South African adventurer Mike Horn on Thursday became the first man to circumnavigate the Arctic Circle without motorized transport, completing a more than two-year solo odyssey.
The Swiss-based Horn set out in August 2002, traveling on foot and skis as well as by kayak. He arrived back at the North Cape in Norway, where he was met by his logistics team, wife Cathy and two daughters.
“After two years and three months on the road, it is a great moment,” the weary 38-year-old told Reuters by telephone.
“I’m happy to reach the end and the girls are just as happy to have me back,” he said after serving champagne aboard his ice-cutting aluminum sailboat.
His 12,000 mile journey took him through Greenland, Canada, Alaska, the Bering Strait and Russia’s Siberia. Often dragging a Kevlar sledge carrying 440 pounds (200 kilograms) of equipment and food, he faced dangers including polar bears.
Second try successful
Frostbite forced Horn to abandon a first attempt in April 2002 after he took off his gloves to relace his boots in temperatures of 45 degrees below zero Fahrenheit (-43 degrees Celsius).
He set out again on his expedition, named “Arktos,” which means bear in Greek, in August 2002. But it took far longer than the 18 months he had expected.
“Some moments were tougher than others. I learned a lot from my mistakes and from the first North Pole expedition. If you make a mistake in the Arctic Circle, it could be your last,” Horn recalled Thursday.
“I just kept moving every day — skiing, climbing, walking, sailing, kayaking, cycling and crawling — whatever man can do with two arms and two legs,” he said.
He used a kite to pass over huge ice blocks, an efficient but dangerous way to travel at speeds of 60 miles (100 kilometers) per hour.
“I got used to life in the North, to the loneliness, my little tent, gas cooker and sledges,” he told the weekly Facts magazine. “There were also warm moments, such as when I saw the sun again after both Arctic winters or ran into human beings.”
It's a job as well as an adventure
Horn was also the first man to complete circumnavigation of the equator without motorized transport in October 2000. He crossed the Amazon jungle, Pacific Ocean and Africa, by foot, trimaran, bicycle and pirogue over a 17-month period.
“I’m an adventurer, that is the way I make a living. I love what I do,” he said.
He came to Europe in 1990 to work as a ski instructor, river and canyoning guide. He now lives with his wife and two daughters, 11-year-old Annika and 10-year-old Jessica, in a village in western Switzerland.