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Thread: Iceland in April
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12-29-2019, 03:16 PM #1Registered User
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Iceland in April
Heading to the Troll Penninsula for 10 days in April. Very psyched. One of the group was there last year. Easily accessible terrain, plenty of options for aspect and pitch.
I have been doing my research- We have an Air BNB west of the Karlsardalur valley. Looks like we might get cool terrain from the house.
Marc Chauvin was kind enough to post routes which I have on a caltopo map
Anybody have any other beta to share?
Marc's video.
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12-29-2019, 05:27 PM #2
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12-29-2019, 06:48 PM #3Alp Rausch
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I was there last March for 3 weeks til beg of April. Had about 3 good weather days to ski in that 3 week period, the rest of the time there was a fierce gale blowing (50-80 kmh) and everything was wind scoured and icy. Would love to do it again with a good weather window though. Wish you luck!
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12-29-2019, 07:20 PM #4Registered User
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Most everything seems to be visible on google maps. Just go somewhere and observe the next valley and go there the next day. Only thing to keep in mind I suppose is that anything facing the sea regardless of aspect is generally wind scoured.
Mostly ran into guided groups when I was there two years ago and those were few and far between.
Posting from FB so these will disappear in a few days (lazy).
Dranagfjall
Top of Kirkjufjall looking east. Easy ascent with chutes on valley walls or off the north side of the east shoulder
Karlsardalur Valley
Mulakolla toured out the door in Ólafsfjörður but this area is a cat ski op, wasnt operating in March when we were there.
Nice objective out of Ólafsfjörður, Kistufjall I think
Pferjvall I think out of the town of Kleifar (near Ólafsfjörður)
Fjardara area (tunnel)
My friends
Hornstrandir is cool too I guess
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12-29-2019, 08:08 PM #5Registered User
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12-29-2019, 08:10 PM #6Registered User
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12-30-2019, 01:16 PM #7
I went in early May a few years ago, we did a combo of Westfjords and Troll. Article and video here.
Your best bet is just to drive around, see it, ski it. There's great skiing everywhere.
Don't forget to max out your duty free allowance for booze at the airport.
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12-30-2019, 02:07 PM #8Registered User
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Went for 10 days in early April in 2016. Rented a van/camper and toured around the Troll and West Fjords. Everything will be so condition dependent and agree with Skiar above...just drive around, see it and ski it. We had amazing conditions. Dry pow (16") with minimal wind on first night that setup the trip nicely. A couple things that come to mind:
1. Be mindful of Easter and get groceries and shit in Reykjavik if you can. I remember lots of stores closed over that 10 day holiday.
2. Cool little ski area with fun side country outside of Akureyri that offers skiing by the hour. Grab an hour lift, ski a few laps then go tour. A good first day/intro to the snowpack.
3. The "Aquatic Center" or whatever the fuck in Dalvik is dope. We were dirt bagging it so the showers and pools were a treat.
4. New snow always seems to have a perfect bed surface. Deep slab avalanches didn't seem to be a concern as much as storm slabs and windloaded slopes. That said, it seemed like the wind blew from every fucking direction loading lots of different slopes.
5. You CalTopo map had lots of the same zones we skied...the skiing is endless. Is you can see it.
6. Cheap SIM cards ($70 for 20GB) at the airport provide you with good cell service throughout the county. I'd strongly recommend this if you're travelling as road conditions during storms are no joke and their transportation webpage has excellent, real-time road conditions/closures. Not to mention excellent SAR.
Have Fun!
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12-30-2019, 02:09 PM #9
we went in late may 2019 , based in cabin at olafsfjord , was a low tide snow year but still had the most amazing trip , skiing from the road with very short transfers from the accommodation , exception was the day of hitching a lift on a whale watching boat over to a beach and touring on some amazing remote terrain
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12-30-2019, 07:47 PM #10off your knees Louie
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01-01-2020, 06:31 PM #11Registered User
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All great- thanks you guys.
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01-01-2020, 06:43 PM #12
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01-03-2020, 10:35 AM #13
Looks like it could be a good trip if you get good weather. I had been thinking about one of the sailboat based trip in Iceland, but could see getting stuck on the boat in bad weather for a week. I'm going to download your gpx files, might be useful someday :-)
Make sure to buy beer and sim cards in the airport at duty free when you land. Prices are like half.
Look forward to seeing your trip report, have fun!
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01-03-2020, 06:05 PM #14
The animal in the picture is a blue morph Arctic Fox.
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01-05-2020, 01:42 PM #15Registered User
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Got it.
- Look for good skiing, then ski it.
- Buy duty free.
- Eat hot dogs
- Be on the lookout for the Blue Morph Arctic Fox.
This all sounds manageable.
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01-06-2020, 04:50 AM #16
Wow, that place looks incredible.
watch out for snakes
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01-06-2020, 07:26 AM #17
Here is a link to
TR - Arctic Heli Skiing in Iceland, March/April 2016
I skied 3 heli days, 1 day touring, and 2 resort days. I love Iceland and look forward to returning. Have a great time!
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01-06-2020, 11:53 PM #18Registered User
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Iceland Trip
Hi, guys I plan a trip to ice land many time to visit ice land but failed. I see all pics you share all are amazing and beautiful. please suggest me which month is best to visit.
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03-04-2020, 08:10 PM #19
This is wicked! Planning my trip right now, looks like Apr7-22. Sounds like a huge snow year.
Thanks for all the info.
I have a million questions but ill only ask 1 for now;
Is 4x4 necessary for rental vehicle? Or is it all paved and easy like Norway? Renting in Reykjavik and planning on circumnavigating the island. Troll is our destination but been known to venture elsewhere on these trips.
Cheers
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03-04-2020, 09:12 PM #20
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03-04-2020, 09:44 PM #21Check with the car rental company to see what kind of tires the put on their rentals.
I recall renting a front wheel drive vehicle that had studded snow tires on it. It worked very well on the roads I travelled
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03-10-2020, 06:48 AM #22
Anyone independently book any huts? Easy/hard?
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03-10-2020, 10:32 PM #23Registered User
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wait, you skied Hornstrandir? How did you get there, heli? I've been on literally every road in the West Fjords as far as you can go. I was going to take a flight up to Hornstrandir but was there too late in the season and they stopped the week before I got there. I know in summer you can take ferries, or a very, very long hike.
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03-11-2020, 11:06 AM #24Registered User
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The guys who run the sailboat ski tours also have a ferry I think, if the weather is good they might take you? Other option is to ferry to the end of the sheltered fjord to the south and tour over the highlands. But probably best to make friends with a local family that owns one of the cabins up there over camping (which would suck hard if a big storm rolled in).
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03-11-2020, 04:02 PM #25Registered User
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