The Thinking Man's Explorer...

Pen shot to international fame in 2003 when, after fifteen years of unrelenting effort, he finally achieved his goal to become the first person to trek solo, without outside assistance, from Canada to the North Geographic Pole – a feat thought comparable to making the first ascent of Everest, solo and without oxygen, and one which has not been repeated since.

Within months, he went on to become the only Briton to have trekked, without assistance, to both the North and South Poles.

It is in these pristine and vulnerable environments that Pen has witnessed for himself the first signs of the changes that lie ahead for us all, resulting from global warming.

Until recently Pen ran The Polar Travel Company, the world’s first specialist polar guide service, which organised expeditions to the most inhospitable regions on Earth - the Arctic Ocean and Antarctic. His work also included organising the first all-women expeditions to the North and South Poles, as well as a number of polar projects for television and charitable causes.

Pen’s emotive autobiography 'SOLO' was one of Penguin's leading Christmas titles, and was voted 'Book of the Week' by The Sunday Times. Pen has also been credited by the Radio Times as a 'dynamic new talent in broadcasting', a career sparked off by his interview on BBC Radio 4's celebrated ‘Desert Island Discs'.

Hailed by The Times as the ‘thinking man’s explorer’, Pen continues his work building on his special relationship with the polar regions.

In February 2009, Pen will embark on what will probably become the most high profile expedition of recent times – the Arctic Survey. Using ground-breaking technology, Pen plans to make the first accurate measurements of the true thickness of the Arctic Ice Cap, something that satellites and submarines are unable to do.

Working with some of the foremost scientific bodies in the world, including NASA, the WWF, the European Space Agency (ESA), the UK Met Office, and the University of Cambridge, the Arctic Survey’s data will help define the likely meltdown date of the ice cap, vital in helping plan for the inevitable geo-political consequences.