Ultra endurance athletes Tarka L’Herpiniere (27) and Katie-Jane Cooper (29) embark on August 16th for Chile on yet another world first expedition. ‘Rivers of Ice’, will attempt to traverse the complete length of the Southern Patagonian Ice Cap without the aid of sail kites or pre-placed food caches.

Fully unsupported, they are planning to ski and climb 431km across the world’s third largest ice cap in as little as 37 days. Their adventure will include crevasse-laced glaciers, jumbled ice falls, climbing icy peaks and 600m rappels down sheer cliffs, not to mention ferocious winter blizzards. Only 2 previous expeditions have ever completed the full crossing; the first took 54 days with the aid of sail kites and the second took 98 days with pre-placed food caches.

Instead of hauling huge sleds with lots of gear, the ‘Rivers of Ice’ team are taking an ultra-light and fast approach, using only backpacks and 1kg micro sleds that attach to the packs, reducing the traditional load of 120kg down to 45kg. I imagine that leaves them little room for errors.

The ´Rivers of Ice´website should be great: you can send them messages, podcasts will be posted, you can check out tips and info on their ultralight approach, videos, and more. Additionally, the couple plans to film a documentary of their adventure. I look forward to following along on this epic adventure.