Ski Mountaineering in Iceland – Photos
In May of 2006, I joined Matt Turley, Dylan Freed, John Griber, John Armstrong and Rob Raker on a trip to northern Iceland for some ski mountaineering. Matt Turley was the originator of this trip as he had been to Iceland in the summer to shoot photos and thought it might make for some good skiing in the winter. He was right. At the same time, the Producers of the movie “Steep” were looking for some backcountry footage and sent along a film crew (Griber, Armstrong and Raker).
The weather was brutally maritime with mostly manky, cloudy, overcast, windy/snow conditions followed by brief spells of clearing. Overall it was an excellent trip and highly recommended… just don’t forget to bring your wallet and credit cards as it is one of the most expensive places I’ve ever visited.
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Iceland proven gear from Backcountry.com at 15% off:
Ready for sitting around in the rain in Iceland? The MHW Beryllium jacket is.
Iceland has almost every kind of fuel, except white gas. Luckily the MSR Whisperlite International will burn unleaded gas.
Category: Trip Reports
Nice website!
Test
Nice photos. By the way, not sure why you couldn’t find white gas, it is available at most petrol stations and outdoor shops here, either as hrein bensin (lit, clean petrol) or most often as Coleman fuel in the usual red and white labeled bottles..
Thanks for the great photos. You must come and ski in the Northwest part next time you´re around. The weather in late April and May is pretty stable with clear skies, endless daylight and sweet corn. Some photos on my website and you can check out the latest Warren Miller movie for some great footage. They stayed with us for two weeks last season. Also, Iceland is much cheaper now due to the economic downturn. There is always a positive side to things…
Runar Karlsson
http://www.boreaadventures.com
Thanks Runar! I loved everything about Iceland, except the cost. I’ve added your website to my frontpage as it looks like a great place to start planning a trip to that part of the world.
How do you like the skiing in Greenland, and where do you go?
Thanks you very much Andrew. Greenland is great for skiing. There are of course many options since it´s a huge country. I´ve only skied around Ammassalik area on the East coast. It´s the cheapest option since you can take a biprop plane from the domestic airport in Reykjavik. There is one mountain hut there that we rented for a week and skied tha peaks close by and also bivacked (spelling?) to get to the peaks further away. Another option is further North in the Watkins mountains in Scoresby Sound area, where Mt. Gunnbjornsfjell (3693m) the highest mountain in Greenland is situated. You can also use the same biprop flight from Reykjavik to get there. After a short stopover in Ammassalik, they fly up there and then back to Reykjavik. The mountains are higher and the snow is supposed to be a little drier also. I want to go there pretty soon.
Cheers
Runar
merci pour ce topic, si sueulement vous etiez un peeu plus claire :)
There is no white gas-trust me
Your Rss doesn’t work in my browser (google chrome) how can i fix it?
All I can Say is: WOW!! Iceland seems like a terrific place to visit for some serious skiing, I was impressed by the pictures, particularly the mountain tops, AMAZING! I will share them with some friends, now I gotta visit that place, it is surreal! thanks for sharing the photos and the inspiration!