One for the Books

The airplane sits on the runway in Keflavik and is ready for our return flight home. I look into the faces of the rest of the group, and I detect two essential features in each of them: Fatigue, as the last evening in Reykjavik’s nightlife demanded a lot from us. The dance floor and one or two or more Vikings (an Icelandic beer) have left their mark. But the more important thing, which is probably also visible on my face, is a feeling of gratitude and incredible joy for what we were able to experience over the last seven days in the north of Iceland.

When you’re out exploring the Icelandic fjords around Akureyri with a bunch of ski maniacs, it’s about more than just incredible descents by the Arctic Ocean. Cody Townsend summed it up well after his expedition to Baffin Island: "It’s the people." That’s why we were looking for seven people to join us on this trip to Iceland. Requirements: Good vibes, strong legs for 3,200+ feet of vertical each day, and the skills for one or two steep lines. What skills are really needed in Iceland, however, only became evident over the course of the week. But why Iceland? We wanted an unusual destination. Ski touring on the world’s largest volcanic island. In the land of fire and ice. A land of extremes.

The endless vastness of this country was revealed on the drive from Reykjavik to Akureyri. Hours on the road without seeing a single person, just an incredibly fast-changing landscape. And horses, lots of horses. Snow was in short supply, however, and even when we arrived in Akureyri, we didn’t exactly drown in pow. Thanks to climate change, the winter was not the best ever.

What initially made us a little apprehensive, however, soon dissipated on our first ski tour. We frequently had to fight our way through lush, green meadows for the first 300 vertical feet or so, but before long, we were able to strap on our skis and head up to endless fields of corn snow.

The group consisted of Austrians and a token German and shone with the creation of culinary highlights at the lodge, probably the best photo and video content courtesy of Lukas, as well as endless "good times." And what about the skiing? Depending on the weather, we were either chasing corn or powder. The weather in Iceland is relatively unpredictable. Good conditions are most likely between March and May. If you have the necessary funds, you can opt to fly with Viking

Heliskiing. If you prefer to earn your turns, you take your skis and skins and discover the 3,300 to 5,000-foot peaks using only your own muscle power.

And then, it was finally time for our most anticipated endeavor. Our legs were already warmed up from the first three days when we explored the areas to the east and west of the Akureyri Fjord. The snow conditions ranged from extremely good to pretty modest. Sun and temperature are your best friends during these spring adventures, but they are also your biggest enemies – depending on the altitude, exposure and the time of day. The forecast for day five called for a down day, but everyone was hot for this one, big day.

We had around 5,600 feet of elevation gain and about 6 hours ahead of us. The trailhead was 15 minutes north of Dalvik. We set off directly from the cliffs at the edge of the fjord and, as usual, hiked the first 330 feet over a green meadow into a small valley. Then we climbed the summit of Kerahnjúkur at 3,599 feet, followed by a ski descent to the northwest towards Ólafsfjörður. Ahead of us lay a steep, 2,000-ft face. It tapered into three gullies that led to a shallow section. Everyone chose their individual line and left their personal tracks in the Icelandic snow. We traversed north and put the skins back on.

on 3,510-foot Kistufjall. The anticipation grew, even though our legs were no longer the freshest after climbing a total 5,200 vertical feet already. Once we reached the summit, our high expectations were exceeded all over again.

We looked to the northeast. The Arctic Ocean and Eyjarfjörður were right at our feet. Perfect spring corn awaited us. Content master Lukas launched his drone. Christoph, Alemax and I dropped in and skied at full speed towards the open water. The rest of the group followed our tracks. We were simply blown away by this run, which we will remember forever – truly "one for the books."