Tobias Renggli | Across All Borders of the Americas

Tobias Renggli begins his American adventure where endless expanses, massive glaciers, and remote wilderness set the stage: Alaska. He cycles over 1,200 km in temperatures that are often around -30° Celsius. It’s essentially a cold start all the way to the base of North America’s highest mountain - and the coldest in the world. At 6,190 meters, Denali is not only a high hurdle but also a challenging first leg of his roughly two-year journey all the way to Patagonia.

Since April 2026, the Swiss adventurer has been on his journey through North America. His goal: to visit all 35 countries and climb the highest mountain in each one. He covers the distances between these destinations by bike, on foot, on skis, and by sailboat. From Alaska to Patagonia, the planned journey takes him through a wide variety of landscapes and climate zones, placing correspondingly high demands on his equipment, planning, and climbing partners.

Breakfast in Freiburg and an Idea

Heli Hofmann had already accompanied Tobias as a climbing partner on the Gipfeli project. That led to a friendship and ideas for new adventures together. They first connected through the Black Forest Collective, which had already captured Tobi’s last expedition in an engaging way on film.

Since Heli had been involved with the PowderGuide project for several years, it made sense to bring Tobi and Totti together to explore potential synergies. In early November, the idea took shape over breakfast after the EOFT film tour in Freiburg: Tobi, Heli, and Totti brainstormed together about how PowderGuide could support the adventure.

A specific need quickly came to the forefront: the weather forecast for the planned ascents of Denali and Mount Logan. Given the remoteness of both peaks, a reliable weather forecast is worth its weight in gold—or, rather, worth the chance of a successful summit. PowderGuide’s chief meteorologist, Sebastian Müller, was brought in immediately, and his enthusiasm for new ideas, his dedication, and his innovative spirit dispelled any remaining doubts:

PowderGuide will support the project on both climbs as the expedition’s weather partner!

However, we weren’t entirely sure what we were getting ourselves into. Although we had been continuously developing our own weather forecast with new features for over two years, for Sebastian and PowderGuide, this was still a leap of faith similar to the one Tobi took with his new project.

Challenges of Expedition Meteorology

For Sebastian, this meant tailoring his meteorological expertise to a specific application: providing forecasts for a team that would be traveling through remote glacial regions for an extended period with limited communication options.

What weather patterns are emerging? When might a suitable window open up for the team to continue their ascent? When should the team be patient and simply spend time in their tent? You’ll learn more about this in the next articles!

A cold start in the truest sense of the word

For now, let’s enjoy the impressive images from Tobi’s first leg - his bike trip from Prudhoe Bay in the far north of Alaska south to Talkeetna. Sitting on the couch, you almost start to feel the chill yourself as Tobi cycles through the desolate tundra in the freezing cold.

Many of Tobi’s encounters on the Dalton Highway involve extra-long trucks - rarely knee-length beards - but all the more evening auroras - the first episode is engaging, entertaining, and definitely worth watching!

Above all, though, it’s already clear what an impressive journey Tobi has set out on—and what unplanned challenges stand in his way! Who wouldn’t have been happy if the journey south were also accompanied by rising temperatures? But see for yourselves - we won’t give away any more!

We wish Tobi boundless success on his biggest adventure yet!!!

After the cold comes more cold

In the following articles, we’ll learn even more about the development of specific weather forecasts for the team, which has recently expanded to include one more member.

Heli and Sebastian will also go into greater detail: How is Heli experiencing the expedition as a climbing partner? How are the expedition weather forecasts created? And how is the collaboration on the mountain working out?

We’re excited for the second episode of Tobi’s next cold-weather adventure - the ascent of Denali! And we look forward to hearing more from Heli and Sebastian!