Mark Synnott is renowned in the climbing world for his many big wall and alpine climbing adventures. His travels have taken him on nearly 30 expeditions, ranging from big walls of Baffin Island to the scorching hot Ennedi Desert. Mark has pioneered four big wall first ascents on Baffin Island, including a grade VII on the 4700-foot north face of Polar Sun Spire, an epic wall that required the team to spend 36 nights in portaledges. In the Karakoram, Mark has established two grade VII big wall first ascents: The Ship of Fools on Shipton Spire and Parallel Worlds on Great Trango Tower. The latter, a 6000-foot wall topping out at over 20,000 feet (completed with Jared Ogden and Alex Lowe in 1999) is one of the longest rock climbs in the world. Mark reached the summit of Mount Everest in 2019 via the Northeast Ridge, an adventure chronicled in The Third Pole: MYSTERY, OBSESSION, AND DEATH ON MOUNT EVEREST.
As a free climber, Mark has onsighted 5.12 and redpointed 5.13. In Yosemite, Mark has climbed El Capitan 22 times, including one day ascents of the Nose, Tangerine Trip, Lost in America and the West Face. Equally comfortable on ice and mixed terrain as he is on rock, Mark has climbed Grade 6+ testpieces in the Candian Rockies, France, and Norway.
Despite his numerous trips to exotic destinations around the world, Mark is passionate about climbing and skiing in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. If you spend some time on Cathedral Ledge in the summer or on Mount Washington in the winter, you'll probably run into Mark.
When he's not in the mountains, Mark works with The North Face Research, Design and Development team. Mark has also worked extensively in the film and television industry, both in front of and behind the camera. His credits include work for National Geographic Television, NBC Sports, Warren Miller Entertainment, and Rush HD. Mark has written many articles over the years and his work has appeared in National Geographic, National Geographic Adventure, Men's Journal, Outside, Climbing, Skiing, New York Magazine and many other publications in the US and abroad.
Books:
AMGA/IFMGA Certified Mountain Guide
In 2016, Mark attained the highest level of certification from the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA). The AMGA’s American Mountain Guide Certification is the highest level of credential attainable by a professional mountain guide, and is an achievement recognized in more than 20 International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations (IFMGA) member countries.
As an IFMGA certified guide, Mark is available for custom guided trips to a variety of locations across the US and world. Please inquire for details.
