Polar explorer Vincent Colliard is currently on an unsupported full crossing of Ellesmere Island and just shared a video of a crevasse fall incident from his 26th day navigating Canada’s northernmost and 3rd largest island (slightly smaller than Great Britain).
The incident occurred as his expedition group was traversing the exit arm glacier of the Agassiz icecap on the central eastern side of Ellesmere Island and they are want to be transparent about the mistakes they made that led up to fall:
“We did big mistakes. We let our guard down as we were tired (26 days of hard labor on the body) and maybe acted too confident about what we were doing.“
Thankfully there were no injuries and the team is continuing on their objective with a renewed caution for the terrain “our guard is right back up with triple precautions.” Vincent Colliard reflected on the great sense of relief he experienced realizing that he could still see the sky after tumbling into the crevasse:
“It was a magical moment to see the light of the sun again and away from the darkness of that hole.”
Vincent Colliard:
“Crevasse fall! Miraculously, no injury or more… just a scary moment where life’s balance was on the edge.
This occurred when we were on an exit arm glacier of the Agassiz icecap. Since, we let it sink in and decided to be transparent about it. We did big mistakes. We let our guard down as we were tired (26 days of hard labor on the body) and maybe acted too confident about what we were doing.
We know the drills though. Blocking knot connected to the back of the sleds, max tension on the rope, easy access to the crevasse rescue kit, carrying it and so on.
Our guard is right back up with triple precautions. We are still on the way to attempt an unsupported full crossing of Ellesmere Island. It was a magical moment to see the light of the sun again and away from the darkness of that hole.”
ABOUT VINCENT COLLIARD:
With a penchant for exploration, French adventurer Vincent Colliard is one of the most accomplished polar explorers of our generation whose numbered expeditions include the current crossing of the 20 largest icecaps on earth. He represents a new breed of athlete willing to bridge adventure and science, and inspire environmental give-back on a global scale.
