In July, a group of 82 Royal LePage agents and broker/owners from across Canada traveled across the North Atlantic Ocean to take part in the Iceland Challenge for Shelter. Modeled after the Shelter Foundation’s first international trekking fundraiser in 2015 to Machu Picchu in Peru, the Iceland Challenge for Shelter required participants to raise a minimum of $5,000 and cover their own travel costs. They also committed to improving their level of fitness to prepare for the physical demands of the trek, which many anticipated to be a strenuous 100-km hike on relatively flat ground. They quickly found out about their true task.
It was a 115-km trek over five days across some of Iceland’s most scenic but gruelling terrain. Participants hiked over sand, rock, lava fields and snowy glaciers. They climbed and descended steep hills, braved narrow passes and rickety bridges, and walked through icy rivers with water up to their thighs. They camped in tents they pitched themselves each night, did without daily showers, and turned off their cell phones for five straight days.
Iceland Challenge for Shelter trekkers celebrate the end of their 115-km journey and more than $655,000 raised for the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation.
Royal LePage president Phil Soper and Royal LePage Shelter Foundation staff Shanan Spencer-Brown and Carly Neill took part in the trek.
“When we first launched the Iceland Challenge for Shelter, we knew there would be great interest in this event. However, we couldn’t have predicted how successful our trekkers would be with their fundraising efforts or how strongly they would bond with each other during the journey,” says Soper.
Throughout the trek, participants demonstrated courage, perseverance in the face of pain and exhaustion and showed great kindness to one another, says Royal LePage. Trekkers shared gear, carried each other’s backpacks and helped one another through dehydration, injury and emotional lows. They cheered for those who thought they couldn’t walk another step, gave hugs to those shedding a few tears, and offered love and support to each other as the team got closer to completing the trek. Along the way, they were rewarded with sights of raw beauty including rushing waterfalls, majestic volcanoes and galloping Icelandic horses.
“I was in awe of the level of commitment our trekkers displayed when faced with hiking extremely long distances, experiencing exhaustion, extreme heights at times and often punishing terrain. They pushed themselves to the limits and they supported each other,” says Spencer-Brown.
The group collected more than $655,000 for the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation, making the Iceland Challenge for Shelter the charity’s largest fundraiser of all time. All the proceeds will be directed to the women’s shelter in each trekker’s community and to national initiatives to break the cycle of family violence in Canada.
A collection of photos taken by the trekkers can be found on Flickr here.
