The Descent of the 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 there he descended the 7,000 km of the Amazon River by hydrospeed, until he reached the Atlantic Ocean.
Latitude 0 – 1999
Mike gained world fame in 2001 after completing a solo journey around the equator without motorized transport. He left from Gabon in 1999 westwards and crossed oceans and continents by foot, boat, bike, kayak until he reached his point of departure 18 months later.
Arktos – 2002
In 2002, Mike set off on his next big solo adventure: the circumnavigation of the world via the Arctic Circle. It was a solitary voyage of two years and three months without motorized transport (boat, kayak, ski kite and on foot) on 20,000 kilometers odyssey. Mike left North Cape in Norway and went through Greenland, Canada, Alaska, Bering Strait and Russian Siberia before he reached North Cape
20’000 km
Northpole by night – 2006
In a world-first, Mike set off on a 60-day voyage on skis without dogs or motorized transportation during the Arctic night with Norwegian explorer Borge 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 started the Pangaea expedition for which him and his team launched the Young Explorers Program (YEP). On this 4-year journey around the globe, over 100 Young Explorers were selected to join Mike on his sailing vessel Pangaea to explore the world and implement social and environmental projects along the way – following the motto “explore – learn – act”.
Pole2Pole : Antarctica Crossing
On February 7 2017 at 22:50 UT Mike Horn completed the longest ever solo, unsupported north-to-south traverse of Antarctica from the Princess Astrid Coast (lat -70.1015 lon 9.8249) to the Dumont D’urville Station (lat -66.6833 lon 139.9167) via the South Pole. He arrived at the pole on January 9, 2017. A total distance of 5100 km was covered utilising kites and skis in 57 days.
Pole2Pole : Northpole Crossing
On December 7 2019 just before midnight, Mike Horn and Børge Ousland completed the first ever full crossing of the Arctic Ocean via the North Pole. 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 warming climate and strong negative drifts pushing the duo away form 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.