The leaders of polar adventures, Quark Expeditions, have just successfully completed the first ever hot air balloon adventure with passengers on a North Pole expedition.
Hans Lagerweij is the president of Quark Expeditions and he has said that over 50 guests participated in the first ever Quark hot air balloon ride as part of the voyage to the North Pole. He added that they were delighted to be the only Arctic operator which offered such an exclusive and exciting adventure options to their customer.
Those passengers who opted into the hot air balloon adventure enjoyed a once in a lifetime experience by taking part in the tethered flight just south of the North Pole at 86° 48′ N47° 21′ E. It took an hour to set the balloon up and passengers were taken up in groups of 4. Once in the air, the passenger spent nearly 5 minutes on top of the world, taking many photographs and celebrating their unique achievement.
“Ballooning in such an extreme environment is heavily dependent on weather conditions working in our favor in order to guarantee the safety of our passengers and staff,” continued Lagerweij. “Wind and ice conditions prevented us from taking our passengers up at 90° N, however we still made it up as close to the North Pole as safely as possible.”
Quark Expeditions will continue to offer its unique ballooning feature on future North Pole voyages, and has confirmed dates for the next four Arctic seasons:
2013 June 20, 2013 July 1, 2013
2014 June 20, 2014 July 1, 2014
2015 June 20, 2015 July 1, 2015
2016 June 22, 2016 July 3, 2016
Prices start from: 14 days (13 nights), from £14,190 for twin occupancy with one night in Helsinki on B&B, transfers, group helicopter trips, three meals a day, shore landings and on-board lectures. For further information please visit www.quarkexpeditions.com