PORTLAND, Oregon - Explorer Cameron McPherson Smith (36) will return to Iceland in February 2004 for his fourth attempt at crossing its largest ice cap alone on foot in winter. Smith will travel on ski, pulling a 'sled-hut' filled with supplies on an unsupported, 200-mile trek.

Smith is the only person to have attempted the voyage. His first three attempts, from 2000 to 2002, were defeated by hurricane-force winds, miles of open crevasses and high snowfall.

'The wind blew me down a valley, the crevasses nearly swallowed me whole and the snow buried me alive,' Smith says, 'but I have learned how to survive on that ice cap.' Smith's 'sled-hut' is a seven foot long plastic shell riding on skis. The upper shell opens on a hinge so Smith can camp inside. 'Tents blow away, burn and are hard to handle in winter storms on the ice cap,' Smith says, 'and the wind is berserk up there.'. The ice cap plateau is about a mile (1,500m) high.

Dangers on the trek include hypothermia, frostbite, crevasses and winter gales which have blown research huts off the ice cap. Halldor Kvaran, President of the Icelandic Alpine Club, said, 'We went back one summer and the hut from last year had disappeared'. A final danger is the active volcanoes under the ice sheet. Their eruptions blast enormous chasms in the ice. 'Frankly there is a lot to be worried about,' Smith says, 'but I'm very excited to get back because I thrive on challenge and it is a literally awesome place to try to survive.'. Smith's training includes dragging a 200lb log in a local park.

Smith, an archaeologist, is a lecturer at Portland State University and Linfield College. He is a Life Fellow of London's prestigious Royal Geographical Society and has participated in expeditions to Africa, South America, Alaska, Canada and Iceland. His expedition (soloice.com) is sponsored by the Earth and Space Foundation and outdoor gear manufacturers Patagonia and Outdoor Research, among others.

Contact: Cameron Smith at: team@soloice.com
503-224-9522