In a kayak, Aniol Serrasolses from Catalonia in Spain sails several kilometers through a glacial river in Austfonna on Svalbard.
In places the water has buried itself and the glacier has begun to close over the river.
Then comes the cliff.
Serrasolses sails 20 meters in free fall down the glacier waterfall.
Aniol Serrasolses sailed down a waterfall in the glacier that was 20 meters high.
Foto: David Sodomka / Red Bull Content Pool
He raises his hands in the air and cheers when he and the kayak reach the surface of the ice water again.
The professional paddler has just fulfilled a dream.
– It was wilder than I ever thought it would be, and the wildest thing I’ve ever experienced.
– It didn’t feel like I was paddling. It felt like I was sailing in the air, says Serrasolses.
Planla for Greenland
Originally, the extreme sportsman had set out for Greenland to paddle in glacial rivers and down an icy waterfall.
Catalan Aniol Serrasolses in Austfonna on Svalbard.
Foto: David Sodomka / RED BULL CONTENT POOL
There they never managed to find the perfect waterfall from a glacier.
But they found that earlier this autumn in Svalbard.
– Svalbard is one of the roughest, wildest and most untouched areas I have experienced, says Serrasolses.
The sun shone from an almost cloudless sky on the day the ice paddling was to be carried out.
The river was icy blue and the glacier almost crystallized.
Serrasolses is clear that coping with the wild conditions was not something he took lightly.
It also made the sense of mastery stronger than he is used to in extreme conditions.
Aniol Serrasolses says he would regret it for the rest of his life if he had not completed the spectacular and dangerous plunge.
Foto: Red Bull
– I struggle to find words for how it felt. It was like being on another planet.
It was all filmed from different angles by the crew he traveled with.
Serrasolses also takes the public on the voyage through the camera on the helmet.
The Spanish professional paddler Aniol Serrasolses really takes the audience on the spectacular paddling trip. VIDEO: RED BULL
Tourism manager not happy about the pictures
Videos and photos of the spectacular stunt have been shared by several international media, such as CNN, BBC, Sky News and Reuters
Ronny Brunvoll, head of Visit Svalbard, says the photos are sensational.
– This is spectacular and there is a dose of madness here. The pictures will probably get a lot of attention, and it may be that someone chooses Svalbard as a destination after seeing them, he says.
General manager of Visit Svalbard, Ronny Brunvoll.
Photo: Ida Louise Rostad / NRK
But Brunvoll is not happy to see the pictures.
He emphasizes that Visit Svalbard does not want to market the island kingdom in the north as an extreme sports destination.
– There is a great risk associated with paddling too close to glaciers. Extreme sports are not something we promote.
The Visit Svalbard manager says that paddling on glaciers is for extreme sportsmen. Athletes who know they are taking calculated risks on such a journey.
Visit Svalbard would prefer to discourage people from approaching glaciers.
– There are often several hundred meters of risk zone around a glacier. Actually, you should stay away from them.
Brunvoll says that paddling in Svalbard is an experience he can recommend – when it is done in safe surroundings.
– It is perfectly possible to kayak on the lake and, as it were, near glaciers, but not as close as we see here. There are pictures we are much more fond of.
The Serrasolses had animal company on the spectacular trip.
Foto: David Sodomka / Red Bull Content Pool
2023-12-12 17:02:04
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