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Canada's Molly Carlson climbs onto an iceberg, dives into freezing Atlantic Ocean: ‘Scariest thing I’ve ever done’
Before attempting the daring leap, Molly Carlson had to master climbing an iceberg, a precarious structure that can suddenly roll over.
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Canadian high diver Molly Carlson has taken extreme sports to new heights by leaping off a massive iceberg into the freezing Atlantic Ocean. Off the coast of Newfoundland, the athlete scaled the slick, icy natural structure before executing a dive into icy waters clad in a wetsuit.
“From cliff diving to ICEBERG diving?! @mollycarlson1 just made history as the first woman to dive from an iceberg!” Redbull wrote while sharing a video capturing Carlson’s daring feat. She completed the project in collaboration with Red Bull Cliff Diving, an annual global championship of extreme high diving founded in 2009 by the Austrian company that manufactures energy drinks.
The video captures Carlson climbing onto an iceberg with her instructor, Will Gadd, a paraglider pilot and renowned Canadian climber. She then stands right at the edge of the structure and jumps into the freezing water.
“Icebergs are incredibly dangerous,” Carlson explained in her new documentary published on YouTube. She added, “This is definitely the scariest thing I’ve ever done.”
Why did she do it?
“There’s something really powerful about an iceberg,” the adventurer explained. “You only see the small part above the surface while so much is hidden underneath. I think in many ways the same is true for our anxieties and our fears.”
Explaining her reason behind the feat, she continued, “I'm doing this for all the people that might be scared to show what's under the surface.”
Learning to climb an iceberg:
Carlson explained that though she was determined to jump from an iceberg, she first had to learn how to climb it. That is when she met Gadd, one of Canada’s most accomplished ice climbers. He taught her the basics of ice climbing, including “how to use crampons and ice tools, how to move safely up a frozen wall and how to build confidence on ice.”
Revealing what made iceberg climbing extremely dangerous, Gadd said, “The biggest hazard is that icebergs can roll over. When they roll over, it’s super violent.”
Carlson, however, managed to learn it and also found the perfect natural structure for her feat with help of Gadd and other team members.
The historic dive:
In a statement, Redbull wrote, “Carlson completed a near-15m backwards dive into the icy water, becoming the first woman to dive from a free-standing iceberg.”
How did it feel?
The athlete said that the freezing water hit her instantly. She recalled, “I remember coming up out of the water and thinking, ‘Swim! You've got to get away.’”
“For sure, the best day of my life,” she said. Reflecting on her journey for this feat, she added, “You have hard days, you might be anxious, you might be scared, you might have so much fear. But at the end of the day, to show yourself that you can do really cool things is really special, so I’m really proud.”
