«They left Punta Arenas on a fishing boat on September 4th to get a foothold on the western bank of the mountain range Darwin, in Tierra del Fuego, two days later.

The men of the French Military Group of High Mountain (GMHM), belonging to the 27^th infantry unit of mountain, they put 30 days in total autonomy, to get through the crossing of this chain of impracticable renowned mountain, one of last lands of the globe having resisted the greed’s of the explorers. All the skills, the determination and the boldness of those six men of the GMHM will have been necessary to overcome the technical, physical and meteorological difficulties of this wild and inhospitable place in some cable’s lengths of the Cape Horn and make of this expedition a success: a world premiere.»

The Key figures of the expedition On the Darwin’s Edge

- 30 days of crossing in autonomy – 26 roped up days

- 130km as the crow flies in the South of 54° parallel

- Crossed at least 250km

- Until 3 ways and returns by days

- On average from 6 to 10 hours of progress/day

- 17400m of positive climbing

- 75 kg / pers at first all inclusive

- 35 days of food

- 40 liters of gasoline for stove

- 3rd first weeks of very bad weather

- Till 120km / hour of wind

- 2m of fresh snow accumulated the 15th first days

- Until -25°C the night

- 2 days without moving the camp among which 1day blocked by the wind

- 8 hours of day by day at first 10 hours at the end

- In the 14th first days we had crossed 27km as the crow flies (more than a third of the time for less than a fifth of the traverse)