Ramón Hernando de Larramendi (Madrid, 1965) is a Spanish polar explorer and adventure traveler who has promoted and developed a unique WindSled (also call Inuit WindSled), intended for the research in

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

and

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

. He has traveled more than 40,000 km in polar territories. One of his first milestones was the Circumpolar Expedition in the Arctic, during which he covered 14,000 km using only a dog sled and a

kayak ] A kayak is a small, narrow human-powered watercraft typically propelled by means of a long, double-bladed paddle. The word ''kayak'' originates from the Inuktitut word '' qajaq'' (). In British English, the kayak is also considered to be ...

. This trip, which took three years to complete, laid the foundation for his later projects. In recent years, Larramendi has led a dozen expeditions in Antarctica and Greenland with his WindSled vehicle, whose ultimate goal is to be used for polar scientific research. Throughout his career, Larramendi has received several awards. An author of books on his experiences and on the Inuit, he has also been a member of

RTVE The Corporación de Radio y Televisión Española (; ), known as Radiotelevisión Española (''Spanish Radio and Television'', RTVE), is the Spanish national public Broadcasting, television and radio broadcaster. It is a state-owned enterprise f ...

's ' Al filo de lo imposible' ('Edge of the Impossible') team. He is currently a member of the board of directors of the Spanish Geographic Society. He lives part of the year in southern Greenland.

The first years

In 1985, at the age of 19, Larramendi made the crossing of the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

on skis, from the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

to the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

, in 53 days, which he repeated in the following year on his own. Also in 1985, he was part of a pioneering group in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

that crossed the interior of

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

from west or east (Transislandia 85), also on skis, through its three largest glaciers. This feat allowed him to obtain his first public recognition: the

Nescafé Nescafé is a brand of instant coffee sold by the multinational food and drink corporation Nestlé. It comes in many different forms. The name is a portmanteau of the words "Nestlé" and "café". Nestlé first introduced their flagship coffee br ...

Prize 'Tu aventura vale un millón' ('Your adventure is worth a million'), in 1986, which let him finance his next adventure: the first Spanish voyage in the Greenland icecap: the TransGreenland Expedition, 700 km in 55 days. In 1988, he also led the first Circumnavigation of the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...

in kayak, sailing 3,500 kilometers in only 108 days. The following year, 1989, his adventurous spirit took him to the coast of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, which he travelled from north to south, another 2,500 kilometers, in kayak.

The Circumpolar Expedition

In 1990, Larramendi embarked on a great adventure: the Circumpolar Expedition. For three years, from February 12, 1990, to March 25, 1993, he travelled 14,000 km, from Greenland to

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

, through the

Northwest Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea lane between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, near the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Arctic Archipelago of Canada. The eastern route along the Arctic ...

, a trip in which he only used dog sledding and kayaking. This adventure was published in the international edition of

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

, which consecrated him as an explorer on an international level. In this Circumpolar Expedition he reached the

North Geomagnetic Pole The geomagnetic poles are antipodal points where the axis of a best-fitting dipole intersects the surface of Earth. This ''theoretical'' dipole is equivalent to a powerful bar magnet at the center of Earth, and comes closer than any other point ...

at the age of 25 , thus becoming the youngest explorer in to do so. Throughout the journey, he had the opportunity to live with the

Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...

, and to learn their language and their culture. For parts of the expedition he was accompanied by Manuel Olivera, Antonio Martínez and Rafael Peche.

Greenland

Before the Circumpolar Expedition (1990-1993), Larramendi already knew Greenland. In 1986 he had been one of the key explorers in what would be the first Spanish expedition ever made to the polar ice cap: the Trans-Greenland Expedition, a route of 700 kilometers with skis that was carried out in 55 days. In 1999, he began designing a wind-powered sled that is capable of moving through polar lands using large kites. In 2000, after a first test in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, he traveled back to Greenland with a first prototype of the vehicle to record a 600 km crossing for the TVE program 'Al filo de lo Imposible'. The following year, in 2001, he organized the Trans-Greenland Expedition 2001, a 2,225 km of route in only 32 days using a new prototype of the WindSled, then dubbed the 'polar catamaran'. On this journey, he broke the world record of distance travelled in just one day, and opened a new north–south route on the Arctic island (

Narsaq Narsaq ( Danish: ''Nordprøven'') is a town in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland. The name ''Narsaq'' is Kalaallisut for "Plain", referring to the shore of Tunulliarfik Fjord where the town is located. History People have liv ...

Qaanaaq Qaanaaq (), formerly known as New Thule, is the main town in the northern part of the Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. The town has a population of 646 as of 2020. The population was forcibly relocated from its former, traditiona ...

). In 2002, he returned to Greenland for a new windsled trip: a South-North traverse of Greenland, covering 2,300 kilometers in 33 days. He returned to Greenland in 2003 for another expedition: Greenland East-West, in which he traveled 700 km in 18 days. In total, until August 2016, Larramendi hascarried out six expeditions with different designs of WindSled in Greenland. Of particular note is the one made in 2014, which was the first Circumnavigation of Greenland 2014 with a wind vehicle through the ice dome, with a total of 4,300 kilometers covered. Also noteworthy was the one that took place from May 15 to June 25, 2016, after reaching the Greenland ice summit, located at 3,240 m altitude, carrying 2,000 kilos of load on a 2,000 km route that took 38 days. In the last two expeditions, data were collected for scientific projects from different Spanish institutions, all related to climate change in the Arctic. Also, Larramendi collaborated with a project of the American glaciologist Jason Box. In addition to all these expeditions with the WindSled, Larramendi has carried out many other expeditions of shorter duration in the southern part of the ice cap and in the

Thule Thule ( ; also spelled as ''Thylē'') is the most northerly location mentioned in ancient Greek and Roman literature and cartography. First written of by the Greek explorer Pytheas of Massalia (modern-day Marseille, France) in about 320 BC, i ...

region (northwest of Greenland), both with dog sledding and along the coast. During the years 1995 and 1996, the explorer spent two full winters in this region near the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...

living and travelling with the Inuit. He has also accompanied mountain climber Jesus Calleja in his polar expeditions for different TVE programs.

