ICELAND 2022: Ski touring in Iceland

14 April 2022 and we’re off on our ski trip to Iceland. The plan: to ski and explore a country resplendent with breathtaking nature.

14 April 2022 and we’re off on our ski trip to Iceland. The plan: to ski and explore a country resplendent with breathtaking nature. With its whales, volcanoes, mountains, hot springs and waterfalls, we knew this faraway island would be worth the trip.

A SUMMARY OF OUR ITINERARY

Day 1: Journey to the Troll peninsula

Day 2-5: Skiing and sightseeing between the Troll peninsula and lake Myvatn

Day 6: Visit to Dettifoss and Selfoss waterfalls and trip to Seydisfjordur

Day 7: Skiing above Seydisfjordur and drive to the south

Day 8-11: Return to Reykjavik via the south (best spots: Diamond beach, Vestrahorn mountain, Jokulslaron glacier, Reynisdrangar beach, Skogafoss and Gljufrabui waterfalls, Eldfjallaferdir volcano)

Julbo - ISLANDE 2022 : SKI DE RANDO EN ISLANDE — ©Arthur Bertrand

A quick bit about me: my name is Emily, I’m 24 years old and I’m a downhill skier who’s also now a firm fan of “skimo” as a member of the French ski mountaineering team. After a busy season of competitive alpine skiing, I wanted to head off on a skiing and travel trip right after the final races of the season, so I could take full advantage of the spring for some fun skiing and adventure After 3 years of being locked down in France because of the pandemic, I was itching to travel. With Arthur, a professional photographer and skier, we both dreamed of skiing in a country framed by the ocean with lots of amazing things to discover. Iceland really piqued our interest. We knew there was plenty to do there on skis, and that it was a popular destination for photography with its unusual landscapes as well as flora and fauna. So, on a whim we lost no time in booking our tickets to Reykjavik.

We did minimal prep for the trip before leaving, firstly because of the lack of time, but also because we wanted to give ourselves the freedom to make plans directly on the spot based on the conditions, the people we met, and our own desires. We just booked the rental car in advance and got together some information on the best spots for ski touring and the conditions we were likely to meet. We originally wanted to make the trip in a camper van, but after doing a price comparison, we realized it would be almost as much as staying in a guest house. And with cameras and video gear to charge each night for our pictures, we decided to go for the second option.

WEATHER AND SNOW CONDITIONS

The end of April is almost the beginning of summer in Iceland. The days are getting longer and the sun’s growing in strength (when the clouds let it come out), but it’s still usually a good time to ski. The weather in Iceland is unpredictable, but that’s the case at any time of year, with conditions changing on a minute-by-minute basis. A week before we left, we saw there’d been 50 cm of fresh snow. Skiing videos had whetted our appetites and we were already looking forward to flying on our fat skis measuring 90 mm at the waist (yes, I did say “fat skis” - don’t forget I’m used to matchsticks!). When we arrived on the first evening, we quickly realized our dreams of the week before hadn’t been terribly realistic. Iceland greeted us with “typical Icelandic weather” as the pilot of the plane put it. Gusts of over 60 mph and curtains of rain that could only be described as the “foulest of weather”. We agreed the trip would be a long one if the weather stayed unchanged for the next 10 days. We were already starting to create an Excel spreadsheet for recording the performance testing of our Gore-Tex layers. And then to our great surprise and delight, the storm cleared, giving way to overcast skies and a few bright spells, and it stayed like that for most of the trip.

With milder temperatures and the humidity of the sea, the white stuff had turned to spring snow. It was generally stable but could heat up quickly on south-facing slopes when the sun came out.

[It’s also worth mentioning that just after the snowfall of the previous week, there were several avalanches that resulted in serious accidents. The locals explained to us that the constant humidity in winter makes the old snow clump together and creates a hard surface, which means that with each new snowfall, the fresh layer can easily slide off.]

