Àlex Simón i Casanovas

Àlex S.Casanovas, born on November 8, 1960 in Barcelona's Gràcia district, is an experienced Catalonian mountain guide, rock-climbing teacher, polar logistics expert and adventurer. His career spans mountaineering, polar expeditions, and organizing extreme sports event.

Àlex is warm-hearted, curious, and reflective, with a sharp sense of humor and an independent spirit. He is passionate and outspoken, deeply committed to the Catalan cause, and known for expressing his views with clarity and conviction.

His interests extend to geopolitics, culture, and the history of exploration and Catalonia.

Professionally, he is distinguished by his deep commitment to safety in extreme environments and by his role in promoting endurance sports in some of the world’s most challenging regions. He has spent years working in both the Arctic and Antarctica, sharing his experiences through lectures, articles, and media.

His extensive experience and dedication have made him a recognized figure in Europe in the field of polar and extreme adventure sports.

As a child, Àlex was a Boy-Scout and also took part in artistic gymnastics and water sports, including Optimist-class sailing, water skiing, and offshore yacht racing as co-pilot.

He discovered mountaineering at the age of fifteen, in 1976, beginning a lifelong passion for climbing and the mountains.

For decades, Àlex worked a wide range of jobs—picking fruit, carpentry, cooking, bicycle mechanics, painting, courier services, rope access technician, scaffolder, masonry, and countless short-term gigs—all to fund his mountain climbing.

In 1984 he obtained a maritime seaman’s certification, but his true goal was always to become a mountain guide and a climbing teacher.

That dream became a reality in 1988, when he began teaching rock climbing at the Catalan School of High Mountain (ECAM).

Over the years, he organized numerous mountaineering and climbing courses for schools and institutions across Europe, while also working as a mountain guide.

Open to new experiences, he worked in 1993–1994 as a logistics officer for Doctors Without Borders in Guatemala, where he developed his own logistics approach. However, disillusioned by the business-like nature of the humanitarian sector, he left and returned to the mountain world, and also guided rafting and canyoning in Pallars Sobirà (Catalonia).

In 2001, he began working in Antarctica and would go on to complete eight seasons there.

Later, in 2010, he founded Polarguide and Logistics in Finland—a company focused on polar expeditions and organizing endurance sports events in Arctic regions.

From 2000 to 2007, Àlex led the mountain guide team at Spanish Antarctic Station Juan Carlos I on Livingston Island, in the South Shetland Islands. There, he provided extensive field logistics support for glaciological and scientific research on the Hurd Peninsula, Huron Glacier,Ioannes Paulus II Peninsula, and the island’s hydrographic divide.

During the 2001–2002 and 2002–2003 seasons, he was head of logistics, maintenance, and safety for the first Limnopolar project on Byers Peninsula, overseeing pre-expedition planning, camp installation, and support for multiple scientific teams.

His work was vital in enabling research in these extreme environments. He also contributed to the mapping of little-explored areas, such as the Oryahovo Heights.

From 2009 to 2011, he worked aboard a polar expedition cruise ship as logistics coordinator, Zodiac pilot, and lecturer.

On January 5, 2003, Àlex made the first recorded ascent of Mount Bowles (839 m [2,753 ft]), Livingston Island.^[1] Later that year, on November 20, he climbed Burdick East Peak (735 m), also a first ascent.

In recognition of his contributions to Antarctic exploration, Casanovas Peak (325 m) on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica was named after him ^[2]

Àlex had a brief but notable foray into motorsports. He raced go-karts and managed a semi-professional team. In 2006, his team “Seven7” competed in the 24 Hours of Barcelona – Fermí Vélez Trophy, finishing second in its category and sixth overall.

In 2011, Àlex took part in the Iditarod Trail Invitational, a grueling winter race in Alaska along the legendary Iditarod trail. Riding a fatbike (with wide tires for snow), he covered 350 miles (~560 km) from Knik Lake to McGrath in remote Alaska, finishing 25th out of 45 participants.

The race is entirely self-supported, with sub –40°C temperatures. Competitors must carry all their gear, making it one of the toughest endurance challenges in the world.

Àlex’s participation was a landmark achievement, especially for a European—and the first and only Catalan to date 2025— to complete the race.

Inspired by this experience, he later created the Arctic Circle Winter Races.

Inspired by the Iditarod Trail Invitational, from 2012 to 2022, Àlex created the Arctic Circle Winter Races in Finnish Lapland (Rovaniemi150 -150 km/93 mi). Was the first European winter ultramarathon combining fatbike, skiing, and foot races, and also introducing for first time in Europe the fatbike race.

In 2015, the event expanded with 66 km (41 mi) and 300 km (190 mi) categories, attracting international athletes.

In 2014 he also created the Lapland Extreme Challenge, a 1,000 km (620 mi) solo route through Arctic Lapland in winter—one of the toughest tests of endurance in polar conditions. To date 2025, only three athletes have successfully completed it.

Over the years, Àlex has written many articles, though not all have been published.

In 2008, he authored The Snowmobile Bible: Progressive Safety Over Dangerous Terrain, a comprehensive technical guide for professionals on snowmobile operations over hazardous terrain such as glaciers. The book emphasizes risk management and safety planning.

From 2014 to 2025, he was also the editor of El Blog de Finlandia, a commercial travel blog aimed at Spanish-speaking audiences, offering information on Finland and helping travelers plan trips. The blog is now closed.

• 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. Dec 2002.
• Àlex S. Casanovas. [The Snowmobile Bible: Progressive safety over dangerous terrain]. Lulu Inc., 2008. 112 pp. ISBN 978-1-4092-2363-4

Since 2007, Àlex has lived in Finnish Lapland. His company, Polarguide and Logistics, remains active today—but at a smaller scale—offering services to small, specialized groups.