Thinking back, I remember liking Mark Wood from the first moment I met him. Our paths crossed last year in a small outpost on the Arctic Ocean Resolute, Nunavut Canada. Lonnie and I were in our last few days of staging before our North Pole journey and Mark had just returned from guiding a four-week trip along Ellesmere Island.

It might seem like a bit odd to run into another polar explorer in Resolute (a small town of 200 hearty individuals), but perhaps I'd better introduce you to this arctic hamlet. Resolute is the jumping off point for all sorts of polar expeditions and adventures. From the geographic North Pole to the magnetic North Pole and everything in between, Resolute serves as a frozen Mecca for those infatuated with snow and ice.

Enter Englishman Mark Wood, and the fact that sometimes, you just know. We had similar expedition experiences, philosophies and equally important, senses of humor. I got to know Mark over the next couple days and was impressed with his integrity and insight. At the time, 'Save the Poles' wasn't even an idea, but I knew if I were to ever make another North Pole attempt, Mark would be a valuable asset to the team.

Flash forward one year. Mark has just left after a week-long visit to Grand Marais. I was definitely interested in having him join the Save the Poles team, but wanted to make sure we would have the communication and cooperation skills to work effectively as a team.

An incredibly large amount of a successful expedition depends on the dynamics between team members. Being able to communicate, cooperate and problem solve in intense situations is not easy. Compound that by the fact that you will be sharing a very small tent for two months and you begin to see why team work skills are so integral to our achieving the pole.

We spent a week hiking, camping, hanging out and talking. It is fair to say that we saw each other at our worst and best. Tired and hungry. Stressed about life or a girlfriend. Wondering about the future. Lamenting the past. Trying to find our place. In the end, we had a great time. We came away from the visit with a better understanding of one another and how we might interact on an expedition. Unusual was the fact that we also parted friends. But maybe it's not that surprising. After all, I remember liking Mark from the first moment we met.

By the way, that's Mark in the lower left corner of the picture.