In recent weeks, the French explorer has been in the Arctic attempting to become the first man to cross the Northwest Passage on a ski kite.
3,500 kilometers solo, temperatures approaching -70°C and an immense challenge never before met by man. A few weeks ago, French explorer Loury Lag embarked on an XXL adventure in the Arctic: to become the first person to successfully cross the Northwest Passage on a ski kite. Jack Wolfskin is a partner in the "Arctic Mission" expedition, providing equipment for the explorer and his logistics and production team to help them survive in places where man has no place. Jack Wolfskin's Discovery range will accompany the entire group. This collection has been specially developed for passionate people with a thirst for discovering the world's most remote places.
For Loury Lag, the challenge was immense. He had to face violent winds, melting ice, crevasses and polar bears. "Mission Arctic is my most atmospheric expedition," he explained before setting off. "14 months of preparation for just under 3 months of survival in one of the most hostile zones on the planet: the Arctic Ocean. It was essential for me to have equipment that was both highly technical and high-performance, but also sustainable. The environmental dimension is central to this expedition, as I'll be attempting to cross the Northwest Passage as the ice melts, and increasingly rapidly with global warming. We live to explore, and we're delighted to share these values and this adventure with Jack Wolfskin!"
On site, nothing was easy for the explorer, who posted news on his Instagram account as his adventures unfolded. In fact, after 32 days on the expedition, his journey almost came to a screeching halt when a violent gust tore him off the ground and into the air. "I see the fall coming and as I fall back, one of my skis gets stuck in a bump of snow formed by the storm. I hit the ground hard. A big shock. I try to get up and realize that I've hit my ribs, the pain prevents me from breathing as I stand up, my sail twists and starts to drag me for a few meters before I let go of the safety to avoid hitting it. My sail curls into a ball and starts to move backwards, too far. I realize after a few seconds that my second safety line isn't attached, and I'm going to lose my sail in the Arctic abyss."
Then, after 45 days on site, Loury even explains that he has decided to change strategy: "I'm giving up my kite sails and cross-country skiing. I have to admit that climate change has considerably slowed down my estimates. I'm at the lower end of what I'd imagined, the worst-case scenario. After traveling over 2,000 km in the hope of favorable conditions, I understand that they won't arrive, but more importantly, that they no longer exist. The easterly wind has dashed my ambitions of completing the North-West Passage by setting a record."
The adventurer continued his journey on the strength of his arms and legs alone, making 15 hours of effort a day, encountering bears (three specimens seen during his crossing of the pack ice), progressing with only one eye for four days due to a persistent stain, and struggling not to sink despite severe drops in energy. Finally, after 77 days and 3,000 km, Loury Lag reached the end of his adventure in the village of Taloyoak.
"The truth is, I came to try to achieve a record that I wouldn't do," he explains on Instagram. "The quest of my adventure today far exceeds the glory of titles. I've come here to face my fears. The fear of the passage of time, which brings us all face to face with an end. For some of us closer than others, I know something about that. I left full of hatred and violence, wanting once again to put myself in danger in order to confront my cowardice. The cowardice of accepting that I've spent my whole life surviving, fighting and cheating, with the sole aim of consuming as much of life as possible, out of fear of it coming to an end. I've definitely got to change and leave behind who I was, who I don't want to be anymore. I'm going home to my family. I'm going to hold my father's hand as I bid him farewell, support my brothers and kiss my mother goodbye. I'm going to take the time, the time to live simply, to enjoy the people I love most in the world rather than consume time by risking my life."
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