Paramount Importance
Welcome to Paramount Importance — where science meets curiosity.
Hosted by marine scientist Kurt Krispyn, this podcast dives into the weird, wonderful, and wildly important questions about our world. Through open, honest, laid-back conversations with scientists, explorers, and big thinkers, we unpack the mysteries of nature, discovery, and human innovation.
If you're into the unknown, the unexplained, and the unbelievable, you're in the right place.
Paramount Importance
2025 Ep 29 Fearless Exploration: Mark Synnott
In this episode, I sit down with Mark Synnott—legendary professional climber, author, National Geographic Explorer, and member of The North Face Global Athlete Team. One of the most prolific big-wall first ascensionists of his generation, Mark has pioneered routes on some of the most remote and untouched cliffs on Earth. He has climbed Yosemite’s El Capitan alongside Alex Honnold, summited Everest, searched the mountain’s north face for Sandy Irvine’s lost camera, and even spent seven years living in a Yosemite cave to master his craft.
Mark’s expeditions span the Arctic, Baffin Island, the jungles of South America, and the frozen peaks of the Himalaya. He has led groundbreaking projects for National Geographic, Disney, and Netflix—discovering the elusive pebble toad on Venezuela’s tepuis and probing the mystery of the Franklin Expedition in the Canadian Arctic. As an author, his acclaimed books The Impossible Climb and The Third Pole weave gripping adventure with deep reflections on why humans risk everything in pursuit of exploration.
This episode goes beyond the how of adventure and dives into the why. Through Mark’s extraordinary life story, we uncover what it means to align passion with purpose, embrace risk as a pathway to growth, and find inspiration in the wildest corners of the planet