The Antarctic

Transantarctic 2005-2006

In 2005, Larramendi travelled for the first time to the Antarctic, continent subject to an International Treaty, with his WindSled: The Transantarctic Expedition 2005–2006. It was the first crossing of history in this continent with a vehicle powered by renewable energies. He showed that, as in Greenland, it was possible to navigate the ice desert with a kite-driven vehicle. 'La Transantártica 2005-2006', in which he was accompanied by Juan Manuel Viu and Ignacio Oficialdegui, achieved an important global geographic milestone: the three Spaniards were the first in history to reach, on December 14, 2005, the

Pole of Inaccessibility In geography, a pole of inaccessibility is the farthest (or most difficult to reach) location in a given landmass, sea, or other topographical feature, starting from a given boundary, relative to a given criterion. A geographical criterion of i ...

of the Southern Hemisphere, the most difficult point of access of the Antarctic continent because it is the furthest from the ocean, according to the new coordinates of the British Antarctic Survey. These coordinates differ by 100 km from those considered 'classic', reached by the Russians in 1958. In total, they travelled 4,500 kilometers in 62 days.

South Pole Without Limits

In 2009, Larramendi led the expedition '

South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is the point in the Southern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True South Pole to distinguish ...

without limits', the first one to include people with disabilities. In 12 days of crossing with skis and sleds, the expeditioners reached the Geographic South Pole without the aid of animals or engines after having travelled 250 km.

Acciona Windpowered Antarctic Expedition

Six years later from his previous expedition with the Wind Sled, in winter 2011–2012, Larramendi led the

Acciona Acciona, S.A. () is a Spanish multinational conglomerate dedicated to the development and management of infrastructure (construction, water, industrial and services) and renewable energy. The company, via subsidiary Acciona Energía, produces 21 ...

Windpowered Antarctic Expedition. It was the first time someone reached the South Geographic Pole (making 2,200 km in 18 days) with a vehicle powered by wind energy. In total, 3,500 km were covered in 34 days. It was the first expedition of the explorer in which the vehicle was used for its original purpose: to explore and collect scientific samples for the French Institute of Glaciology and Geophysics of the CNRS-IJF in

Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...

, the Institute of Environmental Diagnosis and Water Quality of the

Spanish National Research Council The Spanish National Research Council (, CSIC) is the largest public institution dedicated to research in Spain and the third largest in Europe. Its main objective is to develop and promote research that will help bring about scientific and techn ...

(CSIC) in Barcelona, and the Limnopolar group of the Department of Biology of the

Autonomous University of Madrid The Autonomous University of Madrid (; UAM), commonly known as la Autónoma, is a Spanish public university located in Madrid, Spain. The university was founded in 1968 by royal decree. UAM is widely respected as one of the most prestigious univ ...

. This adventure was awarded by the Spanish Geographic Society in 2012, in the Enterprise category. Also participating in this expedition were Juan Pablo Albar, Javier Selva and Ignacio Oficialdegui.

Other expeditions to the Arctic

Geographic North Pole

Since 1998, he began to collaborate with RTVE's program 'Al filo de lo imposible', with whose team he made an expedition on skis in which they reached the Magnetic North Pole. With the same program, in 1999 he participated in the first and only Spanish expedition in history that has arrived to the Geographic North Pole. They travelled 1,000 kilometers with skis from Siberia in 60 days.

Projects

WindSled (Inuit WindSled)

The WindSled is a wind vehicle designed by Ramón Hernando de Larramendi with the aim of becoming a useful mobile platform for researchers dedicated to the scientific exploration of the polar lands, of which it has already covered more than 18,000 km. It is a non-polluting means of transport powered by the strong polar winds, easy to carry and efficient in its performance. Its basic structure consists of several wooden platforms with crossbars and rails (following the model of the classic Inuit sleds), kites of different sizes and tents conceived as a space for habitability and work. Since its first design in 1999, continuous improvements have been made to it through the about ten expeditions already organized by the explorer. The energetic supply of the platform comes from the wind and the sun, with comets and photovoltaic plates feeding the equipment. The current model consists of four modules and it's configured as a convoy of 10 to 15 meters in length by three wide, with capacity for six people and a load of 2,000 kilos. The project aims at launching an international and / or national scientific program in which the WindSled vehicle will operate a
a mobile laboratory that generates zero emissions
in the fragile polar ecosystems. At the beginning, it was named 'Polar catamaran', later 'Antarctic Butterfly' and finally Wind Sled.

Inuit Climate Change Patrol

Ramón H. Larramendi has launched a development project for the Thule region, in the northwest of Greenland, in which he combines his interest in preserving the traditional Inuit lifestyle with the research on the impact of climate change in this territory. The goal of the explorer is to help ensure that this threatened culture does not disappear.

Greenland Net Travel Agency

In 1997, the explorer founded the travel agency Greenland Net, a pioneer in organizing trips to the Polar Regions. It works in Spain, Italy and Greenland.

Awards

Prize 'Tu aventura vale un millón' * Travel Year 2001 Award, Spanish Geographic Society (‘Viaje del Año’ de 2001 de la Sociedad Geográfica Española). * Enterprise 2012 Award (Acciona), Spanish Geographic Society. * International Prize Feat MARCA DIARY