As one of only 38 people in history to have reached both the North and South Poles on foot, Tom Avery is quickly gaining the reputation as one of the UK’s leading young explorers, and, to quote The Sunday Times, "Avery is shaping up to join the ranks of such British immortals as Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Dame Ellen MacArthur."

In April 2005, Tom electrified the exploration world by recreating Robert Peary’s 1909 Artic expedition. The five-strong team travelled in a similar style with powerful teams of Canadian Eskimo dogs and replica wooden sledges. Tom's dream was to prove the Peary sceptics wrong and match his disputed 37 day World Record to the Pole. After an epic journey across the most unforgiving environment on the planet, the exhausted team rewrote the history books with five hours to spare.

Tom Avery was born in December 1975 and brought up in Sussex, Brazil and France. His passion for adventure began at the age of eight when he first read about Captain Scott. He knew then that one day he would to go to the South Pole.

Tom’s mountaineering career began at sixteen with a series of rock and ice climbs in Wales and Scotland. At university he organised and led expeditions to the Andes, New Zealand, the Alps, Tanzania, Patagonia and Morocco.

After graduating from Bristol University in 1998 with a B.Sc. in Geography and Geology, he began a 15-month career as an accountant with Arthur Andersen. Eventually forced to choose between the city and the mountains, Tom chose the mountains.

The pinnacle of Tom’s climbing career was in 2000 when he led a pioneering British expedition to a previously unexplored 20-mile mountain range close to China’s western border. His team scaled nine unclimbed and unnamed summits up to 6,000 metres high.

On 28 December 2002, days after his 27th birthday, Tom Avery became the youngest Briton to complete the perilous journey to the South Pole on foot. His team also broke the South Pole Speed Record; using state of the art kites to power them across the ice, they covered the last 47 miles to the Pole in an amazing 31 hours.

Based largely on his South Pole journal, Pole Dance (2004) is Tom’s first book. His astonishing story is told with youthful enthusiasm as he shares the triumphs and near disasters of his team’s battle against the harsh Antarctic conditions. He also draws attention to the achievements of the historic Discovery expedition, which has been largely overshadowed by the drama of Scott’s tragic, final journey.

Tom is currently writing a book about his Arctic experiences. Outside of expeditions, Tom's career includes giving motivational talks to businesses and schools, and he is an official ambassador for both the London 2012 Olympics and the Prince’s Trust. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

Tom’s other interests include golf, skiing and climbing.

Corporate Lecture Testimonials

“Thank you for being such a good speaker and a delightful guest at our conference at Villa d’Este. You were brilliant and we’ve received a lot of hugely positive feedback from our clients from around the world. We hope that you will be able to speak for us again one day.”
- Lord Fellowes, Chairman, Barclays Private Bank

“Thank you so much for being such a terrific orator at our event at the Ritz. As familiar as we are with your exploits, to hear them spoken about so eloquently was an absolute treat for us and for our guests. It is a huge support to know that we can rely on you to respond so relevantly to an audience and entertain, inspire and hold the attention of those whose primary objective is to be as well fed and watered as possible! We were all delighted with how the evening went and hope to repeat the set up again in the near future.”
- Katie Hughes, Allied Domecq

“Just a quick note of thanks for Tom's talk yesterday. He was just fantastic and right on the mark for what we required. The attention he commanded from the audience was palpable - from where I was sitting at the back I could see everyone was transfixed. I would not hesitate in recommending him to colleagues within the Lloyds TSB Group.”
- Chris Wells, Lloyds TSB

“Tom's talk to our invited audience could not have set higher standards. His cheerful enthusiasm and knowledge of the subject brought alive his experiences as though one was there. The depth and range of the questions afterwards bore this out. A hard act to follow!”
- Richard Jackson, Hays MacIntyre

“On behalf of all of us at Diageo, I wanted to thank you for speaking to us. The evening was a great success thanks to your inspiring contribution. Your motivation and passion was truly infectious and the feedback we have had from our audience has been outstanding. Thank you for bringing the event to life! We will definitely be booking you up again.”
- Marianne Hawkins, Diageo

“Thank you for an incredibly exciting and informative presentation. My colleagues and I were all in awe of Tom’s achievements. His obvious ability to plan, resource, and successfully execute these ambitious projects provided our management team with some invaluable lessons.”
- Mark Dearlove, Barclays Capital

“Thank you so much for taking part in our ‘Pioneers in the Park’ evening. Everyone here loved your presentation and thought you were absolutely fantastic. We are so thrilled with the way it all went and hope that we can get you to speak here again in the future.”
- Suzanne Scrimgour, Johnnie Walker

“All of us at the Trust are delighted to have benefited from your South Pole lecture evening and are proud to be associated with such a professional team of explorers. The lecture was stimulating, amusing and inspiring. Everyone left the auditorium enlightened and enthralled.”
- Naomi Edler, The Prince’s Trust

“Thank you for taking the time to come and speak at our symposium. Your talk was very well delivered and the audience was left in awe of your achievements and wondered what it would take to satisfy your quest for adventure in the future.”
- Lieutenant Mark Singleton, International Survival Symposium

“I was captivated by Tom's epic story about his journey to the South Pole. His tales of endurance and achievement, coupled with some amazing photos and video footage, really brought the expedition and the raw beauty of Antarctica to life.”
- Louise Hotchkiss, World Wildlife Fund

“I would like to thank you for coming to speak at our annual luncheon, which was the most overly-subscribed lecture we have ever held. Your talk was hilarious and splendid and you captured the audience's attention throughout. I found it refreshing to hear of the exploits of you and your team, which shows what us Brits can do with the right attitude and determination.”
- Roy Tucker, St. Michael's Hospice

“Thanks for a fantastic evening. I was completely blown away. A really great talk – exciting, informative and witty.”
- Nicky Holford, Snow & Rock

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