1 00:00:01,200 --> 00:00:02,220 I am Bear Grylls. 2 00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:04,420 I have served with the British Special Forces. 3 00:00:05,100 --> 00:00:06,340 I have climbed to the summit of Everest 4 00:00:07,060 --> 00:00:09,020 and crossed the frozen oceans of the Arctic. 5 00:00:10,380 --> 00:00:11,360 Now, I am in Iceland, 6 00:00:11,480 --> 00:00:14,280 a land of huge glaciers and volcanoes. 7 00:00:15,260 --> 00:00:17,140 It is really blowing a hoolie here. 8 00:00:17,420 --> 00:00:20,320 Every year thousand tourists need to be rescued. 9 00:00:21,180 --> 00:00:24,060 I am going to show you the skills needed to survive here. 10 00:00:34,200 --> 00:00:36,460 I am flying out of Iceland's capital Reykjavik, 11 00:00:38,220 --> 00:00:42,020 on the southwest coast where most of the 300,000 people live. 12 00:00:44,360 --> 00:00:47,320 The island lies just on the Arctic Circle in between 13 00:00:47,360 --> 00:00:49,020 the US and Europe. 14 00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:51,400 It's about the size of Kentucky, 15 00:00:52,220 --> 00:00:55,100 but only has one main road that follows the coast 16 00:00:55,140 --> 00:00:56,160 all around the island. 17 00:00:57,060 --> 00:01:00,240 Most of the country is just a barren frozen wasteland. 18 00:01:01,020 --> 00:01:03,180 This place has a strange beauty about it 19 00:01:03,460 --> 00:01:06,080 but it's also unforgiving down there. 20 00:01:07,480 --> 00:01:10,400 Iceland's original settlers were the Vikings 21 00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:13,180 who came from Norway over thousand years ago. 22 00:01:13,420 --> 00:01:16,120 They knew how to survive these harsh climates. 23 00:01:17,080 --> 00:01:19,480 People come here to experience a unique geology 24 00:01:20,340 --> 00:01:23,080 that's called the Land of Fire and Ice. 25 00:01:25,240 --> 00:01:29,020 Fire because it is one of the most volcanic countries in the world. 26 00:01:29,220 --> 00:01:32,220 And Ice because over 2000 square miles 27 00:01:32,260 --> 00:01:33,480 of it are glaciers. 28 00:01:34,020 --> 00:01:34,360 (HELICOPTER NOISE) 29 00:01:34,400 --> 00:01:37,140 On average, three people a day are rescued 30 00:01:37,280 --> 00:01:41,080 from the freezing glaciers and huge volcanic plains. 31 00:01:42,120 --> 00:01:44,180 And the glacier is directly under me 32 00:01:44,340 --> 00:01:48,140 and those places are one of the toughest places to survive 33 00:01:48,280 --> 00:01:50,460 and that's where I am starting my journey. 34 00:01:51,440 --> 00:01:55,060 All I have got is a knife, a water bottle and a flint. 35 00:01:55,180 --> 00:01:57,020 A camera crew will follow me. 36 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:28,280 (CAMERA CREW FOOT STEPS SOUND) 37 00:02:30,200 --> 00:02:32,320 At 4,000 feet I am on a glacier 38 00:02:32,360 --> 00:02:35,060 on one of Iceland's highest and coldest points. 39 00:02:42,060 --> 00:02:45,000 Man, this place is bleak. 40 00:02:46,280 --> 00:02:47,440 I am here in the middle of winter. 41 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:50,380 Just now, it's 15 degrees Fahrenheit 42 00:02:51,100 --> 00:02:54,320 but in a few hours it can get down to a deadly minus 10. 43 00:02:55,440 --> 00:02:58,200 Get some feeling back in my hands again. 44 00:03:02,100 --> 00:03:05,120 My goal is to descend to the warmer areas around the coast. 45 00:03:06,220 --> 00:03:08,380 That's where I will have the best chance of finding a road 46 00:03:09,020 --> 00:03:11,380 leading back towards Reykjavik in the southwest. 47 00:03:12,060 --> 00:03:15,440 One of the simplest ways of finding out north and south 48 00:03:16,260 --> 00:03:19,020 when you are in the northern hemisphere is just to use 49 00:03:19,060 --> 00:03:20,380 your watch and the sun. 50 00:03:21,180 --> 00:03:23,480 And all I need to do is point the hour hand at the sun 51 00:03:24,020 --> 00:03:25,380 so if it is three o'clock now, 52 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:29,240 I point that at the sun and then half way between 53 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:34,300 there and 12 o'clock is south, I am heading southwest, 54 00:03:34,460 --> 00:03:36,220 so I want to keep heading this way. 55 00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:41,360 As Iceland is in the middle of the north Atlantic, 56 00:03:42,040 --> 00:03:44,020 its weather changes very quickly 57 00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:46,480 and storms can roll in literally in minutes. 58 00:03:48,120 --> 00:03:49,320 When I landed it was sunny 59 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:52,340 but now I am in the middle of a full-blown blizzard. 60 00:03:56,480 --> 00:04:00,300 One of the biggest dangers up here on these glaciers in conditions 61 00:04:00,340 --> 00:04:03,300 like this is hypothermia and you know, 62 00:04:03,340 --> 00:04:05,200 it can set in very quickly. 63 00:04:05,240 --> 00:04:08,260 Just a drop of a couple of degrees in your core body temperature 64 00:04:08,300 --> 00:04:09,220 will bring it on 65 00:04:09,460 --> 00:04:12,380 and you start shivering and you start to slur your words, 66 00:04:12,420 --> 00:04:14,180 lose your ability to think straight 67 00:04:14,400 --> 00:04:17,060 and I have had it before and it's very frightening. 68 00:04:19,360 --> 00:04:20,280 Without a shelter, 69 00:04:20,460 --> 00:04:23,480 I would only survive a matter of hours in blizzard conditions. 70 00:04:25,480 --> 00:04:28,220 But as quickly as it came, the storm lifts 71 00:04:28,440 --> 00:04:31,180 and it gives me a brief chance to get my bearings. 72 00:04:33,140 --> 00:04:36,080 What I have spotted down here is this ice cave 73 00:04:37,020 --> 00:04:37,260 and... 74 00:04:39,120 --> 00:04:42,460 That might well do for some protection. 75 00:04:43,160 --> 00:04:47,160 The problem is this cornice all the way up here 76 00:04:47,460 --> 00:04:53,000 and how I am going to get over this, over this lip and down to there. 77 00:04:53,220 --> 00:04:55,160 It's a 60 foot drop to the bottom 78 00:04:55,320 --> 00:04:58,220 and the overhanging ledges can collapse easily. 79 00:04:58,360 --> 00:05:00,460 Probably my best way of doing this is just 80 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:04,460 to traverse along this snow bank and I need to be careful 81 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:06,480 because you can see down there looks like a lip 82 00:05:07,020 --> 00:05:09,060 might well be a cliff dropping straight off that. 83 00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:13,280 You have got to be really careful doing this 84 00:05:13,320 --> 00:05:17,000 without crampons and without an ice axe or rope. 85 00:05:17,240 --> 00:05:19,160 It just means you have got to be really certain 86 00:05:19,480 --> 00:05:22,140 of every foothold that you take. 87 00:05:24,180 --> 00:05:25,440 Okay, start edging across. 