High Diving
Brave and Bold: Molly Carlson Becomes First Woman to Dive From An Iceberg
A floating iceberg in the North Atlantic Ocean off Canada’s coast, years of planning, and one leap into the unknown. Here's how Molly Carlson and Will Gadd turned an impossible idea into reality.
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Red Bull Iceberg Dive at a Glance:
- Athletes: Molly Carlson and Will Gadd
- Historic Achievement: Molly Carlson achieved a world-first as the first woman to dive from an iceberg
- Location: Twillingate, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada (North Atlantic Ocean); Canmore, Alberta, Canada
- Year: 2026
- Discipline: High Diving, Cliff Diving, Ice Climbing
- Iceberg Height: Approximately 15 metres
- Project Led By: Red Bull Canada
- Safety: Ocean Quest, Canadian Coast Guard, Crosby Marine
The iceberg was moving. Not dramatically, and not enough to stop what was about to happen, but enough to remind everyone aboard the boat that this wasn't a normal dive or a normal climbing objective.
Just off the coast of Twillingate, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, Molly Carlson sat at the front of an inflatable boat, her eyes fixed on Will Gadd as he prepared to step from the deck onto an iceberg floating in the North Atlantic Ocean. Waves rolled beneath them while bergy bits drifted through the water, and every so often the ice groaned and crackled, a reminder that the environment surrounding them was constantly shifting.
Years of planning, months of preparation, and several days of searching had led to this moment. The project always sounded unbelievable and, even now, staring up at the towering wall of ice that might finally make it possible, it still felt more like a dream than reality.
But that feeling was about to disappear.
If Gadd could safely step onto the iceberg, assess the conditions and establish a route to the summit, there would be no more wondering whether the project would actually happen. The search would be over, the climb would begin, and Carlson would be next.
"If Will gets on this iceberg," she remembers thinking, "then I'm diving."
Molly Carlson can’t stop smiling after her iceberg dive in Canada
© Jake Dicks
As she watched him move from the boat onto the ice, the full weight of what lay ahead finally settled in. Her heart was racing as radios crackled with updates and crew members monitored weather conditions, camera positions and safety systems, while Gadd methodically assessed the ice and began the process of establishing a route to the top.
Here was an athlete who had spent much of her life preparing for high-pressure moments yet had never faced one with so many variables beyond her control. What happened next would become one of the most memorable accomplishments of both Carlson's and Gadd's careers.
But the story didn't begin on an iceberg off the coast of Newfoundland in Canada. It began years earlier with an idea so improbable that it initially felt more like a joke than a serious proposal.
01
When the Impossible Became a Possibility: The Origin of Molly Carlson's Iceberg Dive
When Molly Carlson first joined the Red Bull athlete family, conversations naturally turned toward future projects. The goal wasn't simply to find another location or another dive, but something uniquely Canadian that would stand out in a sport where athletes have already launched themselves from an astonishing variety of platforms and landmarks around the world.
That challenge wasn't an easy one and as Carlson quickly pointed out, Red Bull has spent decades pushing the limits of what's possible: "Every hot air balloon, airplane, you name it, we've done it."
Then came the suggestion that would eventually set everything in motion: what about an iceberg?
Carlson's reaction was immediate. "Are you crazy? I will not be the test dummy for that." She laughed. Everyone laughed. The idea sounded ridiculous, but it was also difficult to ignore. Curious, Carlson reached out to legendary Red Bull diver Orlando Duque, who became the first person to dive from an iceberg in Antarctica in 2018.
Molly, if there's one project that changed my life, it was diving off an iceberg.
"I remember messaging him back in 2023, like, 'Was this fun? Should I try to bring this to Canada and be the first woman to dive off an iceberg?' And he was like, 'Molly, if there's one project that changed my life, it was diving off an iceberg.'"
His response stayed with her. She remembered thinking, "Holy shit, like, I would love to make this happen, but no way it's gonna happen, right?"
At the time, it felt more like a bucket list dream than a realistic project, but what Carlson didn't realize was that behind the scenes Red Bull Canada continued exploring the possibility. There was just one catch: before she'd ever consider stepping onto an iceberg, there was one person Carlson knew she needed involved.
Will Gadd.
A teacher and a guide: Will Gadd led the world-first iceberg dive mission
© Mason Mashon
02
Building Trust Before the Dream: Why Molly Carlson Chose Will Gadd
Carlson and Gadd couldn't come from more different athletic backgrounds.
