Prune-Powered Helly Team Tr(i)umphs

A prune-powered Team Helly Hansen UK has become the first British team to win the Wenger Patagonian Expedition Race, one of the world’s most extreme adventure races.

The Team were part funded by the gloriously named Chilean prune exporter, Prunesco, and sunsequently competed under the new team name of Team Helly Hansen Prunesco.


The race took six days and covered 600km of the world’s most rugged uninhabited terrain, from the South East area of the Southern Ice Field to the Chilean Continental Territory. Disciplines included mountain biking, trekking, sea kayaking, orienteering and roped activities like abseiling.

The team slept only around an hour a day and encountered persistent rain, 100km/hour winds, rough dirt roads, dense forest and bogs and an 11 hour sea paddle against strong tides, high waves and glaciers.

Team member Mark Humphrey says, “The race was pretty brutal and we experienced some of the worst conditions we’ve ever encountered. There were occasions where we felt like giving up! We are absolutely thrilled to have won the race and our Helly Hansen kit proved absolutely essential in keeping us warm and dry – even in the most extreme situations.”

The team used items from the Helly Hansen range throughout including merino wool-based base layers, tights and Helly's own footwear in the form of the Manifesto Beater with it's fast-drying LIFA mesh upper.

Athough no mention was made of the prune factor, thus forestalling any dreadful jokes about keeping performances regular... We'll get our adventure race coat...

More Helly Hansen information at www.hellyhansen.com