Reykjavík Grapevine - 16.06.2016, Qupperneq 56

Discovering
Þríhnjúkagígur
Cave conservationist Árni B. Stefánsson
recalls his first steps inside the volcano
Words & Photos JOHN ROGERS
56 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 8 — 2016TRAVEL
During our visit to Þríhnúkagígur,
the volcano was a hive of activity,
with workmen busily preparing
the space for the season ahead.
The man leading the work is Árni
B. Stefánsson, the lifelong cave en-
thusiast who was the first person
to set foot in Þríhnúkagígur.
"I fell in love with lava caves
when I was kid, over sixty years
ago, at Kalmanstunga,” he says.
“I’ve been exploring caves, and try-
ing to protect them, ever since.”
When the Bláfjöll ski resort
opened up in 1970, Árni heard
about the cave at Þríhnúkagígur,
and came to take a look. “I threw
in a rock,” he recalls, “and it took
four or so seconds to hit the bot-
tom, meaning it was 100 metres
deep, or more.”
He plumbed the cave, then bor-
rowed a 200-metre rope for the
first descent. “It was midsummer
eve in 1974—nine of us came. I was
lowered into the crater, to explore
it. I wanted to know where the lava
went—it must have drained for
one reason or another.”
A rather big, ugly hole
Árni’s high hopes for what he
would find were initially dashed.
“I’d dreamt about it for a whole
winter,” he smiles. “I imagined a
huge drainage channel, with lava
falls and ponds, stalagmites and
stalactites, and formations never
seen before by human eyes. But I
was very disappointed. There was
no beauty—no formations. It was
just bare rock, and a heap of rubble
on the bottom. So, I decided it was
just a rather big, ugly hole. I didn’t
think what an achievement it was
to be the first person to go into it."
When Árni’s brothers Einar
and Björn returned from a moun-
taineering trip in Russia, the three
decided to further explore the vol-
cano. “They're longtime compan-
ions and were, at the time, the best
mountaineering team in Iceland,"
says Árni. "We made two expedi-
tions in the spring of 1991. We pub-
lished articles in cave magazines
about what we found, and came to
realise this is one of the most re-
markable phenomena of its kind
on earth."
Empty castles
Today, Árni spends his time pro-
tecting Icelandic caves—both
Þríhnúkurgígar, and the many
others that dot Iceland’s lava
fields. "Iceland’s lava caves have
been severely damaged,” he says.
“We used to have lots of beautiful
and pristine lava caves filled with
formations like stalagmites and
stalactites. But people tend to col-
lect these things, and take them
away. They clean out the caves over
time. The caves are like medieval
castles—the inventory is slowly
removed, until it’s an empty cas-
tle.”
“From my point of view, our
work here is about preserving the
crater, and giving people the op-
portunity to experience it,” he
finishes. “But it must be done re-
spectfully—with respect for the
nature, for fellow humans, and
with respect for life in general."
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