Reykjavík Grapevine - 16.08.2013, Síða 48

48The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 12 — 2013
After Eyjafjallajökull
The eruption-scarred landscape of Fimmvörðuháls is a theme park for hikers
by John Rogers
In recent times, Fimmvörðuháls
had a brief spell of worldwide no-
toriety during the Eyjafjallajökull
eruption. The route was declared
impassable for several days as vol-
canologists monitored lava flowing
towards Þórsmörk; once it was re-
opened, many took the opportunity
to walk its 22km length and check
out the volcano in action.
Thousands of hearty tourists
walk Fimmvörðuháls annually, ar-
riving from Reykjavík or nearby
Skógar bearing hiking poles, water
bottles, assorted box-fresh hiking
gear and technical clothing. For the
uninitiated, the correct attire can
be an expensive business—walkers
need to be warm and waterproof,
but also able to easily shed and
stow layers should the sun come
out, ruling out most conventional
clothing for one reason or another.
Thankfully our tour company,
Icelandic Mountain Guides, is
used to such dilemmas and offers
boot hire to those who call ahead,
as well as raincoats and loaned
equipment, requiring first-time
hikers only to dress comfortably
and sensibly. The company has
been running for fifteen years and
is used to catering to groups of
varying experience, grading the
difficulty of each trip from one to
five. We note with trepidation that
Fimmvörðuháls ranks a four on the
scale.
The omen
After missing the bus due to a lack
of signage at BSÍ (the bus leaves
from the front taxi rank, not the
coach stop), we catch another and
arrive at Skóga a few hours later.
Our group comprises two interna-
tional visitors, myself, Grapevine's
photographer, and our Icelandic
guide, Anna. We introduce our-
selves in the sunshine, and after
a perfunctory check of footwear,
clothing and food & water supplies,
we set off slowly up the high stair-
way to the right of the waterfall.
A bright rainbow appears in the
spray, like a good omen for the day.
The path climbs past the Skóga-
foss waterfall viewing platform
into a rolling green landscape,
skirting the riverbank. Waterfalls
come thick and fast—some are
long, elegant streams that plum-
met into fissures far below; others
cascade down over several steps,
and others still are wide walls of
foam that send cool mist onto our
faces.
The first moment of difficulty
comes when the path rises into a
series of sandy ledges over a drop
into the river. One precarious step
has no support, and our guide
helps us over. There seems no ob-
vious way forward, but we zigzag
up a steep section of scree hillside.
Far below, some smashed planks
lie in the rocky riverbed, serving as
a timely reminder of the dangers at
hand.
After a long plateau littered with
boulders and glacial debris, the
next landmark is a high footbridge
over the Skóga river, but the steps
on our side are completely missing.
"Did you see them back there?" asks
Anna, and I realise those planks
were in fact the stairway in ques-
tion, plucked from this spot by a
swell of post-eruption floodwater.
Eyeing the rusting metal struts, we
climb some makeshift rungs, duck-
ing through the railing to cross.
An island in the clouds
On the other side, we're met by a
chilly highland breeze and a rocky
plain stretching out before us.
Eyjafjallajökull looms to the left,
graceful and silent. She's an awe-
inspiring sight—a vast, oddly alien
protrusion from the earth, haloed
by ash and mist like an island in the
clouds.
The road forks, and our guide
decides we should take the faster
path. Although the gradient is
easier, the terrain gets rougher,
requiring concentration at every
turn. I almost miss an icy mural
that clings to a distant cliffside—
out here, nature is quite the artist,
and we pass many sculptural for-
mations of eroded snow, dried lava
and windblown sand that wouldn't
look out of place in a contemporary
gallery.
At an elevation of about 1000
metres, two tent-shaped metal
shelters roughly mark the halfway
point, and a line of yellow poles
mark the way across a series of
ash-dusted snowfields, sandbanks
and rocky outcrops. Each peak
feels like a small triumph until we
see the next one: "there's always
one more," smiles our guide.
A couple of hours later, we
reach the area of the eruption.
Magni and Móði, named after the
sons of Thor, are two new craters
that spewed forth a mass of lava,
creating a twisted black vista that
stops abruptly where it solidified.
The freshly formed rock is still hot
to the touch, and sulphurous steam
seeps from the ground everywhere
as we pick our way through the liv-
ing landscape.
Into the valley
The high pass to Þórsmörk offers
a spectacular view over the moun-
tain range ahead, with hazy peaks
stretching into the horizon in grays,
greens and purples. After eight
hours of walking, the descent pres-
ents some of the most challenging
and tiring terrain of the hike. At one
point, the trail becomes a series of
alarming ledges on a vertical cliff-
side with a chain bolted into the
rock for balance; another particu-
larly steep shale bank has a rope
hanging down the decline, without
which it would be unsafe to pass.
Finally comes a narrow, uneven,
vertigo-inducing stretch of path
with no support at all and sheer
drops on either side—a terrifying
few seconds for anyone with an
aversion to heights.
However, Anna is reassur-
ing and encouraging throughout,
stressing that such features should
be taken with care, and that a slow,
comfortable pace is preferable.
She interprets her role more as a
technical guide than a narrator of
the geography and scenery. As we
approach the sheltered, leafy val-
ley of our Básar pickup point, the
timer hits the ten-hour mark and
the sky starts turning to a deep,
rosy pink. We top up our water bot-
tles from a freshwater stream then
slump into the seats of the home-
ward bus, aching and glowing from
an unforgettable day in the majes-
tic Icelandic wilderness.
Fimmvörðuháls is an old hiking trail in Southern Iceland that's flanked by two glaciers, Eyjafjallajökull and Mýrdalsjökull. The
name means "five cairns pass," and whilst the original cairns are no longer used, it remains a well-marked path popular with na-
tives and visitors alike. Between June and August each year, the summer weather allows hikers up past the dramatic Skóga river
to the highlands, passing through snowscapes and a volcanic area before descending into the idyllic Þórsmörk nature reserve.
Travel
Distance from Reykjavík: 156km The Fimmvörðuháls Volcano Hike can be
booked at www.mountainguides.is
Fimmvörðuháls1
Nanna Dís
“Eyjafjallajökull looms to
the left, graceful and si-
lent. She's an awe-inspiring
sight—a vast, oddly alien
protrusion from the earth,
haloed by ash and mist like
an island in the clouds.”