Mike Horn
Michael Horn is a South African–born Swiss professional explorer and adventurer. Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, he currently resides in Château d'Œx, Switzerland. He studied Human Movement Science at Stellenbosch University in Western Cape, South Africa.
Mike Horn became famous in 2001 after completing a one-year, 6-month solo journey around the equator without any motorised transport. In 2004 he completed a two-year, 3-month solo circumnavigation of the Arctic Circle, and in 2006, along with the Norwegian explorer Børge Ousland, became the first men to travel without a dog or motorised transport to the North Pole during winter, in permanent darkness.
Biography
Mike was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. He spent most of his childhood outdoors climbing trees, cycling for miles and fishing with his three brothers and sisters. Both his parents were university teachers, and his father was also a successful amateur rugby player.Mike said that he learned to challenge himself from a young age, but it was the army that taught him about survival. "I hate war but I think it prepared me for what I do today," he said, remembering his days in the military service when he was sent to Angola and first witnessed death. "I was only an 18-year-old kid when I discovered one will do anything to stay alive".
He studied Human Movement Science at the University of Stellenbosch in Western Cape, South Africa.
Mike says he first felt the call of the wild at 24 years old. He quit his comfortable sports science job, gave everything away and moved to Switzerland. From there, he embarked on a series of adventures, including descending by delta plane from a 22,000-foot mountain and riverboarding the world's deepest canyon.
Mike was married to Cathy Horn. She died in February 2015 due to breast cancer. He has two daughters, Jessica and Annika who work for him.
Motivational coaching
Horn uses his experiences to motivate sportsmen and other people involved in challenging work such as deep-sea drilling. During 2010 and 2011, he conducted motivational sessions for the Indian Cricket Team at the request of its coach, Gary Kirsten. The team went on to win the 2011 Cricket World Cup for the second time after 28 years. Members of the Indian Cricket Team acknowledged Horn's motivational work.Horn then accompanied Kirsten and the South African cricket team, whom Kirsten then coached, on an expedition to the Alps in 2012, as a team-bonding exercise and part of their preparation for their Test series against the then No. 1 ranked team England. They dominated England in the first test, a feat which England and world cricket had not seen in a decade. Eventually, South Africa went on and won the series 2–0 with one test drawn. With this victory, South Africa took the No. 1 test ranking from England, and currently holds the mace. He was also hired by Kolkata Knight Riders team for IPL-7 and KKR won the first match with 41 Runs against Mumbai Indians and went on a 9 match unbeaten run eventually winning the IPL-7 Title. The latest in line to benefit from Horn's expertise was the German football team. The entire squad went on a sailing trip with Horn in June during their preparations for the World Cup and came out a rejuvenated side. German captain Philipp Lahm was impressed, saying it was "incredible what the human body can achieve." "We must be well prepared, and have to respect the opponent," said Lahm when asked what they had learned after Horn's presentation.
Expeditions
Amazon (1997)
In April 1997, Mike launched his first big expedition: the six-month solo traverse of the South American continent. He left on foot from the Pacific Ocean and climbed to the source of the Amazon River high in the Peruvian Andes. From here he descended the 7,000 km of the Amazon River on a hydrospeed, until he reached the Atlantic Ocean. It took him six months, solo and without assistance.Mike hunted, fished and survived off his environment. His finish point was the Atlantic Ocean where he finally tasted saltwater.
Latitude Zero (1999-2000)
In 1999, Mike set off on an 17-month voyage to circle the equator on foot and by sailing.He left Gabon and crossed the Atlantic to Brazil on a Corsair F-28 trimaran. He then crossed Brazil and Ecuador on bike, canoe and on foot. After that he crossed the Pacific Ocean reaching Indonesia via the Galápagos Islands and crossed Borneo and Sumatra on foot, before crossing the Indian Ocean. To finish the expedition, he crossed the African continent on foot through the Congo and Gabon.
This was the first solo circumnavigation of the world around the Equator – unaided and with no engine-driven support.
