Up, up and away on Quark's Polar expedition

First Hot Air Balloon Ride on North Pole Voyage Successfully Completed by Quark

Quark Expeditions, the leader in polar adventure, successfully completed the first-ever passenger hot air balloon adventure on an expedition to the North Pole this week.

“More than 50 guests aboard 50 Years of Victory participated in Quark’s first-ever hot air balloon ride on its North Pole voyage,” said Hans Lagerweij, president of Quark Expeditions. “We are pleased to be the only Arctic operator to offer such an exciting and exclusive adventure option on our trips.”

The passengers who selected the hot air ballooning option experienced a once-in-a-lifetime tethered flight at 86° 48' N 47° 21' E, just south of the North Pole. The balloon took one hour to set up and four passengers were taken up at a time. The passengers aboard the hot air balloon spent almost five minutes at the top of the world taking photos and celebrating the 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:

 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 visitwww.quarkexpeditions.com or call (001) 203 803 2666

For all press enquiries please contact:

Lynsey Devon, Heaven Publicity

Phone: 44 (0)20 3544 1563 Mobile: 44 (0)7717 078862

Lynsey@heavenpublicity.co.uk

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