The 18th Antarctic Ice Marathon, which took place last December just a few hundred kilometers from the South Pole, at the foot of the Ellsworth Mountains, featured 52 men and 14 women in one of the most challenging, remote, and inhospitable races on the planet.
Among the participants at the starting line were Montblanc’s General Manager of the Watch Division, Laurent Lecamp, and Montblanc Mark Maker, Simon Messner. Laurent is an experienced trail and marathon athlete, but this was Simon’s first time attempting this legendary distance. Simon, however, had an advantage because his love for mountaineering had acquainted him with the extreme weather conditions and arid terrain the duo would encounter. Running together, with Laurent setting the pace, they crossed the finish line hand in hand in 4 hours and 29 seconds, securing the seventh place – a remarkable achievement.
In addition to this athletic endeavor, they also tested one of Montblanc’s latest watches – the 1858 Geosphere 0 Oxygen South Pole Limited Edition. A watch that could not be more fitting for Simon, as it was created in honor of his father, Reinhold Messner, who was the first person to climb all 14 highest peaks in the world and the first to cross the South Pole on foot – a journey he undertook in 1990, covering 2,800 km in 96 days.
Montblanc 1858 Geosphere 0 Oxygen South Pole Limited Edition
The Montblanc 1858 Geosphere 0 Oxygen South Pole Limited Edition is part of Montblanc’s Zero Oxygen series designed to withstand extreme conditions and prevent fogging and oxidation. The watch features the maison’s glacier dial, which, in this edition, comes in turquoise. This blue tone resembles the color of icebergs and glacier ice found in the South Pole. From a technical perspective, the dial takes four times longer to produce than a standard dial, but it results in greater depth and luminosity.
This limited edition watch, limited to 1990 pieces, is housed in an ultra-lightweight 42 mm titanium case and comes with an interchangeable conical bracelet and a grey fabric strap. It is powered by the maison’s MB 29.25 manufacture caliber, featuring a World Time complication and a power reserve of 42 hours. The dial displays the North and South hemispheres with two three-dimensional globes rotating counterclockwise. A special 3D engraving of the Southern Lights adorns the case back, completing the watch that has captivated explorers and watch enthusiasts.
