The three adventurers who were airlifted to safety by the Icelandic Coast guard yesterday told the local TV station Stöð 2 that they were disappointed their trek had been cut short, but felt relieved to be safe and sound.
The group was planning to walk and ski from Rif cape on Melrakkaslétta peninsula in North East Iceland across Iceland and the Central Highlands, to the town of Vík í Mýrdal in South Iceland. The trip was to take 18 days. The hike did not go as planned, and the group had to request the assistance of Search and Rescue teams twice before finally being airlifted to safety by the Icelandic Coastguard yesterday.
Read more: Young Britons attempting to cross Iceland on skis rescued for the third time
Charlie Smith, one of the adventurers, told the local TV station Stöð 2 that this was a disappointing end to the adventure: “I’m distraught, I really am, I really am utterly disappointed, but at the end of the day we are there, and all safe, so we can’t really ask for more.”
The team expressed their gratitude for the assistance they received on Twitter:
Again we want to thank ICE-SAR (@Landsbjorg) for all their help/support/expertise/advice on this expedition. They literately kept us alive.
— The Coldest Crossing (@ColdestCrossing) December 29, 2015
Despite their young age (all three are around 20 years old) the three Britons have considerable experience in mountaineering and extreme conditions, Charlie having joined a group walking in Antarctica earlier this year. But the winter storms in Iceland were more than they had bargained for. Argie Wilson, another team member pointed out that the group had been hit by two historic storms in one day, which obviously made their journey more difficult. Stefan Rijnbeek said the trip had taught them that “Iceland is a truly crazy crazy place when it comes to weather.”
The three adventurers who were airlifted to safety by the Icelandic Coast guard yesterday told the local TV station Stöð 2 that they were disappointed their trek had been cut short, but felt relieved to be safe and sound.
The group was planning to walk and ski from Rif cape on Melrakkaslétta peninsula in North East Iceland across Iceland and the Central Highlands, to the town of Vík í Mýrdal in South Iceland. The trip was to take 18 days. The hike did not go as planned, and the group had to request the assistance of Search and Rescue teams twice before finally being airlifted to safety by the Icelandic Coastguard yesterday.
Read more: Young Britons attempting to cross Iceland on skis rescued for the third time
Charlie Smith, one of the adventurers, told the local TV station Stöð 2 that this was a disappointing end to the adventure: “I’m distraught, I really am, I really am utterly disappointed, but at the end of the day we are there, and all safe, so we can’t really ask for more.”
The team expressed their gratitude for the assistance they received on Twitter:
Again we want to thank ICE-SAR (@Landsbjorg) for all their help/support/expertise/advice on this expedition. They literately kept us alive.
— The Coldest Crossing (@ColdestCrossing) December 29, 2015
Despite their young age (all three are around 20 years old) the three Britons have considerable experience in mountaineering and extreme conditions, Charlie having joined a group walking in Antarctica earlier this year. But the winter storms in Iceland were more than they had bargained for. Argie Wilson, another team member pointed out that the group had been hit by two historic storms in one day, which obviously made their journey more difficult. Stefan Rijnbeek said the trip had taught them that “Iceland is a truly crazy crazy place when it comes to weather.”