88 00:05:36,380 --> 00:05:38,340 Okay, I am out of the nasty bit of this now 89 00:05:39,020 --> 00:05:41,200 and it is just the last little chute down into the cave. 90 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:43,100 I love these bits. 91 00:05:51,340 --> 00:05:54,480 This is much bigger than I thought. Look at this. 92 00:05:55,300 --> 00:05:58,240 I am actually, this is not a cave. It is actually a funnel. 93 00:05:58,280 --> 00:05:59,480 Look, you can see it is open at the bottom. 94 00:06:00,240 --> 00:06:02,280 But these, these things are formed. 95 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:05,060 What happens, melt water comes down the glacier 96 00:06:05,100 --> 00:06:08,160 and because the water is warmer than the ice it creates these, 97 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:10,200 these like tunnels running under the glacier. 98 00:06:11,140 --> 00:06:14,060 But when they get bigger they grow into this sort of thing. 99 00:06:19,080 --> 00:06:22,020 You don't want to hang around, hang around in this. 100 00:06:23,260 --> 00:06:24,100 See a lot of that, 101 00:06:24,140 --> 00:06:27,240 look it is blue ice as well and that is the oldest sort of ice 102 00:06:27,300 --> 00:06:30,180 but it is also the most dangerous. It is the most likely to crack. 103 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:35,200 Blue ice, it is hard as steel but it is also as brittle as glass. 104 00:06:35,280 --> 00:06:37,220 And because the glacier is constantly moving, 105 00:06:37,380 --> 00:06:38,420 collapses is a common. 106 00:06:39,080 --> 00:06:41,000 You can actually see, look, if you follow this up, 107 00:06:41,040 --> 00:06:43,380 you can actually see a bit of it where it has flaked off 108 00:06:44,100 --> 00:06:45,340 and you can imagine what that's gonna do 109 00:06:45,380 --> 00:06:46,480 if that dropped on top you. 110 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:51,040 Last year a climber was in an ice cave just like this 111 00:06:51,080 --> 00:06:53,340 and a 150 tonne slab sheared off. 112 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:55,360 He stood no chance of surviving. 113 00:06:56,380 --> 00:06:59,000 I was hoping this was gonna be a good place to shelter 114 00:06:59,240 --> 00:07:01,380 but it's not, it's just gonna act like a wind funnel 115 00:07:01,420 --> 00:07:04,320 and I need to think again and get out of here pretty fast now. 116 00:07:22,260 --> 00:07:25,380 As it grows darker, a storm once again is moving in. 117 00:07:26,180 --> 00:07:28,220 I have got minutes before it's gonna hit me. 118 00:07:28,400 --> 00:07:30,320 Let's keep moving because I have got to get off here soon. 119 00:07:32,220 --> 00:07:35,040 Already temperatures are minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit. 120 00:07:37,240 --> 00:07:41,020 There's no sign of shelter and this storm is getting worse. 121 00:07:42,040 --> 00:07:44,440 I have got just 30 minutes before nightfall. 122 00:07:58,440 --> 00:08:00,280 I am on a glacier in Iceland. 123 00:08:01,400 --> 00:08:06,040 A blizzard has come in, night is falling and I need shelter fast. 124 00:08:08,140 --> 00:08:10,040 It's minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit 125 00:08:10,300 --> 00:08:13,280 but winds of 50 mile an hour make it much colder. 126 00:08:15,260 --> 00:08:18,320 But the wind is not only my enemy, it can also be my friend. 127 00:08:18,360 --> 00:08:22,000 And what happens when the wind blows over these sort of ridges, 128 00:08:22,040 --> 00:08:22,420 if you look up here, 129 00:08:23,140 --> 00:08:26,220 it builds up a load of snow on the leeward side of it, 130 00:08:26,260 --> 00:08:27,400 on the side out of the wind. 131 00:08:28,100 --> 00:08:30,200 And I can use that snow then to dig into 132 00:08:30,360 --> 00:08:32,240 and create like a little snow cave. 133 00:08:35,440 --> 00:08:38,300 A couple of years ago a snowmobiler got separated 134 00:08:38,340 --> 00:08:40,100 from his friends during a blizzard. 135 00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:44,380 He managed to stay alive for 48 hours before rescue came 136 00:08:45,040 --> 00:08:48,020 because he got out of the wind by digging himself a snow hole. 137 00:08:49,080 --> 00:08:53,300 This is definitely harder work without any form of shovel. 138 00:08:54,140 --> 00:08:57,060 But all of this snow is quite nice and loose. 139 00:08:57,400 --> 00:09:01,120 And the bits that are coming out in blocks like this 140 00:09:01,340 --> 00:09:04,440 I'm gonna keep so I can use those to then dam up 141 00:09:04,980 --> 00:09:05,460 the entrance at the end. 142 00:09:10,240 --> 00:09:12,000 I am keeping my pace steady. 143 00:09:12,460 --> 00:09:14,440 If I allow sweat to freeze on my body, 144 00:09:15,300 --> 00:09:17,440 hypothermia will come on twice as fast. 145 00:09:22,420 --> 00:09:24,980 Well, I am out of the wind now at least 146 00:09:25,020 --> 00:09:27,340 and that's taken me maybe 20 odd minutes 147 00:09:28,060 --> 00:09:32,260 just to dig out this little area of good loose powdered snow. 148 00:09:33,140 --> 00:09:37,140 But the next thing I need to do is dig a little bit of a pit down, 149 00:09:37,280 --> 00:09:40,320 and the reason I do that is that cold air sinks. 150 00:09:40,400 --> 00:09:42,160 So I do not want this cold air around me, 151 00:09:42,300 --> 00:09:47,080 I want it to go down into what they call a cold well down here. 152 00:09:56,160 --> 00:09:58,180 And what I want to do now is just block up 153 00:09:58,400 --> 00:10:00,140 a bit of this entrance here. 154 00:10:03,100 --> 00:10:06,380 It is tempting to seal the entrance completely to keep the wind out 155 00:10:07,080 --> 00:10:08,180 but that can be lethal. 156 00:10:09,460 --> 00:10:13,320 Okay, what I have done here is just put some of the blocks over the top 157 00:10:14,040 --> 00:10:17,300 and this will all consolidate down, left a bit of a ventilation hole. 158 00:10:17,340 --> 00:10:21,420 I put my hand out here and it's blowing hard 159 00:10:21,980 --> 00:10:22,280 and it is snowing, 160 00:10:22,440 --> 00:10:24,120 and this will give it a light covering 161 00:10:24,160 --> 00:10:27,200 but I need to make sure keep putting my hand through to keep 162 00:10:27,240 --> 00:10:28,220 that ventilation hole. 163 00:10:28,400 --> 00:10:30,420 Otherwise, you can suffocate in these things. 