15 days. 12 countries. Almost 11 000 kilometers both on land and water. These are the figures of an adventure driven by the extreme sportsman Mike Horn. Him and his team drove the two Mercedes-Benz G-Class vehicles all the way from Switzerland to Pakistan. Let’s join his adventure!
“Normally I do not use vehicles on my adventures. But this time the Mercedes-Benz G-Class made it possible for me to reach even the remotest areas. The off-road capability and innovative technology of this car are simply unbelievable. The car is my perfect, motorised alter ego,” says Mike Horn.
The adventurer started off a month ago, from Château-d’Oex in Switzerland. The over 35-year old G-Class, with unrivalled off-road performance and ground clearance, kept him and his friends safe along rough terrain in Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kirgizstan, China and Pakistan. Not even the 100% gradients, 54% inclines and water up to 60 centimeters deep could cause them trouble.
Mercedes-Benz and Mike Horn have been partners for many years. “With the G-class we provided Mike Horn with the ideal partner for this expedition” says Dr. Jens Thiemer, Vice President Marketing Mercedes-Benz Cars. Most recently Mercedes-Benz gave its support to the PANGAEA expedition.
From 2008 to 2012 Mike Horn sailed around the world, initiating ecological and social projects together with young people at various stages under the guiding theme of “Explore. Learn. Act.” More than 100 follow-up projects have meanwhile been generated.
We now invite you to follow Mike Horn’s and the G-Class’s adventures across the world, in amazing videos
1. All starts are difficult, but this one in particular. It is the journey of a lifetime:
2. The Russian adventures. Why it is hard to make it to Russia and why it is even harder to make it out of Russia and how their photographer got arrested at the border:
3. But Moscow with its Red Square and Kremlin giant is a fairytale land:
4. Crossing Kazahstan and learning the lesson of the day: patience!
5. As their Mercedes-Benz G-Classes eat up the miles, the team approaches the city of Bukhara in Uzbekistan.
6. Close to the Chinese border. This is where Mike meets his alpinist friends, Fred Roux and Köbi Reichen: “One of the most spectacular landscapes I have ever seen”, Mike remarks.
7. On their way to K2, the team must cross quite a few rivers. Luckily, the Mercedes-Benz G-Class is built for exactly this kind of challenge.
8. And they reach Pakistan, at last! “People with very little gave us everything they had”, Mike tells by the place he has always dreamed of seeing.
And just when we think the adventure is over, a new one starts over. The “Drive 2 Climb 2 Ski K2” expedition begins: the Mercedes-Benz Brand Ambassador and his team of alpinists, Fred Roux and Köbi Reichen are set to escalade the 8611-meter K2 mountain. They dream of becoming the first alpinists to complete the subsequent descent from the world’s second highest mountain mainly running down the slopes on skis.
