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Age 19, Trekking 250 Miles Unsupported Across Iceland

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[leadin]What were you doing at 19-years-old? This week, four young British men set out in what they tout as the first mid-winter, unsupported crossing of the frozen island of Iceland. They are all 20 and under.[/leadin]

Coldest Crossing 1

The 250 mile journey will be documented and shared with the world online as well as made into a feature film in 2016. The expedition is dubbed “The Coldest Crossing.”

The team — Charlie Smith, Angus Dowie, Stefan Rijnbeek, and Archie Wilson — departed their homes on Tuesday and are now at the starting point of the adventure.

iceland

They are joined by renowned climber Renan Ozturk of Camp4 Collective and Taylor Rees, a photojournalist and filmmaker, who will document the trip for the upcoming film.

“Heading off towards Rifstangi to start @thecoldestcrossing, we are a little delayed but are still sticking to our plan of starting today,” reported the group on its Facebook page.

Coldest Crossing 2

According to the group, there are four specific phases to the expedition: A starting climb from sea-level to reach the interior plateau at 500 meters; a long interior slog across the plateau; a mountain crossing; and, finally, a hike to the finish.

As noted, the four men are all age 20 and under, making for a young team. These kind of cold-weather endurance feats are often attempted by people twice this age with lots of experience.

They will use home-made pulks that weigh more than 40Kg each to haul supplies. See a full breakdown of the gear for the expedition here.

You can follow the group’s progress through its SPOT device tracking. Looks like a rugged undertaking, and we look forward to watching them move across the island. Check out the pilot below for a taste of what they’ll face out there in the Icelandic wilds.

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