Arktos (2002-2004)
In 2002–04, Mike went around the world on the Arctic Circle solo in an expedition dubbed "Arktos". It was a solitary voyage of two years and three months without motorised transport on a odyssey. Mike left North Cape in Norway and went through Greenland, Canada, Alaska, Bering Strait and Russian Siberia before he reached North Cape.Mike spent time with the local people who had courageously adapted to the unforgiving environment.
In 2005 Mike published his account of this expedition in Conquérant de l'impossible.
North Pole by Night (2006)
In a world first, Mike set off on a 60-day voyage on skis without dogs or motorised transportation during the Arctic night with Norwegian explorer Børge Ousland in 2006. From February to March, they dragged pulkas from Cape Artichesky in Russia to the North Pole. For two months the pair walked in total darkness, and often on paper-thin ice.Pangaea (2008-2012)
In 2008, Mike and his team launched the Young Explorers Program. This program consisted of recruiting and then inviting young adults between the ages of 15 and 20 years old, from all over the world – to explore the Earth's continents and travel across the planet's oceans with the PANGAEA expedition-sailing vessel. Close to 100 Young Explorers accompanied him to 12 hot spots around the world where they implemented ecological and social projects – following the motto "explore – learn – act". Although this project ended in 2012, the Young Explorers – now young world ambassadors – continue to set in motion different types of projects around the globe.Driven To Explore (2015)
In May 2015, Mike Horn set off on the "Driven To Explore" expedition, sponsored by Mercedes-Benz. Leaving from Switzerland, Horn drove through 13 countries, reaching Pakistan where he attempted to summit K2 in the Karakoram mountain range.Pole2Pole (2016-2019)
In 2016, Horn set off on his latest expedition "Pole2Pole", a two-year circumnavigation of the globe via the South and North Poles. On 8 May 2016, Mike left from his point of departure, The Yacht Club of Monaco with the support of H.S.H Prince Albert of Monaco II. Sponsored by Mercedes-Benz and Panerai Mike's Pole2Pole adventure took him across land and sea. Equipped with his exploration sailing vessel, Pangaea, Mike circumnavigated the globe from Africa to Antarctica, Oceania, Asia, the Arctic, and back to Europe. The Pole2Pole expedition ended in December 2019 following the completion of Mike's Arctic crossing which brought him back to Europe, his starting point over three years after leaving the Yacht Club of Monaco in May 2016.Antarctica Crossing (2016-2017)
On 7 February 2017, at 22:50 UT, Mike Horn completed the longest ever solo, unsupported north-to-south traverse of Antarctica from the Princess Astrid Coast to the Dumont D'urville Station via the South Pole. He arrived at the pole on 9 January 2017. A total distance of 5100 km was covered by utilising kites and skis in 57 days.Arctic Crossing (2019)
On 7 December 2019, just before midnight, Mike Horn and Børge Ousland completed the first ever full crossing of the Arctic Ocean via the North Pole. The pair left from Nome, Alaska on 28 August 2019, on Mike Horn's exploration sailing vessel Pangaea captained by famous Swiss sailor Bernard Stamm and a small crew.The goal was to sail as far north as possible towards the North Pole until solid ice prevented them from navigating any further. This position was reached on 11 September and would be Mike and Børge's departure point for their #NorthPoleCrossing expedition. The two explorers disembarked Pangaea and began their trek across the frozen Arctic Ocean on 12 September 2019, pulling two sledges each weighing over 180 kg.
Their journey lasted 87 days, 57 of which were spent in total darkness due to the winter season. The main difficulties faced during this adventure were the fragility of the ice due to the seasonal climate and strong negative drifts pushing the duo away from their goal. Due to these challenges and the significant delays they caused, Mike and Børge had to finish their expedition differently than originally anticipated. The initial plan was to be picked up by Mike's boat Pangaea on the Norwegian side, where the solid ice broke into the open water. However, due to food shortage, a larger boat capable of making its way further north into the ice was sent to pick up the two adventurers instead.
Today, the success of this ambitious endeavour is marked as a history-writing moment in the world of polar exploration.