Carlson has spent her career pursuing perfection through repetition, refining every dive through hundreds of attempts. Gadd, meanwhile, built a career in environments where certainty rarely exists and success depends on adapting to constantly changing conditions.
Despite those differences, Carlson was adamant from the beginning that if an iceberg dive was going to happen, Gadd needed to be involved.
At the time, the two had never met. Carlson knew him only through his reputation, but that was enough. If she was going to step into an environment she knew nothing about, she wanted someone beside her who wouldn't sugarcoat the reality of what they were facing.
Will Gadd and Molly Carlson are gearing up to climb a 15-meter iceberg
© Jake Dicks
"He's almost my dad in this story. He's the one keeping me safe. He's the one teaching me. He's the one making sure I understand what we're getting into." She laughs when she says it, but the sentiment is genuine. To Carlson, Gadd represented trust and she knew he would tell her when something was possible and, more importantly, when it wasn't.
Learn more about Molly Carlson
For Gadd, that responsibility felt enormous. Unlike other ambitious projects, there was no way to completely eliminate the danger. "Personally, I have no interest in climbing on icebergs again. They are really f***ing dangerous," he reflected. In fact, he wasn't initially convinced the project should happen at all.
But the challenge wasn't convincing Gadd that an iceberg dive would be exciting. It was convincing him that it could be approached responsibly.
Will Gadd eyeing the iceberg from the boat
© Jake Dicks
Before committing, he needed confidence that Carlson understood exactly what she was signing up for. Over several days of training in Canmore, Alberta, he evaluated not only her ability to move safely on ice but also her willingness to have honest conversations about risk and uncertainty.
The more time they spent together, the more convinced he became. Carlson wasn't treating the project like a stunt. She genuinely wanted to understand the environment, the risks, and what would be required to navigate them safely.
That was one of the first building blocks in the trust that would eventually carry both athletes onto the iceberg.
03
Learning to Get Comfortable with the Uncomfortable
If Newfoundland would become the project's proving ground, Canmore became its foundation.
Carlson arrived in Alberta knowing she was stepping into unfamiliar territory. One of the most accomplished cliff divers in the world suddenly found herself surrounded by ropes, tools, crampons and terminology she'd never encountered before.
"I didn't even know what a crampon was. I really just wear a swimsuit. That's it. I don't do equipment," she laughed. The self-deprecating humour was classic Molly, but the learning curve was real.
I didn't even know what a crampon was.
Over three days of training, Gadd quickly realized he wasn't working with an ordinary beginner, saying, "I've only worked with a few people in my life as coachable as her." Carlson absorbed information quickly, but what impressed Gadd most was her desire to understand not just the techniques, but the environment and risks that came with them.
As hours on the ice turned into days, the conversations became just as valuable as the climbing. Hanging from frozen ice walls, the pair found themselves discussing fear, uncertainty, mental health and the way athletes process risk. What began as technical training gradually became something more personal.
“It was therapy on the ice wall. The only time my brain shuts up is when I leap off the platform," Carlson reflected. For someone who openly lives with anxiety, that kind of silence was rare and Gadd immediately recognized it.
After one climb, he looked at her and said: "Tell me you just had ten full minutes of silence in your brain." She had. For ten uninterrupted minutes, there were no distractions, no overthinking and no endless chain of what-ifs, only the ice, the next move and the present moment.
Molly Carlson, moments before turning the impossible into reality
© Jake Dicks
04
What Lies Beneath the Surface
As preparations continued, Carlson found herself thinking about the iceberg as more than a diving platform. To her, it became a symbol.
"The iceberg represented so much more than diving. You only see 10 percent of the iceberg on the surface. People can be struggling under the surface and people can have so much more going on than what they show. I felt like this project represented that perfectly," she reflected with pride. "I'm doing this for all the people that might be scared to show what's under the surface."
I'm doing this for all the people that might be scared to show what's under the surface.
The metaphor resonated deeply with Carlson, who has openly discussed her experiences with anxiety. For Gadd, that honesty became one of the things he admired most about Carlson, saying, "What Molly is really good at is sharing her mental journey and experiences and inspiring other people."
The project started to become a story about facing uncertainty instead of hiding from it, and Newfoundland was about to put that to the test.
05
Safety Was Paramount: Ocean Quest, Crosby Marine and the Search for the Right Iceberg
Long before anyone set foot in Newfoundland, the project demanded a level of planning unlike anything either athlete had been involved in before. Icebergs drift with ocean currents and weather conditions can shift rapidly, making access to potential dive locations dependant on factors that can be assessed only once a team is on the water.
