Alex Bellini’s 2017 expedition across Iceland’s Vatnajökull glacier brought him closer to death than ever before — yet he chose to push on and complete the journey. Why? In January 2025, he returned to the same frozen expanse in pursuit of an answer. To re-examine the experience with a fresh perspective, reassess the meaning of what happened eight years before, and grapple with a more deep-rooted question: why do we explore?