Second years attempt to become first to cross Iceland

And you thought Palatinalps was impressive.


Four boys are hiking across Iceland this Christmas holiday in an attempt to become the first team in the world to cross Iceland unsupported during Winter.

Angus Dowie, Archie Wilson, Charlie Smith, and Stefan Rijnbeek are the adrenaline-fuelled adventurists planning to take on this dangerous mission, whilst undertaking their degrees at uni.

They will be dealing with temperatures as low as -30 degrees, challenging terrains across ice and mountains, and complete isolation for the whole of the trip.

The expedition is not only to test themselves, but also to encourage more young people to get outdoors and go on adventures, testing their bodies and learning about themselves.

They have been described by explorer Ed Stafford as “completely and utterly bonkers” and Sir Ranulph Fiennes, a man who sawed off the ends of his own fingers, told them “you’re absolutely mad, at your age too”.

We spoke to Angus, a first year Anthropologist at Durham and the head of nutrition and preparation for the expedition, to find out what drove them to such a dangerous and difficult challenge.

What got you interested in the first place?

“Charlie, the expedition leader, is the youngest Brit to cross Iceland unsupported, so he was quite keen to try a step up from that.

“He approached us to join him and the combination of such a beautiful country and our love for adventure meant that we couldn’t really say no!”

What is the biggest draw of the challenge for you?

“Personally,  it’s the chance to learn more about myself and about how my body can cope under extreme conditions, and also to have the chance to do something that nobody has ever done before.

“The Royal Geographic Society has told us that nobody has ever actually crossed Iceland unsupported in winter. People have come close but they’ve always needed to get emergency help for one reason or another.

“This would be a world first expedition.

What’s the most dangerous thing you’ve done so far?

“I’m not too sure, but two friends from uni and I drove the length of India in a tuc tuc this summer, and let’s just say we had a few hairy moments.

“This was when we took part in The Adventurists’s Rickshaw Run, a 3,500 km adventure across India in a vehicle with 7 horsepower and no specified route or form of help.”

What’s your biggest worry for  the trip?

“I have two.

“Firstly, that we don’t complete the challenge, that’d be a disaster, and secondly, the potential for frostbite.

“It’s going to be unimaginably cold and we’re going to have to work very hard to stay acceptably warm – the slightest mistake could lead to the loss of a finger or hand, or potentially worse.

“I won’t bore with the story of the poor man who once forgot to do his zip up when he went to relieve himself.”

How do your parents feel about the expedition?

“I think my parents are quite worried.

“I wore them into it with India but this is a step up.

“They’re constantly asking about issues such as clothing, as parents do, and it’s just about making sure everything is all really transparent so they know exactly what’s happening and that we’re in control of things.”

How well mapped is the route you’re taking?

“It is a fairly well mapped route… although there will be a lot of snow come winter and the landscape will completely transform, so we await to see what the affect that will have.”

What kind of fitness training have you had to do to prepare for the trip?

“Fitness is a huge amount of work.

“The transformation for me from sitting in a tuc tuc driving 15 hours a day for three weeks to suddenly having to blast out the miles in the running shoes has put a lot of pressure on the legs.

“We’re hoping that by the time comes we’ll each have completed a full week of consecutive 20 mile runs.

“We have five hours of daylight to cover 20 miles a day when we’re out there and because we will get muscle fatigue and ware, we need to be very ready.

“On top of that, we visited Iceland in the Summer to choose the expedition’s mountain route, through which we led a team of 35 people to encourage people to get outdoors.”

They plan to document the adventure through blogs and a video camera, hoping to produce a documentary of the expedition.

If you want to follow their adventures first hand and get a peek at the prep, check out Instagram or their like their Facebook page The Coldest Crossing.