the
Greenland Icecap
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is th ...
using kites. In 2001 he headed to
Svalbard
Svalbard ( , ), also known as Spitsbergen, or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it is about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. The islands of the group range ...
to lead the "Polestar" team to make the first British south-north ski traverse of
Spitsbergen
Spitsbergen (; formerly known as West Spitsbergen; Norwegian: ''Vest Spitsbergen'' or ''Vestspitsbergen'' , also sometimes spelled Spitzbergen) is the largest and the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in northern Norw ...
.
In 2004 Paul organized and led the US Navy Air Crash Recovery Expedition to the
Kronborg Glacier
Kronborg Glacier ( da, Kronborg Gletscher) is a glacier on the east coast of the Greenland ice sheet. It is named after Kronborg Castle in Denmark. Administratively this glacier is part of the Sermersooq Municipality.Google Earth The area surround ...
, 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 has worked extensively as a Greenland location and logistics consultant for numerous TV documentaries, films and marketing projects. He has also worked with a range of celebrities organising their personal adventure holidays, expeditions and TV programme logistics including Ian Wright, Christie Turlington, Paul Rose, Steve Backshall and Google founders Larry Page & Sergei Bryn.
In 2018 he was logistics consultant for the record breaking longest vehicle polar journey in history, with the double south-north-south crossing of the Greenland icecap by three specially adapted 4x4 and 6x6 vehicles, supplied by Arctic Trucks of Reykjavik.
He was logistics, safety and location consultant for the latest Disney+ and National Geographic TV channel 3 part expedition documentary series entitled "On The Edge", with Oscar award-winning climber Alex Honnold.
Personal life
After 30 years living in the
Lake District
The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or ''fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...
, North West England, Paul moved to the small town of Wooler, Northumberland in 2014, with his wife Lizzie. Paul and Lizzie have one daughter, Ailsa Bee Walker, born March 2019. He has two further children from his first marriage: Jonathan Walker, born September 1997, and Naomi Walker, born May 2000.
References
Growing old disgracefully in Greenland*https://web.archive.org/web/20120327213914/http://www.nicearticles.net/travel-and-leisure/198-outdoors/3466-greenland-and-arctic-mountaineering-expeditions.html
Greenland: Paul Stern Land first ascents.*http://www.karabiner.org/expeditions/1994-greenland/index.php
*https://web.archive.org/web/20120327213915/http://de.sky-cz.com/pilotenecke/roof-of-the-arctic-expedition/
*1993 Alpine Journal. Article page 136 plus photos, plates 59-62.
*1995 Alpine Journal. Article page 183 plus photos, plates 72-73.
*1997 Alpine Journal. Article page 39 plus photos, plates 22-25.
*1998 Alpine Journal. Article page 97 plus photos, plates 34-37. Further info. p. 231-236.
*2000 Alpine Journal. Article page 80 plus photos, plates 26-28.
*97 American Alpine Journal. Article page 222 plus photos p. 223-224.
*98 American Alpine Journal.
*99 Eagle Ski Club Year Book. Article p. 40 plus photos p. 46-47.
*01 Eagle Ski Club Year Book. Article p. 78.
*Cumbria Life magazine January 2010 Issue 135 pages 58–63
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Paul
British polar explorers
Living people
1966 births