ICELANDIC TRIPTYCH 2010

The Wazari Team is a famous Polish Expedition Group. The team members Grzegorz Gontarz, Szymon Gontarz and Piotr Zasko have been traveling professionally for over 12 years. They have gone tens of thousands kilometers by bikes in Europe and Australia & Oceania. Recently they reached the peaks of the Tatra Mountains, the Pyrenees, the Alps and the New Zealand Alps (second Polish winter attempt to reach Mt. Cook). They also reached many of the largest glaciers in the world.

 Iceland – a volcanic island in the North Atlantic – is often referred to as being moonlike due to its landscape. Because of extreme weather conditions and topography many parts of the country are inaccessible.  

Iceland‘s Vatnajökull glacier has an area of 8420 sqm which is 1/12 of the island’s territory and is also the biggest glacier in Europe. It is also one of only 3 continental glaciers worldwide. The Hvannadalshnúkur - Iceland’s highest peak – is also situated on this glacier.

Hofsjökull – the third biggest glacier in Iceland (925 sqm) is the most active one. It is located in the central part of the island. Its volcanic crater is situated below the ice sheet and has a radius of 11 km. The highest summit of this glacier has a height of 1765 m a.s.l.

Langjökull is a glacier with a relatively large sheet of ice and the second biggest glacier in Iceland (1021 sqm). Its landscape is very moderate compared to other glaciers. The highest peak of the Langjökull is 1360 meters high.

The expedition of the Wazari Team began in the mid of July 2010 in Keflavik. In the beginning the sportsmen were riding their bikes. In the meantime a car carried the climbing gear, the sleds and the rest of the equipment. Up to the Vatnajökul glacier the route was mainly asphalt. At this point the actual part of the glacier crossing began. Firstly 140 km through the Vatnajökull and from then via an off-road route to the Hofsjökull glacier. There the team had to cross 40 km of glacier ice, afterwards another 50 km off-road toward the Langjökull. The last glacier was crossed on a length of 60 km. Altogether the Wazari Team had to travel 340 km through the heart of Iceland far away from any civilization. The way back to the airport was ridden by bike.

LYOFOOD was official partner of the Wazari Team. During the expedition the team used freeze-dried meals prepared by LYOFOOD. More details on the expedition: www.iceland.wazari.pl.