A spokesman for the young British adventurers who were attempting to cross Iceland unassisted when they had to be airlifted to safety on Tuesday, has told Iceland Insider the group would like to correct and counter the negative comments about their adventure in Iceland. Casey Barner, tells us these comments seem mostly based on wrong or false assumptions and faulty information.
Read more: Young British hikers face harsh criticism, MPs suggests adventurers should pay for rescue missions
Worked closely with ICE-SAR during the whole year
A statement by the team stressed that the team had worked closely with ICE-SAR during all phases of their trip, and that the team was deeply grateful for the assistance.
The Coldest Crossing worked with ICE-SAR on many occasions in the year of planning leading up to the expedition and even met with Guðbrandur Örn Arnarson at ICE-SAR to plan a route. Guðbrandur recently appeared on Icelandic TV commenting they warned the team of the dangers but that he also felt they were very well prepared.
The team has of course already expressed its gratitude to the members of the search and rescue units on several occasions, both on social media and in interviews with local media outlets.
Will make a donation to ICE-SAR
The statement also stresses the adventurers plan to make a donation to the rescue units which assisted them during their trip, even if the full amount of their donation has not yet been determined:
The Coldest Crossing is planning on making a donation to ICE-SAR for their incredible help during this expedition. The team would not be here if it was not for them. The Coldest Crossing is also planning on donating part of the proceeds of the film to ICE-SAR. The donation amount is unknown at this time.
The team would also like to point out that the criticism that their rescue had cost ICE-SAR are wrong, as the rescue helicopter was already on a training mission in the area. Airlifting them to safety was simply incorporated into a training exercise which was already underway.
The rescue mission on Tuesday incurred no cost as ICE-SAR was executing training missions in the area and turned the operation into a real life exercise after The Coldest Crossing called them for advice about the upcoming weather forecast. ICE-SAR felt it was in the team's best interest to abort since if rescue services were needed after the storm started, they would not be available due to the severity of the storm.
Adventurers had full mountaineering insurance
Finally, the adventurers would like to point out that they had bought insurance which should fully cover any costs which might be associated with their rescue, even if this is not currently required by law. However, it is still unclear whether and how this insurance will cover any costs which arose from the assistance they needed from ICE-SAR while in Iceland.
Members of The Coldest Crossing are insured and have Mountaineering Insurance for 100,000 dollars for Search and Rescue operations. It is still unknown what insurance will cover since ICE-SAR and Icelandic services are free and supported through donations, not tax payers.
A spokesman for the young British adventurers who were attempting to cross Iceland unassisted when they had to be airlifted to safety on Tuesday, has told Iceland Insider the group would like to correct and counter the negative comments about their adventure in Iceland. Casey Barner, tells us these comments seem mostly based on wrong or false assumptions and faulty information.
Read more: Young British hikers face harsh criticism, MPs suggests adventurers should pay for rescue missions
Worked closely with ICE-SAR during the whole year
A statement by the team stressed that the team had worked closely with ICE-SAR during all phases of their trip, and that the team was deeply grateful for the assistance.
The Coldest Crossing worked with ICE-SAR on many occasions in the year of planning leading up to the expedition and even met with Guðbrandur Örn Arnarson at ICE-SAR to plan a route. Guðbrandur recently appeared on Icelandic TV commenting they warned the team of the dangers but that he also felt they were very well prepared.
The team has of course already expressed its gratitude to the members of the search and rescue units on several occasions, both on social media and in interviews with local media outlets.
Will make a donation to ICE-SAR
The statement also stresses the adventurers plan to make a donation to the rescue units which assisted them during their trip, even if the full amount of their donation has not yet been determined:
The Coldest Crossing is planning on making a donation to ICE-SAR for their incredible help during this expedition. The team would not be here if it was not for them. The Coldest Crossing is also planning on donating part of the proceeds of the film to ICE-SAR. The donation amount is unknown at this time.
The team would also like to point out that the criticism that their rescue had cost ICE-SAR are wrong, as the rescue helicopter was already on a training mission in the area. Airlifting them to safety was simply incorporated into a training exercise which was already underway.
The rescue mission on Tuesday incurred no cost as ICE-SAR was executing training missions in the area and turned the operation into a real life exercise after The Coldest Crossing called them for advice about the upcoming weather forecast. ICE-SAR felt it was in the team's best interest to abort since if rescue services were needed after the storm started, they would not be available due to the severity of the storm.
Adventurers had full mountaineering insurance
Finally, the adventurers would like to point out that they had bought insurance which should fully cover any costs which might be associated with their rescue, even if this is not currently required by law. However, it is still unclear whether and how this insurance will cover any costs which arose from the assistance they needed from ICE-SAR while in Iceland.
Members of The Coldest Crossing are insured and have Mountaineering Insurance for 100,000 dollars for Search and Rescue operations. It is still unknown what insurance will cover since ICE-SAR and Icelandic services are free and supported through donations, not tax payers.
