Paul & Shark

ADVENTURE DIARY: DAY 1

"Vatnajökull here I come. After a short delay caused by bad weather, I’m finally en route to the glacier. Today I was able to cover a distance of about 15km - going from 950mt to 1250mt above sea level. Next stop will be a small re"... read more

Vatnajökull here I come. After a short delay caused by bad weather, I’m finally en route to the glacier. Today I was able to cover a distance of about 15km - going from 950mt to 1250mt above sea level. Next stop will be a small refuge at the foot of Iceland biggest volcano. From there the path should get easier. There’s only ice and whiteness around me, but I see my destination clearest than ever and I’m going for it, even though this means facing wind blowing at 30km/h and temperatures reaching -20°.

- 7 ^C°

Partly cloudy

ADVENTURE DIARY: DAY 2

"Rain in the morning forced me to leave later than expected. The small refuge at Grimsfjall is straight ahead of me, all I have to do is keep going. The wind seems to be my biggest enemy right now, but it won’t stop me.

Rain in the morning forced me to leave later than expected. The small refuge at Grimsfjall is straight ahead of me, all I have to do is keep going. The wind seems to be my biggest enemy right now, but it won’t stop me.

-6 ^C°

Windy

ADVENTURE DIARY: DAY 3

"Third day on Vatnajökull, the hardest till now. I had my daily rest ruined by a snowstorm that almost buried my tent. The extreme weather conditions they told me about back in Italy are real. This ice cap can really become the mos"... read more

Third day on Vatnajökull, the hardest till now. I had my daily rest ruined by a snowstorm that almost buried my tent. The extreme weather conditions they told me about back in Italy are real. This ice cap can really become the most inhospitable place on earth, yet its majestic beauty gives me the strenght to move forward and reach my goal. And this is what I’m doing. My toughest enemy (the wind) is always with me, trying to arrive first at the finishline, but the biggest challenge is with myself. Who'll be the strongest natural element between us?

-6 ^C°

WINDY

ADVENTURE DIARY: DAY 4

"Adventure gets harder as I move to the heart of Vatnajökull. After digging out my tent (covered by half a meter of snow), I walked for five hours unable to see anything (not even my ski’s tips). Freezing gusts of wind kept blowing"... read more

Adventure gets harder as I move to the heart of Vatnajökull. After digging out my tent (covered by half a meter of snow), I walked for five hours unable to see anything (not even my ski’s tips). Freezing gusts of wind kept blowing on me like a magic monster’s breath. These temperatures make it difficult to eat or even drink. At the end of the day the sleeping bag seems cozy as a bed when you caught a flu. From there, each day feels like a conquest and I find the will and the strenght to go ahead with my challenge.

-12 ^C°

Windy

ADVENTURE DIARY: DAY 5

"What a full day! So many things happened it’s difficult to know where to begin… For starters I’ll tell you that eventually I’m going to spend a night with a roof over my head. It’s a small generator compartment in the middle of no"... read more

What a full day! So many things happened it’s difficult to know where to begin… For starters I’ll tell you that eventually I’m going to spend a night with a roof over my head. It’s a small generator compartment in the middle of nowhere but it’s dry and I’m going to love it after all the nights in the tent. The morning brought a beautiful sunrise and the lowest temperature so far. I was able to cover a distance of 15km on uphill. As for now, there’s only one thing in my mind: the sleeping bag. I have to take a good night’s sleep and recharge my batteries. See you tomorrow, Vatnajökull!

-15° ^C°

Sun

ADVENTURE DIARY: DAY 6

"Today I reached 1.724mt, the highest point of my journey. From here Vatnajökull shows its double nature: hostile and yet so fragile. Fumaroles line up on my left and Grimsvötn crater is right in front of me. It’s hard to believe t"... read more

Today I reached 1.724mt, the highest point of my journey. From here Vatnajökull shows its double nature: hostile and yet so fragile. Fumaroles line up on my left and Grimsvötn crater is right in front of me. It’s hard to believe that this white giant could not survive the next century. The thought of it disappearing terrifies me. This is why I want to freeze in time every moment lived here and share it with you. Tomorrow the downhill part of the crossing will start. I should be able to move faster, but – you know – when it comes to Vatnajökull one must always be prepared for the unexpected. I am ready… are you?

-10° ^C°

SUN

ADVENTURE DIARY: DAY 7

"So the unexpected I warned you about happened. It was the brightest morning here on Vatnajökull. I had some trouble leaving the hut, because it’s on a steep slope. To avoid the sled picking up speed, I decided to descend by foot."... read more

So the unexpected I warned you about happened. It was the brightest morning here on Vatnajökull. I had some trouble leaving the hut, because it’s on a steep slope. To avoid the sled picking up speed, I decided to descend by foot. Once the dangerous part was behind me, I put on my skis. The sun made everything whiter than ever. In this condition noticing ground unevenness is impossible. So I kept moving forward with my usual pace. It was less than a second. I was no longer on the ice. I was in the air. I was falling down. The photographer who saw me disappearing into the ground immediately call for help. Luckily the snow broke my fall. It took me a while to realize I was fine. I sent a message to my wife, Francesca, and then I started to climb. One hour later the hut was visible on the horizon. The photographer decided to go back in Italy. I stayed. My time here is not done. For the next days I’ll stay in the hut trying to fix my ski boot and the sled, which got damaged in the fall. Then it’s going to be Vatnajökull again. Just the ice cap and me, this time. But I’m ready and more determined than ever to get to the bottom of this unbelievably thrilling experience.

