Venturi celebrates the centenary of the death of Prince Albert I of Monaco » PACA’s economic and political letter
As part of the celebrations and commemorations of the centenary of the disappearance of Prince Albert I of Monaco, the President of Venturi, Gildo Pastor, has appointed a mission to one of the members of his team: Soon, next June, 220 kilometers of ski touring on a Norwegian island mapped by the great-grandfather of Prince Albert II between 1898 and 1907.
Prince Albert I of Monaco, who gave his life to oceanography and science in general, was nicknamed “the learned Prince” or “the Navigator Prince”. At the turn of the twentieth century, he was the first to map the island of Spitsbergen from the sea. This land of glaciers with tormented reliefs, with its landscape of ice peaks (Spitsbergen comes from the Dutch Spitzbergen which means “sharp mountains”), is part of the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, east of Greenland.
Gildo Pastor, President of Venturi, paid tribute to the great-grandfather of HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco by entrusting Xavier Chevrin with a perilous mission on the island of Spitsbergen. Unlike the previous challenges he faced in the past on behalf of Venturi, this time Xavier will not be testing any of the brand’s vehicles, only his physical and his mental will be put to the test. However, the R&D department got involved in this trek by designing electrical charging systems using solar panels.
During the entire month of June, the Venturi adventurer (accompanied by three guides) will travel 220 kilometers on ski touring on a cumulative elevation gain of around 3,000 meters. His objective: to cross, among other things, “La Terre Albert Ier” starting from the Grimaldi Mountain, then crossing the Monaco Glacier, to reach the Prince Albert Ier Mountain and, finally, the Princess Alice Mountain.
Located in the heart of the Arctic Ocean, 900 kilometers from the North Pole, the region is climatically classified as an “Arctic desert”. Therefore, the landscape of this trek is largely formed by glaciers and covered by the ice cap where walruses, seals and polar bears are part of the scenery. In this boreal summer, temperatures will fluctuate between -15°C and 0°C. The particularity of this route will force the team members to open a new passage through valleys that have never been explored before.
Gildo Pastor wanted this world premiere to be shared with as many people as possible. This is why a free mobile application will be available soon. It will allow the user (in addition to the Venturi website) to follow Xavier’s progress on a map, to listen to a new chapter of his logbook every day, to receive photos taken by the adventurer and, even, to send him messages of encouragement.
“Since 2010, Xavier Chevrin has been testing our electric motors through extreme mechanical journeys all over the world. He is therefore the man for the job to face the cold, the wind and the ice for 3 weeks, over 220 kilometres, on skis. The entire Venturi team is honored to be able to pay tribute to Prince Albert I through this exceptional adventure”. Gildo Pastor, President of the Venturi Group.