Some locals viewed the continuing rescue operations as an abuse of hospitality as a group of 4 British trekkers attempted to film a documentary called “The Coldest Crossing” about an unsupported 250 mile trek across Iceland in the middle of winter with only the food they brought with them.
This unsupported journey soon required emergency intervention provided by Iceland Search and Rescue, which is a free service and is supported by donations and run by volunteers.
The first rescue was for a member of the group that had a lung infection. The second rescue was for a member who had frost bitten toes. The third and final time, the remaining members were rescued because they were simply too exhausted to continue.
Their ill fated and perhaps unrealistic attempt had its share of critics both domestic and abroad. The group responded to the internet hatred by noting that they had proper travel insurance and planned on making a donation to Icelandic Search and Rescue but it fell on deaf ears as many still think they were selfish by putting volunteer emergency crews at risk while amateurly attempting something as stupid as crossing Iceland in what was to be an 18 day journey during a time of year when the sun never fully rises.
You can check out the trailer to their adventure documentary below
Notice the sarcasm when mentioning the ‘rescue’ attempt in this Instagram post….