Iceland review - 2013, Page 16

14 ICELAND REVIEW
GOING SOLO
Vilborg Arna Gissurardóttir is the 29th individual, ninth woman and
first Icelander to walk solo to the South Pole.
vilborg Arna Gissurardóttir gave up her job as
operating director of Iceland’s first geopark in
the region of Katla volcano in South Iceland to
fulfill her decade-long dream of trekking to the
South Pole. During her two-month journey
from Hercules Inlet, from November 19, 2012, to January 17, 2013,
the 32-year-old skied 1,140 kilometers (708 miles)—an average of
19 kilometers per day—pulling two sledges that weighed 100 kilos
(220 lbs) when she set off. All alone in a snow-covered desert with
temperatures dropping to -40°C (-40°F), she conquered sastrugi,
(ridges caused by wind erosion) frostbite, flu and food poisoning,
raising ISK 23 million (USD 180,000) for the Women’s Ward of
Landspítali National University Hospital while at it.
Eygló Svala Arnarsdóttir: When did you start dreaming of trek-
king to the South Pole?
Vilborg Arna Gissurardóttir: It was in the autumn of 2002
when I had just started training with a search and rescue team,
learning how to hike, climb, navigate and first aid. While reading
books about expeditions, I thought to myself that it would be
amazing to make it to the South Pole.
ESA: And since then you’ve been working towards it?
VAG: Not strategically. I was only 22, inexperienced and needed to
grow. But the dream was always there in the back of my mind. After
I started working as a guide I kept daydreaming about the South
Pole. Then in March 2011, when I was about to finish my MBA, I
was leading a group across Vatnajökull [Europe’s largest glacier] in
crazy weather. We were stuck and then the idea hit me. So I went
home and started planning.
ESA: How does one organize such an expedition?
VAG: I basically just googled ‘South Pole expeditions’ and quickly
learned that there’s one company that specializes in them: Antarctic
Logistics and Expeditions, ALE. They take care of logistics, bureau-
cracy, run the camp, fly you there and pick you up and you report
to them every night. Your journey is your own responsibility but
in case of emergency, they serve as your search and rescue. They
give you advice if you ask but otherwise you’re free to organize
your journey as you like. But they test you—I did a long interview
in Chile—to make sure that you’re capable and have the proper
experience and medical certification.
ESA: Between contacting ALE and flying off to Chile, how did you
prepare?
VAG: In summer 2011, I spent a week by myself in the Greenlandic
wilderness. That was a shock. Being alone, the silence, depending
on yourself … it was mentally demanding but that meant that the
shock never came in Antarctica.
I also worked out and hiked a lot, pulled weights, and in May
2012, I walked across the Greenland icecap with a trekking partner.
I was kind of hoping that it would put out my dream of the South
Pole because I had just started a new job [at Katla Geopark] but it
had the opposite effect. I had to go.
ESA: What kind of equipment did you need?
VAG: I had two sledges, a tent, sleeping bag, satellite phone, emer-
gency transmitter, solar battery, iPod [for listening to Harry Potter
and music, including Retro Stefson, while skiing], fuel, supplies,
cooking equipment and a whole pharmacy—I had to be prepared
for everything.
ESA: What did you eat while trekking?
VAG: I had nine different types of dry food for dinner, Snickers,
Mars, other chocolates and nuts to snack on throughout the day
and for breakfast I ate muesli with Swiss Miss. The body requires
5,500 calories per day and you have to start with some supply, extra
weight.
ESA: Did you meet other people along the way?
VAG: I knew of an American who had set out before me. I spotted
his tent in a valley while I was skiing down, so I came knocking.
Because it was Christmas, I yelled: “Ho, ho, ho! It’s Santa!” He must
have thought I was crazy…
ESA: So you spent Christmas together?
VAG: No. We couldn’t do that. We were going solo. But we chatted
for 20 minutes.
By EyglÓ Svala arNarSDÓTTir PORTRAIT By PÁll STEfÁNSSoN
OTHER PHOTOS COuRTESy OF vilBorg arNa giSSurarDÓTTir