164 00:10:31,400 --> 00:10:34,160 Staying hydrated helps keep your body warm. 165 00:10:34,440 --> 00:10:36,220 It is tempting to eat the snow 166 00:10:36,420 --> 00:10:40,000 but that would just cool my core body temperature down even more. 167 00:10:40,300 --> 00:10:44,140 So I am going to melt some snow slowly overnight with my body heat. 168 00:10:48,380 --> 00:10:49,980 It is about 3:00 a.m. 169 00:10:51,120 --> 00:10:52,240 but I am just a bit concerned 170 00:10:52,280 --> 00:10:57,280 because my hands and my feet are starting to get really numb now. 171 00:11:00,180 --> 00:11:02,400 And it's just like becoming a real mental battle, you know, 172 00:11:02,440 --> 00:11:07,380 just to keep, keep wiggling them and not just giving up. 173 00:11:09,120 --> 00:11:11,120 I just, just want this night to end now. 174 00:11:18,980 --> 00:11:19,420 It's morning. 175 00:11:20,080 --> 00:11:23,060 And my main priority is to get off this glacier. 176 00:11:23,460 --> 00:11:26,220 I just can't risk being caught in another storm up here. 177 00:11:34,400 --> 00:11:37,280 Well, it is definitely less windy than it was yesterday. 178 00:11:37,320 --> 00:11:38,300 It is still pretty windy 179 00:11:39,060 --> 00:11:41,100 but actually I can see the sun over there, 180 00:11:41,140 --> 00:11:42,060 which is a good sign. 181 00:11:42,420 --> 00:11:46,040 But in Iceland the sun does not rise in the east and sets in the west. 182 00:11:46,200 --> 00:11:48,400 It is more like southeast and southwest. 183 00:11:49,180 --> 00:11:53,160 So if that is southeast, now the sun has just come up, 184 00:11:53,380 --> 00:11:55,340 that means that is southwest is over there. 185 00:11:55,380 --> 00:11:56,440 That's the way I want to go. 186 00:12:03,120 --> 00:12:05,220 Glaciers are full of these ice gullies 187 00:12:06,060 --> 00:12:07,160 and they can be dangerous. 188 00:12:08,340 --> 00:12:12,180 All of this snow here this is what is called rotten snow, 189 00:12:12,980 --> 00:12:16,380 which means it has fallen, it has thawed and then it is refrozen. 190 00:12:16,420 --> 00:12:19,420 So you get this like crust, which is really good for walking on. 191 00:12:19,460 --> 00:12:23,320 I can just dig my feet in and get really good holds in it. 192 00:12:25,020 --> 00:12:28,020 But the danger on glaciers are crevasses. 193 00:12:29,120 --> 00:12:32,080 What you often get with crevasses is just a thin covering 194 00:12:32,120 --> 00:12:34,440 of compacted snow that is called a snow bridge. 195 00:12:35,080 --> 00:12:37,300 And you can see there just one has collapsed 196 00:12:37,420 --> 00:12:39,220 and this is why they are so dangerous. 197 00:12:39,260 --> 00:12:40,360 You do not know when you are on one 198 00:12:40,980 --> 00:12:42,240 and you do not know what is under you as well. 199 00:12:42,280 --> 00:12:45,340 I mean these could be sometimes yeah, hundreds of feet deep just 200 00:12:45,380 --> 00:12:47,180 narrow chasms underneath you 201 00:12:47,360 --> 00:12:50,280 and therefore I have just got to be ultra careful to stick to the sides 202 00:12:50,320 --> 00:12:51,280 of these gullies. 203 00:12:58,000 --> 00:12:59,220 If you fall into a crevice, 204 00:12:59,380 --> 00:13:01,300 they can be impossible to get out of. 205 00:13:02,360 --> 00:13:06,300 And with no chance of escape, a slow death is all that awaits you. 206 00:13:12,440 --> 00:13:16,120 And this really is the very end of the glacier. 207 00:13:17,140 --> 00:13:19,180 You know, I have always thought of glaciers as like, 208 00:13:19,420 --> 00:13:20,360 like living beasts. 209 00:13:20,400 --> 00:13:22,140 You know, they move and they shift 210 00:13:22,340 --> 00:13:25,180 and they groan and often they are angry. 211 00:13:26,100 --> 00:13:27,020 But I am on my way. 212 00:13:30,100 --> 00:13:31,320 I'm now at 3,000 foot 213 00:13:31,460 --> 00:13:34,000 and the temperature is just above freezing. 214 00:13:35,460 --> 00:13:38,240 Finally, it looks like an easier southwest route 215 00:13:38,420 --> 00:13:42,240 but almost immediately there's a deep river blocking my way. 216 00:13:47,020 --> 00:13:50,020 All of that water is glacial melt water. 217 00:13:50,060 --> 00:13:52,040 It's gonna be freezing, freezing cold. 218 00:13:52,460 --> 00:13:55,980 But I really need to try and keep heading this way 219 00:13:56,120 --> 00:13:57,440 to where I am heading southwest. 220 00:13:58,260 --> 00:14:01,460 I want to do anything I can to avoid being in that. 221 00:14:02,340 --> 00:14:05,420 So I need to think of some way of trying to get across this. 222 00:14:09,340 --> 00:14:12,280 But there may be a solution on the other side of the river. 223 00:14:13,240 --> 00:14:14,380 I can see some steam coming 224 00:14:14,420 --> 00:14:16,420 from some vents on the hillside over there 225 00:14:17,060 --> 00:14:19,200 and that means geothermic hot pools, 226 00:14:19,240 --> 00:14:21,280 warm water and therefore jumping 227 00:14:21,320 --> 00:14:24,280 into this glacial water is a risk I can take. 228 00:14:26,140 --> 00:14:27,100 But it's a big risk. 229 00:14:27,320 --> 00:14:30,280 Submerged in freezing water and with a cold wind, 230 00:14:30,380 --> 00:14:33,400 I only have less than 20 minutes to make it to those hot pools 231 00:14:34,040 --> 00:14:35,400 before I lose consciousness. 232 00:14:38,120 --> 00:14:39,380 To be able to climb down this 233 00:14:40,140 --> 00:14:42,980 and really I have got no choice apart from just jumping it. 234 00:14:43,180 --> 00:14:46,200 But it's easily deep enough, the water is crystal clear. 235 00:14:46,240 --> 00:14:48,460 I am seeing all the way to the bottom but it is high. 236 00:14:49,220 --> 00:14:51,100 This is probably, about a 30 foot jump 237 00:14:51,360 --> 00:14:54,200 and I just know that water is glacial. 238 00:14:54,240 --> 00:14:57,020 It's gonna be freezing and as soon as I go into it, 239 00:14:57,140 --> 00:15:00,080 it's gonna be a ticking time bomb between hypothermia 240 00:15:00,260 --> 00:15:01,400 and reaching those pools. 241 00:15:12,340 --> 00:15:15,020 I am in Iceland heading southwest towards 242 00:15:15,060 --> 00:15:17,100 what I hope will be a town and rescue. 243 00:15:17,960 --> 00:15:20,260 But a deep glacial river is blocking my route. 244 00:15:21,040 --> 00:15:23,000 My only option is to jump. 245 00:15:23,960 --> 00:15:24,240 Okay. 246 00:15:31,400 --> 00:15:34,120 The freezing water can send my body into shock. 247 00:15:39,220 --> 00:15:41,060 I am also rapidly losing heat 248 00:15:41,320 --> 00:15:43,320 and that's making me weaker by the second. 