Reykjavík Grapevine - 17.06.2011, Side 34

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KEFLAVÍK
BORGARNES
STYKKISHÓLMUR
SNÆFELLSJÖKULL
DRANGAJÖKULL
FLATEY
NESKAUPSTAÐUR
BLÖNDUÓS
SIGLUFJÖRÐUR
BOLUNGARVÍK
HRÍSEY
NARSARSSUAQ
Greenland
FAROE ISLANDS
REYKJAVÍK
AKUREYRI
EGILSSTAÐIR
ÍSAFJÖRÐUR
VOPNAFJÖRÐUR
ÞÓRSHÖFN
HÚSAVÍK
GRÍMSEY
KULUSUK
Greenland
Blue Lagoon
AKRANES Geysir
Gullfoss
Jökullónið
Kárahnjúkar
Kraa
Hallormstaður
NUUK
Greenland
ILULISSAT
Greenland
www.airiceland.is
CONSTABLE POINT
Greenland
Glacier hiking and ice climbing, like many things in
Iceland, are once in a lifetime opportunities for most
travellers. Many people in the world may never get
even get the chance to attempt either of the two. But
after at the very least attempting both of them, one
feels accomplished and humbled at the very same
time. Accomplished for having done something ac-
tive and unique, humbled by the beauty and awe-
someness of nature. These were both feelings I was
lucky enough to retain after a trip to the Sólheima-
jökull glacier.
A YEAR OF WINTER
Sólheimajökull is 150 km outside of Reykjavík, about
a two and a half hour drive not including stops. If
you don’t have your own glacier hiking gear and it’s
your first time visiting a glacier, a guide is recom-
mended. Those guys will provide the proper equip-
ment and information on how to use it, leaving little
to no chance of severe injury.
When we passed a snowy-topped mountain, a
passenger in our group expressed his curiosity as to
what it was. We were informed that it was Mt. Hekla,
a volcano prone to erupting about every decade, the
last eruption being in 2000. “It’s due for an eruption”,
our guide Simmi warned. But Hekla has been a tame
volcano compared to Katla, a volcano we were less
than 60 kilometres from when we finally arrived at
Sólheimajökull glacier.
GLACIER FACTS
As we drove through the Mordor looking glacier val-
ley (Simmi thought it looked more like Helm’s Deep,
which eased my mind; it wasn’t only tourists that
thought Iceland had Middle-Earthen qualities), we
learned that Sólheimajökull is the outlet glacier or
the glacier tongue to Mýrdalsjökull glacier, the fourth
largest glacier in Iceland. Beneath Mýrdalsjökull, an
ice cap glacier, lies Katla. Katla, as mentioned in our
last issue, is the volcano that blew up a century ago
with an eruption so large it caused a “year of win-
ter” in Europe. Being this close to such a volcano is...
mildly unsettling.
When we arrived, we had to put on contraptions
called ‘crampons’. They go directly on your feet, giv-
ing you traction on the glacier and the ability to ice
climb. Once the crampons were securely on, Simmi
and his colleague Billi gave a quick tutorial about
the proper way of walking with the appliances on
our feet, before we took the fifteen-minute hike to
the location where we would do our ice climbing.
Along the way, we stopped to see a moulin, a hole
wherein water and other materials collect. Usually
found around crevasses, a moulin can reach the very
bottom of the glacier, or can be shallow. Water car-
ries black sand, ash, and other sediments down the
moulin, and when the glacier recedes, black cones
are left to mark the spot where a moulin once was.
MOUNTING THE GLACIER
Ice climbing is something everyone needs to try at
least once. When facing the wall it may seem daunt-
ing, but don’t be deterred by your initial fear. Once up
on the wall, the adrenaline will take over and it will
be hard to stop. And falling isn’t even a worry. When
you do “fall” off the wall, the guides belaying you do
such a good job, you don’t move an inch. Our guides
provided a safe environment, where it felt comfort-
able to at least give climbing a try. As long as you
don’t ice axe the rope. Then there might be some
issues though (like having to buy everyone in your
tour group a beer).
WHAT’S UP SKóGAFOSS?
After everyone had tried their hand at ice climbing,
the group made its way back to the van and for the
cool down part of the trip, we visited Skógafoss.
Skógafoss is one of the most ‘popular’ waterfalls in
Iceland, not only for the beauty of the waterfall itself,
but also because of the rainbow that can be seen
on sunny days by the mist that the waterfall creates.
Waterfalls are a wonderful sight, rainbows are gor-
geous, and when you put the two together, you get
sorta the most wondergeous thing ever seen. After
basking in the glow of the waterfall and its rainbows,
we drove back to Reykjavík, tired after a good day’s
work.
Arctic Adventures puts together a fun, informa-
tional trip to a glacier for a day of hiking, climbing,
and sightseeing. Not many people in the world get
to see glaciers, go ice climbing, or see a waterfall
that creates one of the most gorgeous rainbows ever
seen. This trip allows you to do all three. The beau-
ty of it is that you even feel like you accomplished
something if you decide to test your abilities at ice
climbing. There isn’t a better feeling in the world than
feeling accomplished and seeing beautiful, awe in-
spiring nature at the same time.
34
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 8 — 2011
Travel | Glaciers
Words
S. Alessio Tummolillo
Photography
Jose Hernandéz
“Waterfalls are a wonderful sight, rainbows are gorgeous,
and when you put the two
together, you get the most
wondergeous thing ever seen
Trip provided by Arctic Adventures. Book trip at www.
adventures.is or call +354-5627000. This tour is called: 'Blue
Ice - Glacier Hiking Day Tour'.
Just kidding about the blood
Ice Axes, Blood, And Rainbows