THE BEST SPOTS

All the people we knew who’d already been skiing in Iceland recommended the north of the country, in the Troll peninsula between Akureyri and Siglusfjordur. It’s here that the peaks are the most accessible both in terms of approach and the road to get there. We quickly realized how right this information was once we arrived. There were lots of small peaks with the snow coming down to the road by the sea. This allowed us to quickly prepare routes by just looking up from the road, and all our outings were framed by the sea in the background! There are also many tunnels connecting the different fjords which really opened up our options in terms of the best spots. The only downside to the north is that it’s the region where skiing is most developed in Iceland with a series of small resorts, so it’s also the place to go heliskiing. Expect to see helicopters taking off and landing on nearby peaks!

The other regions that attracted us were the north-west and east of the country. The north-west promised to be even wilder, and offered great descents to the sea, but we were quickly warned that we didn’t have enough time to do it justice. There are many fewer roads here and they’re tricky to access, especially in spring when the snow hasn’t been completely cleared yet. We’d been advised to visit the east, with gullies that go down to the sea and beautiful villages in the fjords but were also warned that each fjord is enclosed by sea and mountains.

Because we only had 10 days in Iceland, we went for the simplest option which was to spend most of our days skiing in the north, before continuing our trip to the east. Following the advice of Mathéo Jacquemoud, we arrived in the small village of Seydisfjordur in our second week of the trip. Snow was starting to be rarer here than in the north. Making a summit with a sea view required around 400 m of approach before donning skis. Luckily for us, the peaks rose up to 1,200 m around us, so we could still enjoy some snow. The advantage here, because of the difficult approach and the isolation of the village, meant that we had an even greater feeling of solitude. We even got so lucky as to see a herd of wild reindeer.

The rest of the trip was spent traveling along the coast around the island, stopping at the most charismatic spots in the south. Here we were able to marvel at glaciers, black sand beaches, waterfalls and volcanoes.

THE THINGS WE NOTICED MOST

Prices

We’d been warned before we left that Iceland is expensive, but we weren’t properly prepared for the high prices. The reality quickly hit us from the first evening, with our meal of two wraps and two stewed fruit desserts costing us around 30 euros. We quickly agreed that we’d try to limit our purchases as much as possible by cooking for ourselves and eating sandwiches. The biggest shock was seeing that vegan cheese was cheaper than real cheese, and we’re still having trouble processing that!

The lack of people

370,000 inhabitants, three quarters of whom are concentrated around the capital of Reykjavik. The country is incredibly sparsely populated! We drove for hours and hours on small roads without meeting a single car. So, make sure you refuel regularly to avoid running out of gas in the middle of nowhere! The low population density further highlights the immensity and purity of the landscapes in the country. The wild side of Iceland is one of the highlights for outdoor types. We did notice that most of the people we met on our trip were foreigners. We felt a bit sad that we didn’t have more contact with the local population.

Elusive but amazing wildlife

In Iceland, few animals are native to the island. Most of them were introduced during the 12th century. The abundance of wildlife is mainly seen in the wide variety of bird species. Apart from birds, there are many horses, and you can see whales during milder periods of weather (late spring and summer are the best times - we were lucky enough to see XXXS whales, although in April it’s pretty unusual to see them). We were also lucky enough to come face to face with Icelandic moose during an early morning ski trip!

Contrasting landscapes

With a lot of road driving, we quickly saw how rapidly the scenery changes. We went from dark and desert-like volcanic terrain to imposing glaciers, and from green hills to snow-capped mountains. All this variety makes the hours spent driving easy and pleasant. Our advice, if you haven’t seen it yet: watch the movie “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”, download the playlist, and crank up the volume on your Icelandic travels. You’ll definitely feel inspired.

This whole point of this article is to say that Iceland is beautiful. Really beautiful. I would even say it’s ultra beautiful!!!

It’s not necessarily the most popular ski destination and can’t be compared to the Alps or Norway. But it’s a country where you can have magical adventures, and feel as if you’re on another planet. Ten days is clearly the bare minimum to enjoy this faraway island, and having a quality camera is pretty much essential to maximize your memories of the stunning landscapes.

We got back home buzzing with memories and a strong desire to return before long. Thank you to the partners who supported us in this project, including Julbo, without whom it wouldn’t have been possible.

THE BEST SPOTS

THE THINGS WE NOTICED MOST

Other articles

How to Take Control of the Ventilation of Your Goggle?

The sunglasses solution

Le port du casque est-il obligatoire à vélo ?