249 00:15:45,300 --> 00:15:46,200 Oh, my god. 250 00:15:48,140 --> 00:15:50,160 I have only got about 15 minutes 251 00:15:50,200 --> 00:15:52,220 to get my body temperature back to normal. 252 00:15:54,040 --> 00:15:56,440 My only hope is to reach the geothermal pools 253 00:15:57,200 --> 00:15:58,260 but they are a mile away. 254 00:16:05,100 --> 00:16:07,020 And that is just bitingly cold. 255 00:16:07,280 --> 00:16:11,980 God, my hands and all my legs just feel numb straight away. 256 00:16:12,380 --> 00:16:16,260 And I just know I have just got to keep every limb moving 257 00:16:17,060 --> 00:16:18,220 until I reach those pools. 258 00:16:19,160 --> 00:16:20,120 I need my hood. 259 00:16:20,380 --> 00:16:23,160 The air is literally refrigerating my body. 260 00:16:24,040 --> 00:16:26,180 Okay, guys I am gonna have to run this. 261 00:16:26,220 --> 00:16:27,200 I am getting really cold. 262 00:16:28,080 --> 00:16:29,120 In extreme cold, 263 00:16:29,220 --> 00:16:33,360 my body acts to protect the brain and heart by draining blood away 264 00:16:33,400 --> 00:16:34,440 from my hands and feet. 265 00:16:35,080 --> 00:16:37,060 And that makes running even harder. 266 00:16:44,240 --> 00:16:47,320 Well, it's a hot pool but look at this, 267 00:16:47,360 --> 00:16:50,100 you can actually see, see that it's bubbling. 268 00:16:50,380 --> 00:16:53,420 That is at boiling temperature and there is no way, 269 00:16:54,180 --> 00:16:56,380 there is no way I am getting into that. 270 00:17:00,180 --> 00:17:02,440 I am feeling my arms and legs beginning to shut down. 271 00:17:03,360 --> 00:17:04,380 I am running out of time. 272 00:17:05,440 --> 00:17:07,200 I need to think quickly now. 273 00:17:09,080 --> 00:17:13,280 You can see this stream, it's just running out of that hot mud pool. 274 00:17:14,380 --> 00:17:15,160 (INAUDIBLE) 275 00:17:21,100 --> 00:17:26,060 And all I am doing here is damming up this bit of the stream 276 00:17:27,440 --> 00:17:33,380 and then hoping to create a bit of a pool for me to get in. 277 00:17:35,200 --> 00:17:38,000 Yeah, and that's kind of a manageable temperature. 278 00:17:39,420 --> 00:17:41,060 I have got to get in fast 279 00:17:41,180 --> 00:17:43,000 and if I don't get these wet clothes off 280 00:17:43,320 --> 00:17:45,020 my body will go into shock. 281 00:17:48,140 --> 00:17:50,980 In this wind they should hopefully dry 282 00:17:51,340 --> 00:17:52,440 in maybe a couple of hours 283 00:17:55,040 --> 00:17:58,040 but at least during that time, 284 00:17:59,960 --> 00:18:05,000 I can lie in this hot pool and not freeze to death. 285 00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:06,260 God. 286 00:18:09,220 --> 00:18:10,440 Thank God for volcanoes. 287 00:18:11,980 --> 00:18:14,180 And it's amazing, look there is snow all around me. 288 00:18:14,960 --> 00:18:19,160 Literally, three minutes ago, I was not far off from hypothermia. 289 00:18:19,420 --> 00:18:22,280 Now, it's kind of almost like being at home, 290 00:18:23,180 --> 00:18:24,260 apart from a bit muddier. 291 00:18:32,120 --> 00:18:34,420 After warming up and my clothes nearly dry, 292 00:18:35,060 --> 00:18:36,160 it's time to move on. 293 00:18:38,420 --> 00:18:41,040 Iceland has many geothermal areas 294 00:18:41,180 --> 00:18:43,380 and over 90 percent of homes are fuelled 295 00:18:43,420 --> 00:18:45,160 by naturally heated water. 296 00:18:46,440 --> 00:18:50,340 This comes from underground rivers being heated by volcanic magma. 297 00:18:53,200 --> 00:18:57,020 I need to be a bit careful with where I am treading here 298 00:18:57,060 --> 00:19:00,080 because what you often get are these soft areas of mud, 299 00:19:00,340 --> 00:19:02,980 where actually the mud is at boiling point, 300 00:19:03,140 --> 00:19:05,220 you know really frothing away and every year, 301 00:19:05,400 --> 00:19:07,100 yeah, there will be several tourists 302 00:19:07,280 --> 00:19:10,400 who will get stuck in this stuff and get really, really badly burned. 303 00:19:11,380 --> 00:19:15,440 The way just to test the ground is just to step really gingerly 304 00:19:16,140 --> 00:19:19,960 and just push with your boot to see whether the mud is soft or not. 305 00:19:21,160 --> 00:19:23,280 And also just to tap it as well 306 00:19:23,320 --> 00:19:25,320 l because often it will feel like hollow. 307 00:19:25,980 --> 00:19:28,140 And what that means is you have got this crust over the top 308 00:19:28,280 --> 00:19:30,240 with the mud then boiling underneath it. 309 00:19:30,440 --> 00:19:33,300 And, yeah, look, see even here this is what I mean. 310 00:19:33,340 --> 00:19:35,320 Look, you have got a hole, straight down. 311 00:19:35,360 --> 00:19:38,360 If I trod on that this will probably give way. 312 00:19:39,120 --> 00:19:40,280 So I will step over this bit. 313 00:19:43,160 --> 00:19:45,120 And this is a kind of pretty nasty area here. 314 00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:47,440 I have got a boiling pool on both sides. 315 00:19:49,300 --> 00:19:52,160 Temperatures here are about 40 degrees Fahrenheit, 316 00:19:52,340 --> 00:19:55,340 so edible grasses, moss and lichen can grow. 317 00:19:56,180 --> 00:19:59,000 Since Viking times, sheep have roamed free, 318 00:19:59,040 --> 00:20:00,220 grazing on these grasses 319 00:20:01,120 --> 00:20:03,160 and that also gives me something to eat. 320 00:20:03,360 --> 00:20:04,380 All of this here, look. 321 00:20:05,140 --> 00:20:05,980 See all this? 322 00:20:06,100 --> 00:20:09,120 This all Reindeer moss and this is really good for me to find. 323 00:20:09,340 --> 00:20:12,320 I can tell it's Reindeer moss. Look it is, it is kind of white. 324 00:20:13,120 --> 00:20:15,080 They look a little bit like little branches. 325 00:20:15,220 --> 00:20:18,440 And actually they look quite like, quite like Reindeer antlers as well. 326 00:20:19,220 --> 00:20:21,120 But you can actually eat this 327 00:20:21,380 --> 00:20:25,200 and it's not gonna give me much nutritional value 328 00:20:25,420 --> 00:20:27,440 but what it will do is fill out my stomach 329 00:20:27,980 --> 00:20:29,240 and stop me feeling so hungry 330 00:20:29,340 --> 00:20:31,380 and this is what the Vikings used to use it for. 331 00:20:34,340 --> 00:20:37,960 Survival is all about making the most of opportunities 332 00:20:38,080 --> 00:20:40,260 and it's not long before I get a break. 333 00:20:44,020 --> 00:20:46,180 And this is a real find. 334 00:20:47,180 --> 00:20:50,220 Yeah, he probably just came down this cliff, got stuck, 335 00:20:50,260 --> 00:20:52,180 wedged in here and has died. 336 00:20:52,220 --> 00:20:55,140 But most Icelandic sheep in the wintertime, 337 00:20:55,960 --> 00:20:56,980 they are taken inside. 