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Ski Touring in Iceland
Iceland offers a unique blend of volcanic landscapes and world-class ski touring. Angus MacKinnon braves the elements on a journey in search of untouched powder.
Introduction
“Try and stick her in reverse, you never know…”
These were the last words spoken before our trusty motorhome, fondly known as The Mothership, used all its available slip differential to heave us straight up and out of the snow-drift and back onto Iceland’s main highway. The relief was immediate and the cheers were deafening.
Judging by the countless abandoned vehicles we’d passed on the route so far, it had seemed a matter of time until we too were beached. Yet we’d managed to escape a situation that would have ended all hope of ski touring the Tröll Peninsula before we’d even strapped into our boots. A short time later, we were descending from our first peak just as the weather cleared to reveal a partial solar eclipse.
The Lure of The North
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The goal was simple enough: get a solid crew together, rent some campervans, and enjoy some summit-to-sea descents in spring corn conditions in between bobbing about in thermal baths and marvelling at the beautiful landscape. Though none of us are professional guides, we backed our knowledge and wanted to face up to a challenge. Fate intervened, however, when we arrived during what turned out to be the snowiest April in a century. It seemed we would have to swap our t-shirts for base layers, and sun cream for ice-axes.
Iceland’s unique geological features are no secret, and road-tripping the island isn’t exactly a unique endeavour, as a quick Instagram scroll will prove. Ski touring and splitboarding here, though, is less common – and probably for good reason. With a population density outside Reykjavik of just 1.5 people per square km, it’s a very empty place. The bulk of winter is harsh and dark, too, so your best bet is to visit in spring.
In the right conditions, the landscape offers lots of skiable terrain, but since almost all of it remains undocumented, a DIY attitude is compulsory. Ever-changing weather and its extreme northern latitude conspire to create awe-inspiring natural light, and when compared with other European destinations like the Alps, the whole recipe makes for a seriously rewarding adventure.
Highs and Lows
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Lo and behold, on the third day we started crawling north at 30mph. A huge winter storm system was wreaking havoc across Iceland, forcing the closure of its famous Ring Road, but we pushed on using a vaguely paved alternate route – partly because we had nowhere else to go, but also because we knew that without taking any risks, we were unlikely to see any reward.
After another 28 hours of gruelling driving and sweaty palms, we finally made it to Dalvik, the small town we’d picked out as a base for the upcoming weather window. Here we gained a sense of the snowpack (variable!) and familiarised ourselves with the local terrain before a route was agreed upon for the following morning. A promising-looking gully above the nearby town of Ólafsfjörður.
Aside from Iceland, there are only a few places in the world (including Japan, Alaska and Norway) where you can ski from summit to sea, so we savoured the 360-degree view of endless peaks plummeting into a deep blue ocean before transitioning our gear and preparing for the really fun part.
The rollercoaster theme continued, however, as we approached the start of our line – a massive gully mouth 950m above the glistening sea below. Bulletproof ice, and lots of it. Liam Swanson volunteered to test the underfoot conditions, and after three big, committed turns, the deafening sound of his edges fighting with ice subsided.
He stopped in a safe spot and bellowed back up that the snow just beyond the ice was “Perfect!”. The emotional pendulum was swinging once again, and the next hour was spent whooping our way down one of the most rewarding lines that any of us had ever had the privilege of riding. It ended just above the water’s edge, with a long traverse back along the coast to the campervans and a much-anticipated rendezvous with some cold beer and snacks.
At this point, the challenges we’d overcome so far – the planning, the weather, the mammoth drive – seemed like nothing; merely bumps on the road to nirvana. A natural hot tub on the beach was the next port of call, with a spot of (unsuccessful) fishing and a sunset to round out the perfect day. Exhausted, and with no more gas for heating or juice left in the leisure battery, we parked up in a small fishing village and slept like logs.
One of the attractions of Iceland was the chance to make just as much of the down days as the up days.
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Some of our best skiing even came on what was otherwise a down day, when we explored a band of cliffs above our campsite in Akureyri.
This zone provided us with some all-time powder laps right from the van, something that would have been impossible in normal spring conditions.
Outdoor sports can be spicy, and there are times when you reflect on your decisions and question if they were overly risky. Our Iceland trip seemed to strike the risk/reward ratio perfectly. You get old skiers, and you get bold skiers, but you don’t get old bold skiers. The power of nature was on full display out here in the North Atlantic, and the lesson of working with it not against it was driven home.
Iceland’s vast landscapes with barely a soul in sight surpassed all of our expectations, and with so much terrain left to explore I really hope that this isn’t the last time we buckle up and test our luck in the land of fire and ice.
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