- February 2005 : ‘The Barclays Capital Ultimate North Expedition' ; together with companions Andrew Gerber, Geroge Wells, Matty McNair, Hugh Dale Harris, Tom Avery claims to solve the greatest polar mystery of all time – did Commander Robert Peary discover the North Pole in 1909 in a record 37 days? Start : Friday March 25th, arrival at North Pole on April 27th, a 37 days trek covering 445 miles.

- December 2002 : On 28th December 2002, at the age of 27, Tom Avery walked into the record books by becoming the youngest Briton to complete the perilous journey to the South Pole. Tom's team managed to break the South Pole speed record by using state of the art kites to power them across the ice and covering the last 47 miles to the Pole in a marathon 31 hours.

- 2000 : Tom Avery leads 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 in the Eastern Zaalay Mountains of Kyrgyzstan. Tom named one of the mountains (the 5 439m Pik Quenelda) after his mother, whose birthday fell on the day the team reached the summit.
Tom Avery was born in December 1975 and brought up in Sussex, Brazil and France. His passion for adventure began when he was eight years old and first read about the exploits of Captain Scott. From that day he knew that one day he had to go to the South Pole.

Tom's outdoor career began at 16 with a series of rock and ice climbs in Wales and Scotland. At university he organised and led mountaineering 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. As a ski guide in Verbier in the Swiss Alps, he developed a love of ski touring and continued to organise mountaineering expeditions.

Based largely on his South Pole journal, Pole Dance is Tom's first book and was published in September 2004. 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.

Outside of expeditions, Tom's career includes giving motivational talks to businesses and schools, plus he is an official ambassador for both the London 2012 Olympic bid and the Prince's Trust. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and works as an ambassador for the Swiss watch manufacturer, TAG Heuer.

Tom's other interests include golf, skiing and climbing. Whilst in the Arctic, Tom will miss his girlfriend Mary, soap, clean underpants and Marmite.