338 00:20:57,020 --> 00:20:59,040 But there are always a few that don't get rounded up. 339 00:20:59,300 --> 00:21:01,360 And this is obviously one of them. 340 00:21:02,100 --> 00:21:03,260 But he hasn't been dead that long. 341 00:21:03,300 --> 00:21:04,440 His eyeballs are still there, 342 00:21:05,060 --> 00:21:07,080 which means he is probably only, you know, 343 00:21:07,120 --> 00:21:09,440 maybe a few days since he has died. 344 00:21:10,180 --> 00:21:12,060 And the good thing about Iceland 345 00:21:12,100 --> 00:21:16,040 is because it is so cold here meat will last much, much longer. 346 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:22,960 And now I have got, see all of it. It's really, really nice meat. 347 00:21:24,240 --> 00:21:25,360 And now I've got this bit off. 348 00:21:26,300 --> 00:21:30,120 I can just begin to cut the meat 349 00:21:31,240 --> 00:21:33,960 away from all the skin 350 00:21:35,020 --> 00:21:38,960 and now it's gonna cut a nice strip of this fat as well. 351 00:21:39,360 --> 00:21:41,440 Fat should be stored whenever possible. 352 00:21:42,200 --> 00:21:45,120 The oils can be used in many survival situations 353 00:21:45,220 --> 00:21:47,240 like emergency food or fire. 354 00:21:48,120 --> 00:21:51,060 Icelanders eat almost every part of the sheep, 355 00:21:51,100 --> 00:21:54,360 you know, everything from testicles, heart, liver, 356 00:21:55,060 --> 00:21:56,140 you know, even the eyeballs. 357 00:21:56,180 --> 00:21:58,160 And actually I am going to take this out. 358 00:21:58,320 --> 00:22:01,020 Sheep eyeballs, extremely nutritious. 359 00:22:01,240 --> 00:22:04,320 They're high in protein and rich in vitamin A and D. 360 00:22:05,160 --> 00:22:07,260 Usually, they are the first things to rot 361 00:22:07,400 --> 00:22:10,140 but in this cold weather, these are still good. 362 00:22:10,260 --> 00:22:11,060 And the eyeball, 363 00:22:11,100 --> 00:22:14,020 give them a dunk in the geothermal 364 00:22:14,260 --> 00:22:16,280 and cook the meat in there as well because it's boiling. 365 00:22:17,060 --> 00:22:21,120 And then all of this is gonna be good enough to eat. 366 00:22:22,260 --> 00:22:23,420 I could eat the meat raw 367 00:22:24,100 --> 00:22:25,360 but it's harder to digest 368 00:22:26,020 --> 00:22:28,200 and can actually take energy away from the body. 369 00:22:28,440 --> 00:22:30,340 So cook meat whenever you can. 370 00:22:31,080 --> 00:22:34,200 And then you see here just where all the water is boiling. 371 00:22:35,240 --> 00:22:38,240 Then all I need to do is take my shoelace off 372 00:22:40,960 --> 00:22:44,220 and then if I just put a little loop in the end here... 373 00:22:46,120 --> 00:22:46,980 Like that. 374 00:22:50,400 --> 00:22:54,140 And then just go straight through these bits of meat 375 00:22:57,160 --> 00:22:59,120 I can then thread this through. 376 00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:03,160 And then just this last bit 377 00:23:04,180 --> 00:23:07,000 and then what I am gonna do is loop it through itself. 378 00:23:09,020 --> 00:23:12,240 And that then is ready to go into the boiling water. 379 00:23:16,120 --> 00:23:19,140 And look, instantly you see it turning brown there. 380 00:23:20,040 --> 00:23:21,440 That's how hot this water is. 381 00:23:23,080 --> 00:23:24,180 And while the meat is cooking, 382 00:23:24,980 --> 00:23:28,440 on one end of the shoelace I can take the other end of it 383 00:23:29,280 --> 00:23:31,980 and just thread it through this eyeball. 384 00:23:33,220 --> 00:23:36,000 These are really okay to eat raw. 385 00:23:36,120 --> 00:23:38,300 I am just gonna dip it in here just to get any sort 386 00:23:38,340 --> 00:23:43,180 of bacteria off it, give it a quick blast in the boiling water. 387 00:23:44,440 --> 00:23:45,300 And then... 388 00:23:48,160 --> 00:23:52,140 This eyeball is going to be okay to eat. 389 00:24:03,260 --> 00:24:04,300 God, it is like chewing... 390 00:24:06,100 --> 00:24:09,240 Gristle full of cold gloop. 391 00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:17,200 Ten minutes of cooking time 392 00:24:17,260 --> 00:24:19,120 and my main course should be done. 393 00:24:22,160 --> 00:24:24,320 And let's see, see if this is ready. 394 00:24:30,140 --> 00:24:31,140 That tastes like just the, 395 00:24:31,980 --> 00:24:33,440 the best lamb you get in a restaurant, 396 00:24:34,300 --> 00:24:38,140 cooked in volcanic boiling water. 397 00:24:42,380 --> 00:24:45,220 With a full belly, it's time to get moving again. 398 00:24:48,140 --> 00:24:52,260 Already I can feel the wind changing and the Icelanders have a saying, 399 00:24:53,020 --> 00:24:55,340 "If you don't like the weather just wait five minutes 400 00:24:55,440 --> 00:24:57,980 and it will get a lot, lot worse." 401 00:25:09,080 --> 00:25:10,400 I am in the wilderness in Iceland. 402 00:25:11,140 --> 00:25:13,040 I am heading southwest direct of it 403 00:25:13,200 --> 00:25:15,380 but now there's a huge freezing river to cross. 404 00:25:16,400 --> 00:25:20,120 Another storm with 50 mile an hour Arctic winds has whipped up 405 00:25:20,300 --> 00:25:23,300 and the temperature has plummeted to minus 15 degrees. 406 00:25:24,400 --> 00:25:26,420 It is really blowing a hoolie here 407 00:25:27,180 --> 00:25:30,140 but I have got to get across this river, somehow. 408 00:25:30,360 --> 00:25:32,240 And this is not the narrowest part 409 00:25:32,420 --> 00:25:34,300 but it is the shallowest bit of the river 410 00:25:34,940 --> 00:25:36,400 and I can use it to my advantage. 411 00:25:37,080 --> 00:25:40,040 And you can see the rocks in it creating like these eddies, 412 00:25:40,080 --> 00:25:41,300 the slack water behind them. 413 00:25:41,980 --> 00:25:45,020 And I can use that to go from one to the next and then out. 414 00:25:45,280 --> 00:25:48,060 But this water is gonna be freezing cold, 415 00:25:48,100 --> 00:25:49,980 especially the wind chill factor. 416 00:25:50,120 --> 00:25:54,000 So I have got to do everything I can to make sure my clothes, 417 00:25:54,140 --> 00:25:56,420 especially my top half, stays dry. 418 00:25:59,140 --> 00:26:02,120 Soaking wet clothes in these conditions are lethal. 419 00:26:02,360 --> 00:26:04,080 So I am keeping my clothes dry 420 00:26:04,120 --> 00:26:06,300 by wrapping them in my waterproof jacket. 421 00:26:15,060 --> 00:26:17,140 I am facing up stream into the water. 422 00:26:17,320 --> 00:26:19,080 It's easier to keep my balance. 