Zenith Ambassador Johan Ernst Nilson Pole2Pole

Nobody before had dared to imagine an expedition of this magnitude: from the northernmost point of our planet to the opposite end – the North Pole to South Pole. And yet this is what Swedish explorer Johan Ernst Nilson has just achieved – despite broken ribs and frozen toes. This challenging expedition marks a climax in the history of the conquest of the poles. A conquest in whose story the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen played no less a part, having also approached the Manufacture Zenith to provide an accurate and reliable watch for his missions.

Expedition in the Land of Extremes

Crossing the globe from the North Pole to the South Pole

The Pole2Pole expedition, led by environmentalist explorer Johan Ernst Nilson and begun in April 2011, has just reached the South Pole after 10 months in extremely difficult conditions, crossing the world's most hostile regions. The Swedish explorer survived two brutal hurricanes, one from the tropics and the other polar: "Encountering a hurricane in Antarctica is like being slammed into by a jet plane," said Nilson. His adventure almost came to an early end following an accident on the icecap: diagnosis, cracked ribs. But it would take more than that to stop this steely adventurer. Despite the injury – and others that would occur later, including frostbite and an injured knee – nothing stood in the way of the inevitable progression of Johan E. Nilson. His means of transport? Mainly his arms and legs. He started out on skis, pulling a sled containing supplies and equipment behind him - in the purest polar explorer tradition. Other forms of transport included sail, a dogsled, a bicycle and a kite-slide over the ice.

Extreme ranges of temperature

During his north-south odyssey, Johan E. Nilson experienced extreme conditions and impressive temperature swings. Freezing cold in the Far North and Antarctica, then extremely high temperatures over 50 ° C in the Mexican desert, where he was laid low by heat stroke. Then came the extreme humidity of the Mexican jungle, where it was so humid that the explorer felt he was pedaling in the shower.

Across the Americas by bike, then the South Pole

Take a globe. Put one finger on the far north of Canada and another in southern Colombia. This is the path Johan E. Nilson traveled by bike. Then came the hardest moment of the expedition – crossing Antarctica on skis. On December 13, 2011, on the ice, Johan celebrated the 100th anniversary of the conquest of the South Pole by Roald Amundsen. Both explorers had one thing in common – their faithful Zenith companion. Although the bitter cold and broken ribs almost got the better of the stubborn Nilson, on February 17 2012, he reached the South Pole at the opposite extreme from the point he had left 10 months earlier, having crossed all the latitudes of the globe.

In order to fully complete his journey, Johan E. Nilson, after a stay in hospital, will head back again to Ecuador and finish his bike trip through Chile to Tierra del Fuego.

Environmental Explorer

Johan E. Nilson has dedicated his feat to the planet Earth. The environmentalist explorer campaigns for a reduction in carbon emissions, which are so harmful to our environment. This expedition will also serve to educate the public and authorities about global warming.

Zenith, the pioneering spirit

The Zenith Manufacture has always demonstrated a tireless spirit of discovery, undertaking to overcome limits considered unbreachable by others. Jean-Frédéric Dufour expresses the passion that drives him and his team in these terms: "The Zenith brand is most precisely defined by the term 'pioneering spirit'. The fascinating thing about Zenith is its ability to develop new ideas and to embark – ahead of everyone else – on new technical developments."

This inventiveness achieves perfection because it is based on an uncompromising watchmaking tradition. These skills have been handed down over nearly a century and a half in its workshops in Le Locle, enabling the Zenith Manufacture to design and build the El Primero caliber, the most accurate automatic chronograph in the world and the first to exceed 10 vibrations per second... or more recently to develop the Academy Christophe Colomb Equation du Temps grand complication model, the first watch equipped with a gyroscope unit that maintains the regulating body in a horizontal position. Craft and modernity coexist in perfect harmony at Zenith, with its unique blend of tradition and contemporary vision.

Stratos Pole2Pole Limited Edition

During his Pole2Pole journey, Johan E. Nilson wore a special, limited edition of the El Primero Flyback Stratos. Designed to withstand everything , this manufactured chronograph is being tested in the harshest conditions encountered on earth.

Press Release