Conquering the Impossible: My 12,000-Mile Journey Around the Arctic Circle

by Mike Horn

Book Overview

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 foot through extreme Arctic conditions that nearly cost him his life. Enduring temperatures as low as...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312382049
• ISBN13: 9780312382049
• Release Date: June 2008
• Publisher: St. Martins Press-3PL
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.4" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Mike Has Escaped

The exhilarating catch that got me entangled in "Conquering the Impossible" was the element that has captivated me all my life, and that is adventure. Most of us are trapped like animals in the human zoo, caged up in society looking for more... looking for adventure, but "Mike has escaped". The harsh environment that Mike endures is amazing! True, you may wrestle with the amount of support that Mike Horn had as being a safety net, but I beg to argue. His skill and determination evoke the likeness of Lance Armstrong, yet his very life was in jeopardy many times over. Mike Horn isn't a scientist, or an explorer that is charting the unknown. Mike Horn is an athlete who is pushing himself beyond his own boundaries and living the life that most of us would like to live; a life without fear of the impossible.

An account of man challenging the limits of mental and physical endurance

Far North adventurer Mike Horn has written a testament to the physical and mental strength of the human spirit when tested with impossible challenges. For 27 months, Horn circumnavigated the Arctic Circle in a 12,000-mile solo journey. Without the aid of motorized transportation, Horn traipsed through Greenland, Canada, and Siberia. He faced challenges both natural and political, from fire and frostbite to a polar bear encounter to challenges with the Russian government. The very terrain under his feet consisted of dynamic, shifting ice sheets, which throughout the course of the journey required several detours and cost the explorer days and weeks of time. Horn may have been on the journey alone, and he no doubt demonstrated awe-inspiring physical and mental endurance, but he had an army of support, from a gourmet chef who packed his meals to medical and athletic experts who could fly to meet him at a moment's notice. Throughout the book, the reader can not forget that money was not an object on Mike Horn's journey, and a rescue by the cavalry could have been staged if needed. I thoroughly enjoyed Horn's adventure tale, which was educational as well as adrenaline-pumping. The reader will learn a great deal about the chemical behavior of different substances in extreme cold (Horn was in temperature down to -70°C!). Mucus, in fact, can be put to use under extreme conditions as a valuable moisturizer. I was also inspired by the skill and kindness demonstrated by the Inuit, Canadian, and Russian citizens Mike Horn encountered. Fourteen months after Mike Horn conquered the impossible, he made a two-month journey to the North Pole in absolute winter darkness without the aid of any motorized transportation. I'll stay tuned for the volume on that adventure.

Greatest, Most Unbelievable Story

First off, this book caught my interest because I recognized Mike's name from a National Geographic article about Mike Horn & Borge Ousland's un-supported trip to the North Pole, on foot. This book is absolutely INCREDIBLE! You get the man who experienced these things telling you about his own daily adventures around the top of the world. This book reads like the most epic, survival adventure you'd find in any fiction or movie. Except it really happened. Mike Horn's journey takes you across Greenland, Canada, and of course northern Siberia. He faces nightmare situations repeatedly. More than 100 degrees below zero, he's done it. More than 70 mph winds, done that too. Tent catches on fire, in the Arctic, yeah, done that too. Sleeping on a frozen lake, with wolves clawing at the thin wooden door that's the only thing separating your guts from being dinner, check. Playing a game of "chicken" with a bear. Playing a game of chicken with Russian border guards. Yep!(I think he preffered the bear.) You really get to know this man through his journey, as he gets to know himself better. His conflict with not wanting to leave his family, especially his daughters, for 2 whole years, versus his need to go and push his own limits. He plays out a conflict that I know burns within each of us. Some more so than others. It's something that I know I feel as well. I have gotten to know man better as well, as a result of reading this book... mankind that is. I also learned interesting things about the cold and what it does to things like whiskey, and various materials that are used to make products for cold weather, and why so many of them are inadequate for such cold traveling as Mike did. Also, why do you want loose clothing for such a journey instead of tight, something Roald Amundsen knew as well. Oh, and a vital use for snot in such extreme conditions. Once you start, you can't put this book down until Mike reaches his next stop, the next town, the nexr Radar shack, whatever that next bastion of safety from the cold is. Then you can relent, as does he. Then you can continue the next time, as he will the next morning. It's as though you're there with him, needing him to make it, so you can too.

Can't Put This One Down Till Finished!

This is a great book with tons of adventure and excitement. Makes you feel like your right there with Mike Horn on every step of his journey.

A timeless journey

This book details explorer Mike Horn's 2 year journey, all 12,000 miles of it, along the Arctic circle, in incredibly harsh conditions. I found it enthralling, fascinating and inspiring. How do you travel solo in temperatures often 50 degrees below where perhaps noone has ever been before? For weeks on end? In case you're interested, you'll find a few tips here. Not least of his accomplishments is dealing with Russian bureaucacy as he travelled through northern Siberia, encountering deserted gulags and a town with only a single inhabitant. Brushes with polar bears, wolves, it's all here. If you like adventure books, this is one that grabbed me and which I could not put down. Foremost, you'll feel the spirit of this man coming through. This is not someone else describing this mindblowing odyssey, it's the person who actually lived it. It was a privilege for me, an outdoors lover and Appalachian Trail hiker, to be able to share his journey. A possibly life-altering book.