Quark Expeditions Balloons at the Top of the World

    WATERBURY, VT, July 20, 2012 /24-7PressRelease/ -- On 2 July 2012 Quark Expeditions, the leader in polar adventure, successfully completed the first-ever passenger hot air balloon adventure on an expedition to the North Pole.

"More than 50 guests aboard 50 Years of Victory participated in Quark's first-ever hot air balloon ride on its North Pole voyage," said Hans Lagerweij, president of Quark Expeditions. "We are pleased to be the only Arctic operator to offer such an exciting and exclusive adventure option on our trips."

The passengers who selected the hot air ballooning option experienced a once-in-a-lifetime tethered flight at 86 degree 48' N 47 degree 21' E, just south of the North Pole. The balloon took one hour to set up and four passengers were taken up at a time. The passengers aboard the hot air balloon spent almost five minutes at the top of the world taking photos and celebrating the achievement.

"Ballooning in such an extreme environment is heavily dependent on weather conditions working in our favor in order to guarantee the safety of our passengers and staff," continued Lagerweij. "Wind and ice conditions prevented us from taking our passengers up at 90 degree N, however we still made it up as close to the North Pole as safely as possible."

Quark Expeditions will continue to offer this unique ballooning feature on future North Pole voyages and has confirmed dates for the next four Arctic seasons:

2013 - June 20th and July 1st
2014 - June 20th and July 1st
2015 - June 20th and July 1st
2016 - June 22nd and July 3rd

For more information about travelling with Quark, please visit www.quarkexpeditions.com or contact a Quark Polar Travel Advisor at 1-888-892-0073.

About Quark Expeditions
For over 20 years, Quark Expeditions has been the leading provider of polar adventure travel. With its diverse fleet of specially equipped vessels and seasoned expedition leaders, they offer travelers unparalleled access to the most remote regions on earth. In 2011, Quark was named a recipient of National Geographic Traveler's "50 Tours of a Lifetime" for their "Three Arctic Islands" voyage.

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