Reykjavík Grapevine - 13.04.2012, Blaðsíða 34

34
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 4 — 2012
Travel | Glaciers
Our driver and guide for the day Stefán Gun-
narsson surrendered to the glacier at an
altitude of 800 metres, just a few hundred
metres from the top. He had already deflated
the car’s tyres twice to increase their surface
area and minimize the risk of getting stuck.
The Land Rover couldn’t find grip in the pow-
dery 50 centimetre deep snow. Never mind
not making it to the top, it was incredible to
be standing on a glacier, surrounded by an in-
credible silence and an untouched panorama
of snowy mountains on a beautiful, sunny
day.
LEAVING THE GREY BEHIND
Seven hours earlier in Reykjavík on an overcast
morning, the five of us had climbed into the jeep
for a tour called Essential Iceland. Despite the
fact that visibility was no more than 50 metres as
we left Reykjavík, Stefán was optimistic that the
clouds and fog would disappear by the time we
reached our first stop at Þingvellir National Park,
where the Alþingi general assembly convened in
930 A.D.
Sure enough, we were greeted by a bright,
glowing sun hanging just above the horizon. For-
tunately, at 9 a.m. there were only a few tourist
busses there. The viewpoint, which also marks the
beginning of the path between continental plates,
would turn into a mad circus later in the day. Un-
fortunately the path itself was closed because a
crack in the pathway revealed a 10 metre deep
fault below. To escape the other tourists, we drove
down to the edge of the lake, where the water is
crystal clear and you can see every single coin that
has sunk to the bottom.
After a short lunch stop, we drove on towards
Kaldidalur, a highland route leading to Langjökull
glacier. While the route is used during the sum-
mer, it’s often impassable during the winter when
the road is covered by a thick layer of snow, which
blends into the white desert landscape. Never-
theless, Stefán was itching to give it a try, as the
weather was very promising. The Land Rover was
equipped with an accurate GPS system, which
would ensure that we’d stay on the road even if it
was nowhere to be seen.
FLOATING ON SNOW
As we drove on, I feared that we would get stuck
in snow—you know, when the tyres don’t grip
anymore and turn on the spot. Every time this
happened, Stefán put the Land Rover in reverse,
backed up a few metres, and then went straight
on again, gradually moving through the half metre
deep snow. Despite those manoeuvres, he made
driving through a vast sea of white look as easy
as cruising down Laugavegur in downtown Reyk-
javík, and while we enjoyed the view, he was defi-
nitely enjoying himself.
It was a tedious process, and finally we
scrapped the Kaldidalur route and took an alterna-
tive road through the valley. While we descended,
Stefán told us stories about tourists trying to drive
to impossible places with unsuitable cars. “Iceland
doesn’t have any snakes or poisonous dangerous
animals, instead we have tourists in rental cars,”
he said.
THE LAST OF THE ESSENTIALS
On our way to Hallmundarhraun, a vast lava field,
we passed Deildartunguhver, the largest thermal
spring in Iceland. This was followed by a stop at
Barnafoss, where bright blue water gushes out
from under the remains of a stone arch. The di-
versity of the landscape was incredible, although
much of it was covered in snow. In the summer,
the change of colours, from black mountains to
green plains, to the white glacier is an even more
intense experience, Stefán told us.
After seeing Barnafoss, we climbed Langjökull
glacier, the second to last stop—and easily the
most dramatic part—of the trip. At eight hundred
metres above sea level, the Land Rover would
climb no higher and Stefán took us down to our
final destination, Víðgelmir, a 1500 kilometre long
lava tube. Where the roof of the lava tube had col-
lapsed, we climbed down, traversing icy stones to
take a peek into the underworld before journeying
back to Reykjavík.
Floating On A Sea Of Snow
A day tour to Langjökull and Iceland essentials
MELANIE FRANz
JULIA VOL
Essential Iceland tour provided by Iceland Rovers.
Book tour at icelandrovers.is or mountainguides.is
or phone +354 587 9999
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