Reykjavík Grapevine - 21.04.2017, Síða 48

48The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 06 — 2017
Holy Mountain
Hiking into the past at Helgafell
Words: Eli Petzold

Just off the road linking Stykkishól-
mur to the rest of Snæfellsnes,
Helgafell (“Holy Mountain”) rises
73 metres above the flat, bucolic
landscape of Þórsnes headland. Al-
though unassuming against the
backdrop of Snæfellsnes’s rugged
spine, it stands out as the tallest
and most distinctive geological
feature on Þórsnes. Superstition
has it that visitors to the moun-
tain can make three wishes upon
reaching its summit, provided that
they ascend in silence, and without
looking backwards. While the exact
origins of this superstition remain
murky, it seems to derive from ta-
boos and traditions described in
the semi-historical medieval Ice-
landic sagas.
Eyrbyggja Saga tells us that
Þórolfur Mostrarskegg, the region’s
first settler, gave the mountain its
name when he arrived in the late
ninth century. Transfixed by the
mountain’s apparent sacredness,
he forbade anyone to even look at
it unwashed. He believed that he
and his descendants would “die
into the mountain,” a superstition
confirmed when his son Þorsteinn
drowned in Breiðafjörður: a local
shepherd saw the mountain open,
and heard Þórolfur welcoming
Þorsteinn into a jolly, boozy feast
within. Later in the saga, Þórolfur’s
great-grandson Snorri Goði, coun-
selling a friend, suggests they hike
up Helgafell because “plans de-
vised there are least likely to come
to nothing.” Substitute “plans” for
“wishes” and it seems that Snor-
ri’s superstition inspired the later
tradition of wish-making on the
mountaintop.
Interpersonal
quandaries
A proper hike up Helgafell begins at
the grave of Guðrún Ósvífursdóttir,
the heroine of Laxdæla Saga, who
exchanged estates with Snorri Goði
to escape interpersonal quandaries
across Breiðafjörður. Passionate,
brash, and relentlessly indepen-
dent, Guðrún is one of the most
memorable characters in the Ice-
landic sagas. After four unsuccess-
ful marriages, she turned to God
in her old age and became Iceland’s
first nun. A small tombstone near
the present-day church at the foot
of Helgafell purports to mark her
grave, and according to some ver-
sions of the superstition, visitors
are only afforded their wishes if
they circle her burial before ascend-
ing the mountain.
Guðrún’s monastic inclination
seems to prefigure the eventual
founding of a monastery at Hel-
gafell in the twelfth century. Al-
though there are no extant remains
of the original monastery, it was a
major landholder in the region and
an important centre of medieval
learning and manuscript produc-
tion; it’s thought that many manu-
scripts containing Icelandic sagas
were compiled and copied in the
monastery at Helgafell.
Today, there’s not much to com-
memorate the literary and his-
torical significance of Helgafell—
which, in a way, makes it all the
more charming. A light fifteen-
minute hike brings you to the sum-
mit, where, on a clear day, you can
see the southern coast of the West-
fjords across the countless islands
of Breiðafjörður. For the supersti-
tious and dreamy, it’s an excellent
excuse for wishful thinking; for the
skeptical, it’s a pleasant hike into
Iceland’s medieval past.

SHARE & VIEW GALLERY:
gpv.is/hm06
How to get there:
Head to Stykkishólmur, and look
out for Helgafell on your right
Distance from
Reykjavík
165 km
Car provided by:
gocarrental.is
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Photo: Atli Arnarsson
Photo: טראהנייר ירעל