-10 ^C°

Sunny

ADVENTURE DIARY: DAY 8

This is how last night on Vatnajökull sounds like.

"What a day. I finally left the hut after the accident and it was harder than expected. I had to do everything in my power to stay away from the crevasses. It seemed like an obscure force was pushing me towards them. Descending the"... read more

What a day. I finally left the hut after the accident and it was harder than expected. I had to do everything in my power to stay away from the crevasses. It seemed like an obscure force was pushing me towards them. Descending the first part of the slope was anything but pleasant. A broken ski boot on one hand and a deep fog on the other made it almost impossible for me to stay on the right track. It took me two hours and all my strength but eventually I was able to do so by walking in the snow and pulling the sled with the hands. With the crevasses behind me, everything went on smoothly except for the wind, that kept growing stronger as the day went by. I can still hear it growing from inside my tent, but am too tired to let it ruining my sleep. Goodnight, Vatnajökull.

-17° ^C°

Cloud

ADVENTURE DIARY: DAY 9

"First thought of the morning was: should I stay or should I go? I pitched the tent knowing that it would have been more than just an overnight stay, but when I woke up there was a part of me that still wanted to pack the bags and"... read more

First thought of the morning was: should I stay or should I go? I pitched the tent knowing that it would have been more than just an overnight stay, but when I woke up there was a part of me that still wanted to pack the bags and leave. The finishline seemed closer than ever (even though it’s still 80 km away) and I felt the urge to arrive. The wise part of me eventually prevailed. The strong wind (with gusts up to 50km/h) would have made the crossing a living hell and pitching the tent impossible. It’s interesting how sometimes one can feel so torn between two choices. You pick one knowing you are losing something. Anyway, tomorrow I’ll be on the move again. No winds will stop me!

-17° ^C°

Windy

ADVENTURE DIARY: DAY 10

"Last night I was not alone. The wind arrived perfectly on time and it was stronger than ever. I don’t think one can ever get used to this kind of things. You knew what is going on and you are prepared for its consequences (I even"... read more

Last night I was not alone. The wind arrived perfectly on time and it was stronger than ever. I don’t think one can ever get used to this kind of things. You knew what is going on and you are prepared for its consequences (I even used garden bags full of snow as wind barriers), but still feel a little scared. I guess it’s human nature to feel in awe of the elements, especially when you are on a mountain or in the middle of the sea. Talking of water, the rumour of the wind on the fabric of my tent made me think about my expeditions across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. I felt the same kind of tension, but then I realized I wasn’t there anymore. I was on Vatnajökull and ice doesn’t steal kilometers like water: being 18 degrees below zero has its silver lining after all!

-18° ^C°

Windy

ADVENTURE DIARY: DAY 11

"On Vatnajökull nothing is gradual. Everything changes so very quickly you don’t have the time to adjust. This was the case yesterday. Thanks to “clement” weather conditions in the morning I was able to cover a distance of about 25"... read more

On Vatnajökull nothing is gradual. Everything changes so very quickly you don’t have the time to adjust. This was the case yesterday. Thanks to “clement” weather conditions in the morning I was able to cover a distance of about 25 kilometers, skiing for over 10 hours with all my strenghts. Then the night arrived and the wind with it. It wasn’t the usual strong wind. It really scared me. I don’t know how I survived. What remained of my tent was completely filled with snow. So I had to shovel and put all the pieces back together before leaving. This place reminds me of life: you really need courage and perseverance to move forward and reach your goal.

-16° ^C°

Windy

ADVENTURE DIARY: DAY 12

This is how last night on Vatnajökull sounds like.

"

-8 ^C°

SUN

ADVENTURE DIARY: DAY 13

"last and toughest on Vatnajökull. I was so beyond my limits that even texting seemed impossible. My fingers kept moving randomly on the keyboard. I was at a crossroads: start camping for the night or keep going, using all the stre"... read more

last and toughest on Vatnajökull. I was so beyond my limits that even texting seemed impossible. My fingers kept moving randomly on the keyboard. I was at a crossroads: start camping for the night or keep going, using all the stregths left after 2 weeks of fighting against strong winds, snow blizzards and freezing temperatures? Hard to believe it, but I didn’t stop. At some point I was so weary that I had to leave the sled. There were just me and the 7 kilometers left. It was risky – because I only had half of a canteen of water and a bar. But there weren’t other options. I had to arrive and I did. The “little bastard” is finally behind me, but not the moments we “freezed” together.

2.5 ^C°

Windy

Alex Bellini on VATNAJÖKULL

ADVENTURE DIARY: DAY 1

ADVENTURE DIARY: DAY 2

ADVENTURE DIARY: DAY 3

ADVENTURE DIARY: DAY 4

ADVENTURE DIARY: DAY 5

ADVENTURE DIARY: DAY 6

ADVENTURE DIARY: DAY 7

ADVENTURE DIARY: DAY 8

ADVENTURE DIARY: DAY 9

ADVENTURE DIARY: DAY 10

ADVENTURE DIARY: DAY 11

ADVENTURE DIARY: DAY 12

ADVENTURE DIARY: DAY 13