"I've been called crazy many times, but never more than when my bud Ben and I climbed icebergs ten miles off Labrador's coast. It was surreal to be hanging by my ice ax above 35-degree (2-degree Celsius) water that looked so tropical. Soon after I jumped off this brittle, 10,000-year-old berg, a dump truck-size block broke off right where I'd been perched! We learned that mountain boys may well be out of their depths in the North Atlantic."
 
Will Gadd, 38
Adrenaline Junkie


A Canmore, Alberta, resident who's won every major ice-climbing competition and holds the distance world record in paragliding, Gadd had the thrill of his life climbing icebergs. He and Ben Firth, 29, went on a hunt for grounded bergs in Newfoundland but ended up climbing floating chunks in the Labrador Sea. With the ancient ice's unpredictable rolling and cleaving, the two quickly learned the dangers of getting too close to the buoyant masses.


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Photograph by Christian Pondella




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