423 00:26:19,960 --> 00:26:21,300 I can't afford to slip here. 424 00:26:46,260 --> 00:26:49,280 Well, I am across and all of these clothes 425 00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:54,240 have actually stayed amazingly dry in that. 426 00:26:57,400 --> 00:27:00,940 And then what they used to say in the army, 427 00:27:01,280 --> 00:27:06,280 if we ever complain of being cold they would make us do burpees 428 00:27:08,060 --> 00:27:11,120 and 10 of these and you are warm again. 429 00:27:12,380 --> 00:27:13,960 Okay, I am on my way. 430 00:27:18,180 --> 00:27:19,220 After 15 minutes, 431 00:27:19,340 --> 00:27:22,300 the storm has disappeared as quickly as it arrived. 432 00:27:23,940 --> 00:27:25,380 I have spotted a forest in the distance. 433 00:27:26,240 --> 00:27:28,040 In Iceland, the poor soil, 434 00:27:28,080 --> 00:27:31,180 wind and temperature means trees are few and far between. 435 00:27:32,260 --> 00:27:33,360 But when you do find them, 436 00:27:33,960 --> 00:27:36,980 they are great for both shelter and wildlife. 437 00:27:37,120 --> 00:27:40,000 Hey, look at this. This is Ptarmigan feathers here. 438 00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:44,240 See this, all of this and Ptarmigan is like a, 439 00:27:44,280 --> 00:27:46,180 like a type of grouse but this is what they have, 440 00:27:46,220 --> 00:27:48,200 this white winter plumage. 441 00:27:48,300 --> 00:27:49,200 And what it does, look, 442 00:27:49,240 --> 00:27:52,000 it camouflages them well with the snow. 443 00:27:52,200 --> 00:27:54,980 And it's good news for me if there are Ptarmigans around. 444 00:27:55,020 --> 00:27:56,140 I might well be able to get one. 445 00:27:56,380 --> 00:27:59,080 Ptarmigan are known as snow chickens in the US 446 00:27:59,240 --> 00:28:01,040 because of their winter plumage 447 00:28:01,260 --> 00:28:04,160 and they feed on berries and seeds beneath the trees. 448 00:28:04,340 --> 00:28:07,300 This is, and this is kind of what I am looking for here. 449 00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:09,100 Look, a bit of a natural, 450 00:28:09,380 --> 00:28:13,200 a natural channel where Ptarmigans might well pass. 451 00:28:14,180 --> 00:28:18,080 So all I need to do is use one of my shoelaces. 452 00:28:21,940 --> 00:28:23,080 Just tie this end 453 00:28:24,080 --> 00:28:25,200 in a really simple... 454 00:28:27,100 --> 00:28:28,160 Little overhand knot 455 00:28:28,940 --> 00:28:30,320 that gives me a little loop. 456 00:28:31,160 --> 00:28:34,240 And then tie this end around the tree. 457 00:28:37,240 --> 00:28:40,080 And then just set this one in that side 458 00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:43,140 and drape that over here. 459 00:28:44,040 --> 00:28:46,940 And the idea is if a Ptarmigan comes along, 460 00:28:47,240 --> 00:28:48,180 goes through this, 461 00:28:49,120 --> 00:28:52,380 it will get snared in that and stuck to the tree. 462 00:28:53,940 --> 00:28:57,240 I will set several traps and hope that one will pay off by morning. 463 00:28:58,120 --> 00:29:01,940 My next priority is to find shelter and to build a fire. 464 00:29:02,240 --> 00:29:05,180 I am gonna make a traditional shelter used by the Vikings. 465 00:29:06,080 --> 00:29:07,100 And what I am doing here 466 00:29:07,960 --> 00:29:12,300 is just making a nice springy mattress. 467 00:29:13,220 --> 00:29:15,180 Then I will build up the walls with rocks, 468 00:29:15,240 --> 00:29:18,100 in the shape of a coffin, to trap the heat inside. 469 00:29:19,060 --> 00:29:21,000 This bit of the wall I have built higher 470 00:29:21,260 --> 00:29:24,260 so I can then put some branches over the top of this. 471 00:29:25,380 --> 00:29:29,340 And these dead branches have like a natural bow to them there, 472 00:29:30,100 --> 00:29:34,020 which means I can just drape them over the top 473 00:29:35,020 --> 00:29:37,320 and there is enough room under here for me to lie. 474 00:29:38,020 --> 00:29:40,320 Now, I just need to put some moss on top of here. 475 00:29:41,340 --> 00:29:43,020 This should be waterproof. 476 00:29:45,260 --> 00:29:48,320 Now, I am on the lookout for fuel for a nice warm fire. 477 00:29:49,200 --> 00:29:51,980 There are loads of these birch trees around here 478 00:29:52,260 --> 00:29:53,380 and these are what I am looking for. 479 00:29:53,420 --> 00:29:55,040 And I can tell they are birch just 480 00:29:55,080 --> 00:29:57,220 because of the way they are silver limbed. 481 00:29:57,340 --> 00:30:00,260 At this time of year in the winter all the leaves have fallen off 482 00:30:00,300 --> 00:30:03,240 but it is the leaves underneath them that I am after 483 00:30:04,140 --> 00:30:08,260 and these are gonna make good tinder for my fire. 484 00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:15,940 I am going to need loads of wood to keep me warm all night. 485 00:30:18,100 --> 00:30:21,120 I am just building up like a wall of rocks around it 486 00:30:21,160 --> 00:30:23,120 as well just to protect it 487 00:30:24,240 --> 00:30:25,380 and then keep building it up. 488 00:30:28,360 --> 00:30:31,420 For the first time since I dropped on to that glacier. 489 00:30:32,380 --> 00:30:35,300 I can just feel really nice warmth in my hands. 490 00:30:38,200 --> 00:30:39,160 Oh, it's nice. 491 00:30:42,100 --> 00:30:45,300 There is just about room for one pretty sleepy Bear. 492 00:30:50,360 --> 00:30:51,420 I hope it doesn't rain. 493 00:30:52,380 --> 00:30:54,240 Anyway, I need rest. 494 00:30:55,100 --> 00:30:58,000 So far I have coped with everything Iceland has thrown at me. 495 00:31:00,940 --> 00:31:04,160 But it's deadly lava tunnels might be the one thing that beats me. 496 00:31:04,400 --> 00:31:05,340 Oh, no. 497 00:31:05,940 --> 00:31:07,940 This has just got an awful lot harder. 498 00:31:19,260 --> 00:31:21,980 I've spent a cold night in my Viking shelter. 499 00:31:22,300 --> 00:31:26,020 Last night I set some traps and I am hoping I get lucky. 500 00:31:27,280 --> 00:31:29,080 Well, the sun's up at least 501 00:31:29,920 --> 00:31:32,400 and it was quite windy last night, you know. 502 00:31:33,220 --> 00:31:37,020 I spent a lot of the night trying to keep this fire going 503 00:31:37,060 --> 00:31:39,380 so I was burning through fuel much faster than I thought. 504 00:31:40,220 --> 00:31:43,000 So I want to build this up and then go and check, 505 00:31:43,360 --> 00:31:44,360 check my traps. 506 00:31:45,200 --> 00:31:47,180 Last night I laid traps for Ptarmigan, 507 00:31:47,360 --> 00:31:49,260 a type of grouse found in Iceland. 