Ski touring trip Iceland

Experiences on the Troll Peninsula in northern Iceland between fire, ice and the Northern Lights

There was still a spot available for ski touring in Iceland.

I gladly take advantage of the opportunity, even though I'm informed that three snowboarders are participating. This makes us a somewhat uneven group of three ski tourists and three snowboarders. Thanks to the friendly relationship with Alpine Welten, I'm allowed to venture out on my own on the tours and climb additional peaks alone. So, it's no problem if things go slower than usual.

As planned, the flight will depart from Munich to Keflavík on April 22, 2023.

At the gate, I search for my group among the Iceland travelers. The departure is already two hours late and is canceled due to engine failure, just as I find my group.

What now? Together, we, who have only known each other for a few moments, consider how to handle this difficult situation.

Christina, my wife, the organizational talent, helps us from afar to immediately book a hotel at the airport, while I clarify the financial consequences and the next steps with Alpine Welten.

With absolute uncertainty about when and if the plane would take off the next day, we met for dinner after checking in, where we got to know each other better. The group immediately liked each other. Could this be due to a shared fate?

In any case, we will enjoy the amenities of this beautiful hotel together.

The next day, Christina, my organizational talent, brings more about our

Get more information than we can get directly at the airport.

The plane will take off more than a day late, so we'll spend most of Sunday at the gym and spa, making the best of the situation.

We arrive in Keflavík much too late, where we are greeted by the mountain guide and his wife.

All that's left for us now is to drive through the night toward Ólafsfjörður on the Troll Peninsula. Completely exhausted, we try to rest as best we can in the car.

But suddenly the guide stops: There are the Northern Lights in the sky. I'm very excited; I've heard a lot about the green lights, but I've never seen anything like them.

Everyone gets out and tries to capture the fascinating spectacle with mobile phones and cameras

to hold on.

The journey continues until dawn.

We are taken to our home, a log cabin right on the shore of Eyjafjörður.

Now the guide wants to sleep, while we, full of energy and eager not to miss the first ski tour, set off on our own, probably tired from the journey but highly motivated, and climb one of the nearby peaks via a steep gully.

Unfortunately, there is no snow at low altitudes up to 100 meters at this late time of year, so we first climb over grass and moorland with our skis on our shoulders.

We reach the summit via a ridge and descend through the next, even steeper gully in fantastic spring snow.

We return just in time for the briefing with the guide.

Now we're off to the 970-meter-high Múlakolla, unfortunately with no visibility in the fog and the realization that splitboards and soft boots aren't very suitable for traversing hard snow. During the descent, however, the boards whizz past us.

A cold beer in the hot jacuzzi awaits us in the log cabin.

We prepare dinner together: fish from the nearby market dominates our menu.

For breakfast, what a poem: probably the best smoked salmon I have ever eaten.

We continue to the fishing village of Dalvík, to the peaks of the Mulahyrna peninsula.

I climb alone to a distant summit and then descend to meet the group again on the way up.

I only meet the group at the next summit during the rest stop.

Together we ski down the fantastic firn: perfect conditions from the summit to the car.

Happy about our dream descent, we stop at the famous little café in the village: delicious, homemade cakes delight our palates.

Unfortunately, the weather was bad the next day.

We conclude our sightseeing tour with a visit to the geothermal baths in Mývatn.

Stepping into the manure-smelling soup takes a lot of courage. Now I understand why they drain the Jacuzzi here every day. The warm water simply springs from the ground everywhere. Even the electrical energy is generated geothermally. The steam generated by the volcano drives steam turbines.

With the weather good again, we decide to take a tour near Blockhaus, into the valley behind the peak that the two of us climbed on the first day.

Once again, the traverses are giving the splitboarders a hard time. One of the three decides to turn around and take the car through a tunnel to the other side of the mountain.

Thank you, Gerd. With this action, you enabled us to enjoy a wonderful descent to the other side of the mountain, which would otherwise have been logistically impossible.

At the car, I decide to leave the group and find my way back to the log cabin the way we came. I also climb the summit from the first day from behind and descend the steep gully to the village again.

I already meet my colleagues in the jacuzzi.

Man, I'm thirsty: quickly join the friends in the warm water and let a cool drink work its magic from the inside

On the day of departure, professional snowboarder Thomas and I decide to do the tour from the first afternoon again.

I set the perfect track for splitboarders. We reach the summit quickly. Unfortunately, the descent is with poor visibility. The snow at lower elevations has receded considerably in the last few days.

It's time to turn our backs on Iceland. Despite the late season, when most people here are already running around in shorts, we were able to experience some beautiful ski tours with ocean views.

And the binding:

At home, they're working hard on the new front jaw, while I'm testing the climbing aid here. The design of the climbing aid still leaves something to be desired.

The contact surface for the rubber heel on the shoe is too small and digs in.

In addition, edges that are not rounded enough also have a negative effect on the shoe sole.

Unfortunately, we're making slow progress with the brakes. The pitfalls of poorly defined bends are causing us trouble.

What cannot be calculated must be achieved by trial and error and slowly approaching the goal

A tentative approach is required: Very time-consuming, and we only have

a few weeks until the end of the season.

The pilot series is planned for next winter for testing with well-known names from the mountain sports world.