Conquering the Impossible
My 12,000-Mile Journey Around the Arctic Circle
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4,5 • 2 notes
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- 10,99 €
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- 10,99 €
Description de l’éditeur
In August 2002, Mike Horn set out on a mission that bordered on the impossible: to travel 12,000 miles around the globe at the Arctic Circle - alone, against all prevailing winds and currents, and without motorized transportation.
Conquering the Impossible is the gripping account of Horn's grueling 27-month expedition by sail and by foot through extreme Arctic conditions that nearly cost him his life on numerous occasions. Enduring temperatures that ranged to as low as -95 degrees Fahrenheit, Horn battled hazards including shifting and unstable ice that gave way and plunged him into frigid waters, encounters with polar bears so close that he felt their breath on his face, severe frostbite in his fingers, and a fire that destroyed all of his equipment and nearly burned him alive.
Complementing the sheer adrenaline of Horn's narrative are the isolated but touching human encounters the adventurer has with the hardy individuals who inhabit one of the remotest corners of the earth. From an Inuit who teaches him how to build an igloo to an elderly Russian left behind when the Soviets evacuated his remote Arctic town, Horn finds camaraderie, kindness, and assistance to help him survive the most unforgiving conditions.
This awe-inspiring account is a page-turner and an Arctic survival tale in one. Most of all, it's a testament to one man's unrelenting desire to push the boundaries of human endurance.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Circumnavigating the globe at the equator wasn't enough for South African extreme adventurer Horn, so he promptly set out on a solo expedition to the North Pole. As he recounts in the opening chapters of his memoir, an attempt to tie a loose shoelace when the temperature was 76 below zero resulted in his thumb splitting open, the skin "translucent all the way to the bone." And yet, just a few months after being treated for frostbite, Horn set out again, this time preparing to travel the entire perimeter of the Arctic Circle. This voyage has its own share of death-defying episodes, from multiple encounters with bears to a kayak ride through a maze of icebergs, not to mention the oppressive Russian bureaucracy. But it's also filled with charming interludes, like Horn's arrival at a Canadian mining town just days before it closes for good, or his tightrope walk along the top of a Russian oil pipeline. Through all these adventures, Horn reflects on why he feels compelled to push himself to such limits, comparing his trek to a rite of passage: "It was inside myself that I took a long, long walk," he says. Readers will be grateful to share his experiences vicariously.