To help navigate those challenges, Red Bull assembled a group of specialists with deep experience operating in Newfoundland's marine environment. Ocean Quest brought expertise in offshore expeditions and iceberg operations, helping evaluate potential objectives and monitor changing conditions.
Crosby Marine provided marine support and logistical coordination, while collaboration with the Canadian Coast Guard helped ensure appropriate safety procedures and communication protocols were established throughout the project.
Will Gadd had to establish a safe route up the iceberg first
© Mason Mashon
For more than 30 years I have worked around icebergs, and the only thing you can count on is their unpredictability.
And the work extended far beyond finding a suitable iceberg: water depth, weather windows, vessel positioning, emergency response planning and access routes all needed to be considered before any climb or dive could move forward.
“For more than 30 years I have worked around icebergs, and the only thing you can count on is their unpredictability,” said Rick Stanley of Ocean Quest.
Even with that preparation, nobody involved approached the project with the expectation of certainty. In an environment defined by constant change, that simply wasn't possible. Instead, the focus remained on bringing together the right people, the right expertise and the right processes to make informed decisions every step of the way.
06
Where Fear Gives Way to Flow
For days, Carlson and Gadd searched Newfoundland's coastline for what increasingly felt like an impossible objective: an iceberg with the right height, the right water depth, the right climbing route and the right stability. What Molly had jokingly started calling "the unicorn."
Then, almost overnight, the unicorn appeared.
An iceberg the team had previously dismissed suddenly flipped, revealing a natural platform that seemed almost too perfect to be real. As Ocean Quest assessed conditions from the water, Gadd prepared to become the first person to step onto the iceberg while Carlson sat in the boat watching it all unfold.
Will Gadd and Molly Carlson assess the iceberg they're about to climb
© Mason Mashon
For months, the project had existed as an idea and a possibility. But if Gadd successfully stepped onto the iceberg, there would be no more hypotheticals. "If Will gets on this iceberg, I'm diving," Carlson remembered thinking.
As she watched him move from the boat onto the ice, the full weight of the moment hit her. "My heart rate was probably at 900. I was frozen."
But the radios, cameras and activity around her seemed to disappear as her focus narrowed entirely to Gadd. "There was no part of me that was like, 'I'm not diving.' Like, I knew as soon as Will got on, it was happening."
As he worked his way up the iceberg, Carlson studied everything he did. "I had to watch his every move. I was staring at Will the whole time. I was like, 'I know I'm next. I need to lock in.'"
One last sip for Molly Carlson before taking the leap of a lifetime
© Jake Dicks
By the time Gadd climbed back down and extended a hand toward her, the nervous energy she'd been carrying all morning had transformed into something much more familiar. "As soon as we get closer, Will reaches out his hand and I'm about to jump on this iceberg. Flow state. Boom." The change was immediate and she knew it. "My feet hit the iceberg and I am locked in."
Carlson still remembers the contrast: "The way I almost panicked on the boat, because I wasn't doing anything, I was just stuck there waiting. But then as soon as I'm on it, it was pure joy. Pure in the moment."
The consequences were still real but once she stepped onto the iceberg, the waiting was over.
Will stepping on the iceberg for the first time
© Mason Mashon
07
From Flow State to Flight and a World-First Iceberg Dive
For all the complexity that came before it, the final moments unfolded surprisingly quickly. One minute, Carlson was sitting in the boat trying to steady her breathing. The next, she was standing beside Gadd on a floating iceberg in the middle of the North Atlantic, beginning the climb they had spent months preparing for.
As they worked their way upward, the tension that had consumed her from the boat gave way to exhilaration. At one point, Gadd encouraged her to drive her crampons into a wall of deep blue ice, telling her to "wait for the sound." When the steel bit into the surface, the response echoed through the iceberg itself. Later, Carlson would describe it as "a sound that could crack the earth."
Will Gadd is making a route to climb to the summit of the iceberg
© Mason Mashon
The higher they climbed, the more surreal the experience became. At times, both athletes found themselves laughing at the sheer absurdity of the situation. As Carlson recalled, "We're literally climbing the side of this f***ing iceberg and we're laughing." But the reality of where they were never stayed far away.
Looking down from one of the steeper sections of the climb, she suddenly felt the full exposure beneath her feet. "There was one moment where I looked down and felt the severity of it," she said. "I was like, 'Oh wow. This is way more intense than I thought.'"
