Àlex Simon i Casanovas (born 1960 in Gràcia neighbourhood of

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ...

) is a Catalonian

mountain guide A mountain guide is a specially trained and experienced professional mountaineer who is certified by local authorities or mountain guide associations. They are considered to be high-level experts in mountaineering, and are hired to instruct or ...

, climbing teacher, outdoor instructor and logistic. He has climbed in the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, ...

and the

Dolomites The Dolomites ( it, Dolomiti ; Ladin: ''Dolomites''; german: Dolomiten ; vec, Dołomiti : fur, Dolomitis), also known as the Dolomite Mountains, Dolomite Alps or Dolomitic Alps, are a mountain range located in northeastern Italy. They form pa ...

, as well as in the United States, Brazil, Guatemala, Indonesia, Australia and

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest co ...

, and crossed by bicycle sections of the

Simpson Desert The Simpson Desert is a large area of dry, red sandy plain and dunes in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Queensland in central Australia. It is the fourth-largest Australian desert, with an area of . The desert is underlain by the ...

(Australia) and

Atacama Desert The Atacama Desert ( es, Desierto de Atacama) is a desert plateau in South America covering a 1,600 km (990 mi) strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the Andes Mountains. The Atacama Desert is the driest nonpolar desert in the ...

(Chile).

Sport events organisation

Since 2012, Simon I Casanovas has organized the Rovaniemi 150 Arctic Winter Race. Rovaniemi150 () is the first, and still the only one (2017) polar winter ultramarathon in Europe which combines three categories: fatbike, ski and run. Since 2014, he also organize the Lapland Extreme Challenge () in Finnish Lapland in winter. Since 2015, Rovaniemi150 have two more different challenges: Rovaniemi66 () and Rovaniemi300 ().

Work in Antarctica

Simon I Casanovas was the mountain guides team leader at the Spanish Antarctic base of

Juan Carlos I Juan Carlos I (;, * ca, Joan Carles I, * gl, Xoán Carlos I, Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 Novem ...

in 2001–06, carrying out extensive field work on

Hurd Peninsula Hurd Peninsula lies between South Bay and False Bay on the south coast of Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. The Spanish Juan Carlos I Antarctic Base and the Bulgarian St. Kliment Ohridski Base are situated on its west ...

Huron Glacier Huron Glacier is a } long and wide glacial flow on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica, situated east of Perunika Glacier, southeast of Kaliakra Glacier, south of Struma Glacier, west-northwest of Iskar Glacier and n ...

area,

Byers Peninsula Byers Peninsula is a mainly ice-free peninsula forming the west end of Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica. It occupies , borders Ivanov Beach to the northeast and is separated from Rotch Dome on the east by the ridge o ...

, and

Ioannes Paulus II Peninsula Ioannes Paulus II Peninsula ( bg, Полуостров Йоан Павел II, Poluostrov Yoan Pavel II, ) is an ice-covered peninsula on the north coast of Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica that is bounded by Hero Bay t ...

Livingston Island Livingston Island (Russian name ''Smolensk'', ) is an Antarctic island in the Southern Ocean, part of the South Shetlands Archipelago, a group of Antarctic islands north of the Antarctic Peninsula. It was the first land discovered south of 60� ...

in the

South Shetland Islands The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the nearest point of the South Orkney Islands. By the Antarctic Treaty of 195 ...

Climbs

*First ascent of

Mount Bowles Mount Bowles is an ice-covered mountain high, the summit of Bowles Ridge in the central part of eastern Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. It is situated south of Vidin Heights and north of Mount Friesland, Tangra M ...

(),

on 5 January 2003. *First ascent of Burdick East Peak (),

on 20 November 2003.

Honour

Casanovas Peak on

in the

is named for Àlex Simon i Casanovas.Casanovas Peak.

SCAR A scar (or scar tissue) is an area of fibrous tissue that replaces normal skin after an injury. Scars result from the biological process of wound repair in the skin, as well as in other organs, and tissues of the body. Thus, scarring is a n ...

Composite Gazetteer of Antarctica The Composite Gazetteer of Antarctica (CGA) of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) is the authoritative international gazetteer containing all Antarctic toponyms published in national gazetteers, plus basic information about ...

Personal life

Since 2007, he lives in Finland.

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 ''Desnivel'' is Spain´s first monthly independent climbing and mountaineering magazine, published since 1981. History and profile ''Desnivel'' was founded in 1981 by Spanish mountaineer and journalist Darío Rodríguez.www.up-climbing.com''Mr. D ...

. Dec 2002. * Àlex S. Casanovas. '' he Snowmobile Bible: Progressive safety over dangerous terrain'. Lulu Inc., 2008. 112 pp.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simon I Casanovas, Alex 1960 births Living people Explorers of Antarctica People from Barcelona Spanish explorers Spanish mountain climbers 20th-century explorers 21st-century explorers Spain and the Antarctic