Diving Crown of the Earth

The highest peaks on each of the continents are called the Crown of the Earth. For many mountaineers, reaching this crown is a dream come true and a life goal. However, we will not talk about climbing (although without it the whole action would not be possible). Under the slogan “Diving Crown of the Earth” there is a project in which a Pole – Kamil Iwankiewicz, together with a group of his friends, crosses the continent after continent, diving in all the highest lakes on each of the 7 continents.

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In 2009. The group carried out 2 expeditions. During the first one, to Bolivia and Chile, Kamil managed to dive in the lake Licancabur, located at an altitude of 5900m. Carried on the wings of success, our compatriots went to Italy the same year and dived into Lake Matscherjochsee at 3185m.

The year 2010 starts well and brings a successful expedition to Mexico, where Kamil conducts a dive in the Lake of the Sun, located at an altitude of 4200m. This is already the third continent, which is conquered within the project “Diving Crown of the Earth”. After South America, Europe and North America, the next target is Asia. Unfortunately, unforeseen circumstances stop the group and the year 2011 brings no further expeditions.

Spring 2012 is the moment when another expedition sets off. The goal is Asia, and more precisely Lake Hongu East in the Himalayas – 5400m.a.s.l. On the occasion of this dive, which has been planned for a depth of 50m! a new world record is to be broken. Kamil and his friends will set off on 23 April to reach the 4th summit and cross the halfway point of the project.

Yesterday I received the following email from him:

“Hi, we made it! Yesterday we came back in one piece, even though, as usual, we had plenty of adventures. Confronted with the conditions, not everything went as we planned, but we managed to break the world record! A depth of 36m at an altitude of 5270m. The weather was terrible and the conditions worse than bad (-20°C and continuous, heavy snowfall). Visibility under water 10cm! I had to swim with my hand stretched out in front of me so that an accidental stone would not break my mask. The equipment worked great, I will send photos soon. Today I weigh 68 kg and I can barely stand on my feet. As soon as I recover a bit I will write more! Best regards! Kamil”.

Exhausted and weakened, but happy and safe, Kamil returned and began his recovery. It will take him a while to recover, but it is not the first time. This year, the team is planning the 5th expedition, the aim of which will be Antarctica and diving at 550m.a.s.l. Before that, however, it will be time to summarize and share impressions from Asia.

To whet your appetites and get you in the right mood, we have an interview with Kamil, conducted on 22 April in Gdańsk. We managed to talk to him in the headquarters of a local diving company Ocean Tech, which is one of the sponsors of the expedition and provided Kamil with a dry suit, camera housing, some lighting and servicing of the scuba machines for the expedition. Stay tuned for the interview tomorrow only on Divers24!

You can find out more about the whole project in the dedicated website.

Photo: Kamil Iwankiewicz Extreme Adventure