508 00:31:50,200 --> 00:31:54,940 No nothing, nothing in this. 509 00:31:56,360 --> 00:31:59,380 But you know, it's no great, no great surprise. 510 00:32:00,180 --> 00:32:03,380 You know, my past experience says realistically to get things 511 00:32:03,920 --> 00:32:07,260 in snares I need to set, you know, a really good number of these. 512 00:32:08,140 --> 00:32:11,060 But so much of survival is just about, you know, 513 00:32:11,100 --> 00:32:15,080 keep trying and having the energy to make these sort of things 514 00:32:15,120 --> 00:32:16,120 even when you are tired 515 00:32:16,160 --> 00:32:17,920 and you do not really feel like it, you know. 516 00:32:21,020 --> 00:32:23,300 But in trap number two, I get lucky. 517 00:32:27,220 --> 00:32:31,300 Well, that is the first Ptarmigan that I have ever caught. 518 00:32:32,080 --> 00:32:35,080 And I have caught grouse before but never Ptarmigan 519 00:32:35,960 --> 00:32:37,280 and this is really good news. 520 00:32:39,180 --> 00:32:40,060 Take it back to camp. 521 00:32:40,280 --> 00:32:41,920 I don't need to pluck this. 522 00:32:42,040 --> 00:32:43,020 There's a faster way. 523 00:32:43,180 --> 00:32:44,920 I just can't head and wings off 524 00:32:45,020 --> 00:32:46,360 and peel the skin of the breast back, 525 00:32:47,100 --> 00:32:48,960 Push there and all the skin will come off. 526 00:32:51,300 --> 00:32:52,980 And then just get my hands in 527 00:32:53,320 --> 00:32:57,200 and pull all of its guts all the way down to the back 528 00:33:00,100 --> 00:33:02,340 and peel all of this back. 529 00:33:03,200 --> 00:33:05,340 Oh, I can't wait to eat this. 530 00:33:08,020 --> 00:33:10,340 The Ptarmigan is a popular Christmas dish in Iceland 531 00:33:11,260 --> 00:33:12,920 but I'm not waiting that long. 532 00:33:13,100 --> 00:33:15,340 This one's gonna be ready in about 15 minutes. 533 00:33:21,360 --> 00:33:23,240 Look at that, all that dark meat, 534 00:33:25,060 --> 00:33:25,380 quite strong. 535 00:33:28,000 --> 00:33:31,180 Now, it's also, it is going to be really good energy 536 00:33:32,100 --> 00:33:36,200 and calories and I need both of those things at the moment. 537 00:33:38,980 --> 00:33:41,180 I am still heading on my southwest direction. 538 00:33:50,040 --> 00:33:53,260 Before long I get to one of the many ancient lava fields, 539 00:33:53,940 --> 00:33:56,000 that covers over 10 percent of Iceland. 540 00:33:56,980 --> 00:33:59,180 They're formed by volcanic eruptions 541 00:33:59,280 --> 00:34:02,120 when the molten rock cools and solidifies 542 00:34:02,280 --> 00:34:04,200 and they can be treacherous to cross. 543 00:34:04,380 --> 00:34:09,140 See here all of this lava fields just covered in this moss. 544 00:34:09,960 --> 00:34:15,120 And it's just making crossing it really slow, slow work. 545 00:34:15,160 --> 00:34:16,320 And also, I need to be careful just 546 00:34:16,360 --> 00:34:20,020 because it's hard to tell what the Moss is growing over. 547 00:34:20,060 --> 00:34:23,000 Whether it's like a halo or gap or solid rock. 548 00:34:24,040 --> 00:34:27,220 I mean, just too easy to twist an ankle in this stuff. 549 00:34:29,240 --> 00:34:31,940 Yeah. Look at this. Look see, all these little holes. 550 00:34:32,140 --> 00:34:33,220 That's what I'm talking about. 551 00:34:36,220 --> 00:34:39,160 The last volcanic eruption was in 2004 552 00:34:39,940 --> 00:34:42,060 but some of these lava fields are ancient, 553 00:34:42,200 --> 00:34:44,140 more than 7,000-years-old. 554 00:34:45,060 --> 00:34:48,120 And they hold a special place in Icelandic folklore. 555 00:34:49,220 --> 00:34:51,400 The idea of elves and trolls 556 00:34:52,200 --> 00:34:54,920 is really embedded in Icelandic culture. 557 00:34:55,280 --> 00:34:58,400 And they say about 50 percent of Icelanders 558 00:34:58,940 --> 00:35:02,340 still today believe in elves and trolls 559 00:35:02,380 --> 00:35:04,120 and they are meant to live in the rocks. 560 00:35:04,360 --> 00:35:06,020 And some are meant to be good 561 00:35:06,360 --> 00:35:09,020 and some are meant to more mischievous. 562 00:35:09,940 --> 00:35:12,960 I just hope it is the good ones looking after me out here. 563 00:35:16,020 --> 00:35:19,140 This lava field here is just full of these sort of caves 564 00:35:19,180 --> 00:35:23,320 and actually what this is, is actually an old lava tunnel. 565 00:35:23,980 --> 00:35:27,160 And this is where originally flowing molten red-hot lava 566 00:35:27,200 --> 00:35:28,940 would have been racing through this. 567 00:35:29,060 --> 00:35:30,280 And what happens when that's gone, 568 00:35:30,920 --> 00:35:32,340 it leaves behind these sort of tubes. 569 00:35:33,020 --> 00:35:35,240 But what I am really struggling with now I am off the glacier 570 00:35:35,380 --> 00:35:37,040 is finding fresh water. 571 00:35:37,300 --> 00:35:39,120 And, you know, all of this lava field, 572 00:35:39,160 --> 00:35:43,140 the exact translation into Icelandic is literally no water. 573 00:35:43,920 --> 00:35:46,000 But my best chance is to get in there 574 00:35:46,120 --> 00:35:48,100 and see if I can find some seeps coming through, 575 00:35:48,400 --> 00:35:50,100 through the walls, of fresh water. 576 00:35:52,040 --> 00:35:55,080 First of all, before I even think about getting in there, 577 00:35:55,320 --> 00:35:57,200 I have got to make some sort of torch. 578 00:35:58,000 --> 00:35:59,080 Yeah, it is pitch black. 579 00:36:01,960 --> 00:36:03,380 I can make a torch out of some twigs 580 00:36:04,020 --> 00:36:05,960 and the fat I saved from the dead sheep. 581 00:36:07,260 --> 00:36:09,260 Get down here out of the wind. 582 00:36:11,200 --> 00:36:13,220 The cave water is filtered through the rock. 583 00:36:13,340 --> 00:36:16,160 So it will be a lot purer than the outlying snow, 584 00:36:16,200 --> 00:36:18,000 which can be full of bacteria. 585 00:36:19,160 --> 00:36:24,260 Okay, now what I need is just a bit of the material from my t-shirt. 586 00:36:28,080 --> 00:36:30,280 And I have got some of this sheep's fat, 587 00:36:30,400 --> 00:36:33,180 wrap this round like so, 588 00:36:34,280 --> 00:36:39,000 take this bit of T-shirt and then tie that round it. 589 00:36:40,980 --> 00:36:43,220 Now, if I can just get a little fire going, 590 00:36:43,300 --> 00:36:45,280 that fat will burn really bright. 591 00:36:50,240 --> 00:36:51,300 Try and get this going. 592 00:36:54,380 --> 00:36:55,280 Okay, let's go. 593 00:36:59,120 --> 00:37:03,160 But I need to be really careful because all of this is fragile 594 00:37:04,080 --> 00:37:04,360 and sharp! 