Eventually the angle eased and the summit came into view. Waiting there was a small wooden platform Gadd had designed in his garage months earlier and carried to the top of the iceberg himself. For Carlson, who had spent years imagining what this project might look like, the sight of it against the backdrop of the North Atlantic felt almost impossible to believe. Looking out across the ocean, with white foam swirling around the base of the iceberg below, she remembered thinking, "This is what I've always dreamed of."
Will Gadd leads the way up the iceberg, with Molly Carlson close behind
© Mason Mashon
Nearby, Gadd was taking in the same scene: the boats, the drones, the ocean stretching to the horizon and the athlete standing on a platform he had built with his own hands. Looking around, he couldn't help but say exactly what he was thinking: "This is the coolest day of my life." With the search finally over and the climb behind them, all that remained was the dive.
Before that, though, there was one final reminder that this was still Molly Carlson. As she removed her helmet, crampons, shoes and socks, she paused to fix her ponytail, later laughing that she was thinking, "I'm not doing this without perfect hair." Gadd's response was immediate. "You're so dramatic. I love it."
A few moments later, the joking gave way to focus. "Have a safe dive. I'll see you at the bottom," Gadd told her as she stepped toward the edge of the platform.
Am I about to nail a backflip off a moving iceberg? Like, no way this is happening.
The iceberg shifted beneath her feet, forcing her to reset and adjust to its movement. Drawing on years of experience competing in difficult conditions on the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series, she waited for the right moment, then committed.
Launching into a backflip rather than the front-flip variation she had originally imagined, Carlson remembers a single thought crossing her mind as she left the platform: "Am I about to nail a backflip off a moving iceberg? Like, no way this is happening."
Explore the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series
As she rotated through the air, every movement felt right, and even before she entered the water she knew she nailed the takeoff.
Molly Carlson takes the leap from an iceberg floating in the North Atlantic
© Mason Mashon
The shock of the near-freezing water hit instantly, followed by relief. She surfaced smiling, but there was little time to celebrate. The iceberg still towered behind her, shifting with the movement of the ocean, and her first instinct was survival. "I remember coming up out of the water and thinking, 'Swim! You've got to get away.'" Laughing through the adrenaline, she immediately put distance between herself and the ice before finally allowing herself to process what had happened.
As cheers erupted from the boats below, Gadd watched from above with what he would later describe as one of the greatest feelings of relief in his life. "She absolutely nailed it," he said. "That was a damn good dive."
Even then, neither athlete considered the project finished. As Carlson climbed back into the boat, tears beginning to form in her eyes, her thoughts immediately turned back to her climbing partner. "The project isn't over until Will is safe," she remembered thinking.
Moments later, a large section of the iceberg broke away from the opposite side as Gadd removed ropes and prepared to descend. The safety crew sprang into action and, after a day spent balancing ambition with uncertainty, the urgency that followed the project from the beginning returned one final time.
Only once Gadd safely reached the rescue boat did the tension finally release. After years of imagining it, months of preparing for it, and days of wondering whether the opportunity would ever come, the two embraced and allowed themselves to acknowledge what they had accomplished.
"We did the impossible."
Molly preparing for flight
© Mason Mashon
Molly taking flight from the iceberg
© Mason Mashon
Will Gadd celebrating from the top of the iceberg
© Mason Mashon
Will Gadd securing the dive platform
© Mason Mashon
08
The Iceberg Might Disappear, But the Lesson Remains
The following morning, the iceberg was gone. The same iceberg that flipped overnight and transformed itself into the perfect dive platform had broken apart and drifted back into the Atlantic, leaving only scattered fragments behind.
Looking back, Carlson doesn't talk about becoming the first woman to dive from an iceberg. Instead, she returns to what the project came to represent, saying, "I'm doing this for all the people that might be scared to show what's under the surface."
This was one of the most inspiring things I've ever seen in my career.
For Gadd, the experience remains one of the standout moments of his career. "This was one of the most inspiring things I've ever seen in my career," he said. "To face real physical challenges in a very, very complicated environment and succeed? That's about as good as it gets as a human."
The iceberg may have disappeared, but the experience left something far more permanent: a reminder that growth rarely happens when everything is certain. Sometimes it happens when you step far outside your comfort zone and learn an entirely new skill.
And sometimes, if you're very lucky, it happens standing barefoot on top of a floating iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean, just before taking the leap of a lifetime.
Moments after making history
© Mason Mashon
The relief after successfully diving from an iceberg
© Mason Mashon
After a world-first, you must celebrate
© Mason Mashon
Emotions are at an all time high after the dive
© Mason Mashon
Red Bull Iceberg Dive
Watch the film on the Red Bull YouTube channel:
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