Polish Explorer Embarks on Solo Winter Crossing of Iceland

Solo Winter Crossing: A Polish adventurer and photographer has embarked on what promises to be quite an epic adventure. Łukasz Supergan has launched what he calls the “Across the Whiteness” expedition, which involves him making a solo and unsupported journey on foot across Iceland—in the winter no less. He began this massive undertaking last week and is now roughly ten days into his trek, which is expected to cover approximately 750 km (466 miles) and take 35-40 days to complete.

Back in 2016, Supergan made a trek across Iceland, traveling east to west, during the summer months. During that excursion he fell in love with the country and its beautiful landscapes. Upon reaching the finish line of that hike, he says he knew that he wanted to return and make the same journey during the winter. His route links up Gerpir and Bjargtangar through the vast and wild interior of the country, which is remote even during the warmer months of the year.

On this expedition, Supergan is traveling much like an Antarctic skier. He is pulling a sled carrying his gear and supplies and he is using skis to glide across the snow. Tipping the scales at 50 kg (110 pounds), that sled is considerably lighter than what the Antarctic explorers need to take with them, but is still bulky enough to be difficult to drag for hundreds of miles, particularly across rough terrain.

Of course, doing so becomes even more difficult when you factor in the weather. Supergan says he expects to encounter -20ºC/-4ºF temperatures throughout the expedition and hurricane force winds are not uncommon across Iceland in the winter either.

You can follow Łukasz’s journey on his website, where he has set up a live tracker that provides constant updates on his current position. He’s also posting to his Facebook page on a daily basis too, offering some insights into how he’s feeling, the challenges he is facing, and the progress that is being made.

Right now, it seems like he is still finding his rhythm and acclimatizing to the trail, but is starting to get into a daily groove. He’s also already made an unscheduled stop, but that has allowed him to reconfigure his load and make improvements to the sled, which should improve his speed and efficiency. With more than 500 km left to go, he’ll be looking for any edge that he can get.

Follow along on Łukasz’s website.

Kraig Becker