Reykjavík Grapevine - jan. 2023, Blaðsíða 22

22 The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 1— 2023
TRAVEL
Snowmobiling in
the Home of the
White Walkers
Words: Lea Dörschel
Photos: Anton Freyr Birgisson & Lea Dörschel
Do you remember that famous
saying by Ned Stark in Game of
Thrones? “Winter is coming.” Well,
I can tell you with certainty that
winter is not coming — winter is
here. Iceland is experiencing one
of its coldest and snowiest winters
in quite some time. It’s been chaos
everywhere. Roads have closed all
around the country and those who
dare venture out anyhow have found
themselves stuck in the crazy winds
and snowstorms. The silver lining?
It’s the perfect conditions to swap
your car for a snowmobile.
Arrival
December 27, 2022, was a freez-
ing cold winter day. The thermo-
stat showed -15°C. Another snow
storm just swooped in on the North.
After a three-hour car drive in very
challenging conditions, I arrived in
Mývatn and the old sheep barn that
had been transformed into the base
camp of Geo Travel, a small local
company with three Icelandic guides.
It was shortly before 14:00, just in
time for the snowmobile tour to
start.
Before the adventure could start,
there was the small matter of ensur-
ing nobody would turn into an ice
sculpture by the end of our trip.
Thankfully, Geo Travel has a rack
of snowsuits to prevent that from
happening. Finally, our guide Birkir
handed us helmets with visors and
advised us to cover the rest of our
faces with scarves to block the icy
wind.
We were a small group of snow-
mobile adventurers, with just myself
and a French couple under Birkir’s
guidance that afternoon. Birkir
briefed us on safety instructions and
explained how to drive our snowmo-
biles. It sounded pretty easy — or, at
least I thought.
Starting difficulties
We were off on our Lake Safari
tour. I wasn’t sure what to expect,
never having driven a snowmobile
before, but I was excited. Instantly,
I realised operating a snowmobile
is quite different from driving a car.
The steering is a lot stiffer, and you
must lean into the turns to help the
big machine move in the right direc-
tion. You also have to get a feeling for
the throttle. Though I had a couple
close calls with the French couple in
front of me, I soon got the hang of it
and really started enjoying myself.
It took my French companions
a little longer. They drove up a little
hill and then fell sideways. Luckily,
crawling along at maybe 10 km/h at
that point, nobody was hurt. Cross-
ing a street was the last big challenge
before the adventure truly began.
No Risk, No Reward
Motoring through the snow-covered
nature. The icy wind in our faces.
We were beyond the wall now, in the
land of Wildlings and White Walkers.
It’s absolutely fascinating how
snow can change the whole setting
of an area. If you’ve never been to
Mývatn in winter, I highly recom-
mend doing so. It will take your
breath away.
It was a fun and bumpy ride,
circling bushes, driving up and down
little hills. In the forest, a little white
rjúpa, or rock ptarmigan, crossed our
path. As soon as it saw us coming, it
flew off into the distance.
Slowly, I started realising why
the tour was called “Lake Safari”.
In the summer months, the area
we’re snowmobiling over consists of
many little ponds. In the winter all of
them are frozen, offering a perfectly
even track for snowmobiles. This is
where we could test the limit of our
machines, topping them out at 40
km/h. This might not sound a lot to
you, but I can promise it was a pure
adrenaline kick.
I started losing track of time
while flying over the frozen lakes
with the wind at my back, until... our
snowmobiles got stuck and began
sinking into the wet snow. Though
some curse words were uttered,
Birkir managed to pull them out of
the sleet and, five minutes later and
with slightly wet feet, we continued
driving carefully over the lake’s slick
surface, which sent my snowmobile
and I into a series of pirouettes.
Never had I ever thought that
snowmobiling could be that adven-
turous!
22The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 1— 2023
W
W
W
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A
M
M
A
G
E
R
Ð
IN.IS
R
A
M
M
A
G
E
R
Ð
IN, ÍS
L
A
N
D 1940
Skólavörðustígur 7
Skólavörðustígur 12
Kringlan
Harpa
Flugstöð Leifs Eiríkssonar
1
2
4
3
A great
selection
of design
and
local craft
1 Post cards — Signý Þórhallsdóttir
2 Ceramic — Aldís Bára Einarsdóttir
3 Tarot candle — Þórunn Árnadóttir
4 Pillow case — Signý Þórhallsdóttir
Reykjavík ó Reykjavík
Signý Þórhallsdóttir fyrir Rammagerðina
Reykjavík ó Reykjavík
Signý Þórhallsdóttir fyrir Rammagerðina