The Greenland ice sheet is the second largest body of ice in the world, with only the Antarctic sheet eclipsing its monstrous stretch of frozen water. It covers more than 80% of Greenland itself — stretching over 660,235 square miles. Crossing the seemingly inexorable expanse of white and cold on foot is a prodigious undertaking, but that didn’t stop Akshay Nanavati from making the trek.

On April 16, Nanavati and his group landed at the Kangerlussuaq airport before taking a bus an hour and half to their base camp on the western edge at Point 660. From there they set off to spend a month camping and skiing over 340 miles east. Average temperatures hovered below freezing and on one of the last nights of the journey, they encountered a 36-hour storm. After waiting it out, however, they reached the finish line, completing one of the world’s three major polar expeditions.

Here at The Adrenalist, we salute Nanavati, his team and all bold adventurers like them. Whenever you think something’s impossible, remember there are people all over the world overcoming all manner of obstacles. They’re just not all 340 miles of ice.

Cover Photo Credit: christine zenino – flickr.com