Mark Synnott, is a pioneering big wall climber and one of the most prolific adventurers of his generation. His search for unclimbed and unexplored rock walls has taken him on nearly 30 expeditions to places like Alaska, Baffin Island, Greenland, Iceland, Newfoundland, Patagonia, Guyana, Venezuela, Pakistan, Nepal, India, China, Tibet, Uzbekistan, Russia, Cameroon, Chad, Borneo, Oman and Pitcairn Island. One of the first climbers to explore Baffin Island's remote east coast, Mark has been on five trips to the island, and has pioneered four big wall first ascents on the east coast, 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 Auyuittuq National Park, Mark completed the first ski descent of the South Face of Mt. Odin via a 5000' couloir. His book: Baffin Island: Climbing, Trekking, Skiing was published in 2007. In Pakistan’s Karakoram mountains, Mark 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 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.

When he's not in the mountains, Mark works with The North Face Research, Design and Development team and lectures frequently on his life as a professional climber and explorer. He has done motivational speaking for clients like General Motors, Bank of New York, Vanity Fair, the X Prize Foundation and the National Geographic Society. 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, Teton Gravity Research and Red Bull Media House. An accomplished journalist and author, Mark is a regular contributor to National Geographic Magazine, and his work has appeared in many other publications including Men's Journal, Outside, Climbing, Rock & Ice, Skiing, and New York Magazine.

Mark is also a certified mountain guide and the owner and director of one of the premier guide services in the east – Synnott Mountain Guides. SMG offers instruction in rock climbing, ice climbing, mountaineering, backcountry skiing, and avalanche education. He is also a long time member of the Mountain Rescue Service (MRS) and currently serves on the board of MRS and the Access Fund.

Caroline Van Hemert, author of The Sun is a Compass, is a lifelong Alaskan with a scientist’s eye and an adventurer’s penchant for pushing limits. Her journeys, both personal and professional, have taken her from the pack ice of the Arctic Ocean to the swamps of the Okavango Delta. Along the way, she has been outsmarted by Cheeto-eating crows, stalked by predatory bears, charged by elephants, and humbled by 10-gram chickadees that shiver through winter nights at 40 degrees below zero. 

Caroline holds a Ph.D. in wildlife biology and an M.A. in creative writing and currently works as a research biologist for the USGS Alaska Science Center. She regularly publishes and speaks about her scientific research, which has been featured in the New York Times, National Geographic, Birding, and Scientific American. With her husband and two young sons, she divides her time between a cozy home in downtown Anchorage and a remote, off-the-grid cabin near Haines, Alaska.