595 00:37:05,960 --> 00:37:07,260 That's why I am gonna need my gloves in here. 596 00:37:08,100 --> 00:37:11,120 Iceland has an average 33 earthquakes a day 597 00:37:11,380 --> 00:37:14,180 and any one of those could collapse this tube. 598 00:37:14,380 --> 00:37:15,400 I have gotta be quick. 599 00:37:16,220 --> 00:37:19,940 What I am looking for is just a good source of dripping water. 600 00:37:24,140 --> 00:37:28,300 This roof is just getting lower and lower now, which I don't like. 601 00:37:33,340 --> 00:37:35,940 Look, and that's why, look. You see that? 602 00:37:36,160 --> 00:37:40,280 All of this part of the ceiling here has just collapsed. 603 00:37:40,360 --> 00:37:43,080 Oh, no, it's a bad time for the torch to come apart. 604 00:37:47,080 --> 00:37:48,920 Come on. If this goes out I am in real trouble. 605 00:37:50,040 --> 00:37:53,020 There you go, look, you can just see all of this stuff here 606 00:37:53,060 --> 00:37:54,060 is where it has collapsed. 607 00:37:54,260 --> 00:37:56,280 And this is why these places are so dangerous. 608 00:37:57,060 --> 00:38:00,200 I want to get water and get out of here as quick as I can. 609 00:38:11,980 --> 00:38:15,000 I'm in a lava tube in Iceland searching for water 610 00:38:15,260 --> 00:38:17,320 but my torch is dying fast. 611 00:38:19,000 --> 00:38:22,120 There's a little seep of water coming through the rock here 612 00:38:23,020 --> 00:38:24,280 and this is good enough to drink. 613 00:38:29,200 --> 00:38:32,000 Yeah, that is as, as good as I am going to get around here. 614 00:38:33,040 --> 00:38:33,960 Oh, that's nice. 615 00:38:35,940 --> 00:38:37,240 I now have a full water bottle. 616 00:38:37,920 --> 00:38:39,260 I just want to get out of this lava tube 617 00:38:40,120 --> 00:38:41,200 before this fire dies. 618 00:38:46,240 --> 00:38:49,200 I have to do the rest of this in the dark if this goes out 619 00:38:49,920 --> 00:38:51,920 and that is not what I want. Look, it's gone. 620 00:38:52,320 --> 00:38:53,160 Oh, no. 621 00:38:54,240 --> 00:38:58,000 I am forced to do the last 200 yards in darkness. 622 00:39:05,280 --> 00:39:07,980 But at last I've made it to the cave exit. 623 00:39:08,260 --> 00:39:10,080 I'm at the edge of the lava fields 624 00:39:10,380 --> 00:39:13,940 but I will still need all my energy to cross the vast plains 625 00:39:13,980 --> 00:39:15,040 that stretch in front of me. 626 00:39:16,240 --> 00:39:18,180 Just when I want to get some real distance. 627 00:39:18,380 --> 00:39:20,960 A 50 miles an hour wind closes in. 628 00:39:27,300 --> 00:39:30,900 And this wind just suddenly whipped up from nothing 629 00:39:31,240 --> 00:39:32,300 in about half an hour 630 00:39:33,180 --> 00:39:37,920 and it's just like making progress almost impossible. 631 00:39:38,940 --> 00:39:40,060 This is probably gusting... 632 00:39:43,200 --> 00:39:47,080 It's probably gusting like 50, 60 miles an hour. 633 00:39:47,340 --> 00:39:48,360 And what it does, 634 00:39:50,380 --> 00:39:51,340 is just whip up, 635 00:39:52,380 --> 00:39:56,060 whip up the sand and blast it into your face, 636 00:39:56,100 --> 00:39:57,040 all the pebbles. 637 00:39:57,280 --> 00:39:59,960 And, look, if I try to lean into this wind. 638 00:40:04,160 --> 00:40:05,260 That's how strong it is. 639 00:40:22,920 --> 00:40:23,320 Hey. Get down here. 640 00:40:26,020 --> 00:40:30,240 This is, this is actually a kettle hole in this black sand desert. 641 00:40:31,920 --> 00:40:33,160 This gives me a chance to get out of the wind. 642 00:40:33,200 --> 00:40:36,360 Look, you notice just like two foot under the surface 643 00:40:37,220 --> 00:40:40,220 and already I can already hear myself think again 644 00:40:41,020 --> 00:40:44,060 and the wind is still screaming, screaming over my head here. 645 00:40:44,960 --> 00:40:46,180 These are just a brilliant find, 646 00:40:46,960 --> 00:40:49,260 give me a chance just to maybe sit here, 647 00:40:49,300 --> 00:40:51,340 wait a while and see if this wind is going to ease up. 648 00:40:53,960 --> 00:40:56,280 I take the chance just to sit it out and rest. 649 00:40:59,340 --> 00:41:02,920 But storms like these have been known to last for weeks, 650 00:41:03,100 --> 00:41:04,360 so I am forced to keep going. 651 00:41:17,920 --> 00:41:20,020 I am on what Icelanders call the Sandur. 652 00:41:20,320 --> 00:41:24,900 It stretches for over 100 miles down to the coast and can be treacherous. 653 00:41:26,900 --> 00:41:31,980 All of this area here is just now vast black sand plain 654 00:41:32,240 --> 00:41:36,160 and it's that dangerous combination of loose sand and water. 655 00:41:36,980 --> 00:41:38,940 And it's been known in the past literally 656 00:41:38,980 --> 00:41:41,160 to swallow up men and horses. 657 00:41:41,380 --> 00:41:44,960 And there is something, something eerie about this place. 658 00:41:46,340 --> 00:41:50,900 But the way to cross this is to just to aim always for the higher ground, 659 00:41:51,020 --> 00:41:53,900 you know, watch out for the shallower depressions 660 00:41:54,040 --> 00:41:55,160 that are going to be boggier. 661 00:41:55,300 --> 00:41:57,180 And if you do find yourself in those, 662 00:41:57,340 --> 00:42:01,040 you have got to back away and go around to the higher ground. 663 00:42:02,000 --> 00:42:05,240 Otherwise I could find myself waist deep in quicksand. 664 00:42:08,280 --> 00:42:12,120 In the past, Icelandic sailors were unaware of the deadly hazards 665 00:42:12,160 --> 00:42:15,360 of the black sands and many perished whilst coming ashore. 666 00:42:17,060 --> 00:42:18,900 I do not know if you can see on that horizon, 667 00:42:19,140 --> 00:42:20,320 over the black sands there, 668 00:42:21,000 --> 00:42:22,280 I can see some pylons. 669 00:42:23,000 --> 00:42:24,300 And it's kind of hard to see in the sun 670 00:42:24,340 --> 00:42:27,020 but those are definitely electricity pylons 671 00:42:27,060 --> 00:42:30,080 and I am hoping the other side of that might well be the road. 672 00:42:37,260 --> 00:42:38,280 There is no doubting it. 673 00:42:38,940 --> 00:42:40,080 It is a coastal highway 674 00:42:40,380 --> 00:42:44,100 and from here I will be able to catch a lift back to Reykjavik. 675 00:42:44,380 --> 00:42:46,220 And that is the end of my journey. 676 00:42:47,040 --> 00:42:49,360 And really, you know, winter in Iceland, 677 00:42:50,100 --> 00:42:54,040 this land of Fire and Ice has just shown me Mother Nature 678 00:42:54,220 --> 00:42:55,260 at her most raw. 679 00:42:56,140 --> 00:43:00,320 And it has been extreme high winds and extreme low temperatures 680 00:43:01,080 --> 00:43:04,300 and really it has pushed me to my limits. 681 00:43:33,960 --> 00:43:35,900 Subtitle Caption by ZestCorp