Àlex Simón i Casanovas

Àlex Simón

Àlex Simón i Casanovas (born 1960 in Gràcia neighbourhood of Barcelona) is a Catalonian mountain guide, climbing teacher and outdoor instructor. He has climbed in the Pyrenees, Alps and the Dolomite, as well as in U.S.A, Brazil, Guatemala, Indonesia, Australia and Antarctica, and crossed by bicycle sections of the Simpson Desert (Australia) and Atacama Desert (Chile).

Àlex Simón was the mountain guides team leader at the Spanish Antarctic base of Juan Carlos I in 2001–06, carrying out extensive field work on Hurd Peninsula, Huron Glacier area, Byers Peninsula, and Ioannes Paulus II Peninsula on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands.

Since 2007 he lives in Finland. Currently he organizes polar traverses and expeditions, snowmobile and huskies expeditions and ski traverses. Agreeing to these activities, he participated as a logistician and guide on the Professor Multanovskiy ship during the 2009–2010 Antarctic summer and, as well in Antarctica, on the Ocean Nova ship during the 2010–2011.

Climbs in Antarctica

First ascent of Mount Bowles (839 m), Livingston Island on 5 January 2003.^[1]

First ascent of Burdick East Peak (735 m), Livingston Island on 20 November 2003.

Honour

Casanovas Peak on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named for Àlex Simón i Casanovas.^[2]

Publications

• Article "Bajo el sol del desierto". Solo Bici nº7. Dec. 1991.
• Article "La motoneige et moi-une expérience en Antarctique". Motoneige Quebec. Dec 2009.
• Article "Sueños gélidos, sacos para frio extremo". Desnivel. Dec 2002.
• Àlex S. Casanovas. The Snowmobile Bible: Progressive safety over dangerous terrain. Lulu Inc., 2008. 112 pp. ISBN 978-1-4092-2363-4

Sport activities

In March 2011 he finished the 350 milles Iditarod Trail Invitational by bike. He was the first Catalonian who participated in this race and finished it.^[3]

References