Fire And Ice And All Things Nice

Chasing Adventure in Iceland’s Winter wilderness.

The general advice about trekking during the winter season in the highlands of Iceland seems to be, “Don’t.” It is suggested that the conditions in winter may be too arduous.

Yet, for some people that very advice attracts them to the adventure. To find out what it would be like to move through those conditions. This seemed to be the case for Jim Young, Director at Adventurous Ewe. So, he set about organizing his first winter snowshoeing expedition to Iceland.

I was looking for adventure in my first trip out of the UK since the onset of Covid. For me, this trip to Iceland ticked all the right boxes. It was going to be challenging and somewhat off the beaten track. Jim warned us we would have to keep an open mind, a positive outlook and be ready for adventure. I was in.

The best way to read the rest of this story is on a PC however it can still be read on a tablet or mobile. Click on the first image and then step through the images, reading the captions as you go.

Man carrying luggage on back and front.
Packed and ready. First 4 days, I’ll be carrying everything on foot.
Across the water at Reykjavik looking at Mount Esja.
Looking across at Mount Esja from Foss hotel Barron.
Hekla Volcano, Iceland.
Hekla Volcano, close to the start point of the trek.
Selfie at Hekla volcano, Iceland.
Time for a selfie at Hekla.
Land Rover sinking in deep snow.
Vehicles struggling through deep snow towards the planned start point for the trek.
Land Rover towing minibus in deep snow.
Vehicles were forced to stop 4Km short of the start point for our trek. These things happen on an adventure.
Walkers, pulkas and Snowshoes.
Transferring our gear onto pulkas and putting on Snowshoes.
Walkers, pulkas and Snowshoes
Lining up, ready to go.
Walkers, pulkas and Snowshoes
And we’re off at last.
Walkers, pulkas and Snowshoes
Taking a quick break at the originally planned start of the trek. We’ve been going for over an hour.
Walkers, pulkas and Snowshoes
The beauty out here is breathtaking. This is why we came.
Walkers with head torches, pulkas and Snowshoes in the dark
We got to the first hut around 9pm with all our gear. 17Km in around 7 hours. Great teamwork!
People inside mountain hut having dinner.
Jim and Max from Adventurous Ewe set up the hut and prepare a dinner of curry and rice.
Melting snow for water.
Melting snow for water at our hut at Landmannahellir
Mountain boots and snowshoes.
Snowshoes on and ready for day 2.
Trekkers in winter mountains with snowshoes.
We mostly crossed frozen lava fields which presented undulating terrain.
A line of swans flying past a mountain in winter.
In the distance a line of swans fly high above us.
Trekkers in winter mountains with snowshoes.
Short but difficult traverse along the riverbank to reach our second hut.
Mountain hut surrounded by deep snow.
We arrive at our mountain hut at Landmannalaugar midafternoon.
People bathing in a hot spring in the snow.
There was a hot volcanic spring right beside the hut. Only in Iceland!
People bathing in a hot spring in the snow.
Bathing in a hot spring outside in the snow. Living the dream.
Man standing in ski gear with sunglasses, wooly hat and goggles on his head.
The weather deteriorated on day 3 with high wind and snow.
Man in waterproof jacket, scarf and goggles out in the snow.
In this weather, nothing much is exposed to the elements.
Group of trekkers out in a snowstorm.
Max, our guide, explains the route for the day.
Boiling water from a volcanic hot spring.
Deep snow in a whiteout to reach boiling water. Only in Iceland!
Boiling water from a volcanic hot spring.
Hot steam and freezing snow.
Deep snow outside the windows.
The next few pictures show how snowed in our hut was.
Deep snow outside the windows.
The snow level outside was halfway up the windows.
Deep snow outside the windows.
Even deeper outside the dining area.
Winter hut buried in snow at night.
And don’t even mention the ‘winter expedition’ required to reach the toilet block.
Picnic tables submerged in snow.
We didn’t use the picnic tables.
Night sky over mountains.
We almost thought the aurora would appear.,
Night sky and stars outside a winter hut.
But, in the end, only the stars. Still a beautiful night.
Mountain scene with winter river.
The final day begins. Time to trek to our vehicles.
traversing a steep snow slope with Pulkas.
Very tough start hauling pulkas across a steep frozen riverbank. (Picture by Yulia Micallef)
The full team, exhausted and exhilarated at the end of the trek (Picture by Jim Young)
Trekkers holding up a banner for Mind Charity.
Charlotte and Gayle raised money for Mind (Over £1,000 so far) Picture by Gayle King
2 people holding up a banner for Macmillan Cancer Support.
Sue and John have raised over £2,500 for Macmillan Cancer Support (Picture by John Pearson)