Interview de Mike Horn

It’s clear from your career so far that you seem to have been attracted to faraway lands from a very early age, as well as by the idea of living several lives. What was the trigger that led you to traverse the globe on ever more spectacular expeditions?

Mike Horn. I was born and raised in South Africa, where my early years were very traditional: education, army, the start of an interesting professional career, and so on. But I drew a line under that life when I left my native country at 24 for a random destination: Switzerland. That was the first flight to Europe! I loved sport, nature, travel and adventure. And I did all of those in Europe and then moved on to South America. But a paragliding accident had me stuck in a hospital bed for a month... So I had a long time to think, take stock and think about the future. And that’s when I made the most important decision of my life: to become an explorer.

What do you expect from the challenges you regularly set yourself?

M.H.: When I’m far from civilisation, I find that braving the most extreme elements brings me answers to questions that would haunt me if I was just sat at home in an armchair. Essentially, I explore inaccessible places to discover who I am. I would never feel like a whole person if I couldn’t satisfy my passion for nature in its most inhospitable glory.
So yes, I push those personal boundaries all the time. My father once told me “If you’re not afraid of your dreams, then you need to dream bigger”. And that’s the essence of my life as an explorer.

Pole2Pole is perhaps your most amazing trip so far, especially the time you spent in Antarctica. In what way was it “the dream of a lifetime”?

M.H.: As a child, I was fascinated by stories of Ernest Shackleton and Roald Amundsen’s expeditions to the South Pole. They made me want to become an explorer like them, and that dream has never left me.

So is the dream satisfied, or are you already planning your next expedition? Or perhaps you have a completely different type of project in mind?

M.H.: I want to go back to K2 to be the first to conquer one of its ridges. At 8,611 metres altitude, K2 in Pakistan is the world’s second-highest mountain.
My attempt in 2014 stopped 200 metres short of the summit due to bad weather. Those who pressed on triggered an avalanche and died as a result of it. But I have the chance to try again, adding in an additional difficulty – a ridge that has never been climbed – to write a new chapter in the history of K2. We also have to complete the Pole2Pole journey, and, if all goes well, my boat will appear over the horizon in Monaco at the end of November or early in December.

You’ve had a boat built in Brazil. Why there?

M.H.: Because that’s where I found the aluminium I needed, but more importantly, I’ve been able to build it with some of the most underprivileged people living in a São Paulo favela. I always try to bring a new dimension of meaning to what could be considered as just another sporting achievement. Another major challenge for me is helping young people to become more aware of environmental issues. Certainly the areas in which I can be most effective have changed, and I want to work now with up and coming generations. And then, when conditions permit, I take young explorers with me on my journeys to make them more aware of the importance of protecting our planet.

What is your take on mass tourism, whose environmental footprint is now a hot topic, particularly in terms of polar tourism?

M.H.: Tourism in Antarctica and the Arctic has yet to become mass tourism. I would say that these continents are protected by their “hostility”: ice that drifts on the surface of the sea and cannot therefore be built on, and extreme temperatures for nine months of the year; we humans can’t live north of the Arctic Circle. Most journeys to these regions are by boat, and that access is very tightly regulated. Tourists don’t really stay in these places; they simply take a walk around, admire their beauty, and so on. And that imposes only a very small environmental footprint. The real fear would be the possible arrival of airports and aircraft!

What books do you take with you on expeditions?

M.H.: I always take a Bible. I’m not a practising Christian, but I love rereading certain passages, including those telling stories of miracles. Perhaps it’s because in my life as an explorer, I must hope and believe in miracles when I am alone, injured and sometimes lost, with no idea which direction I should take.