Explore Iceland video: Part 2

Explore iceland video: Part 1

Explore Iceland Teaser

Amazing last day, steep and pow pow! North-est face of Skessuhorn.

Skessuhorn, the "icelandic Matterhorn", after our the defeat last week, we were eager to try again, and the weather was looking good for this last day of skiing for this trip. We parked at one of the deserted farm below the mountain and started with a little walk before putting our skins on, the way up was easy and the last bootpack on the ridge to get to the summit was magic, the sea far below, steep faces, ridges and spines all around, just an hour from Reykjavik...
The top of the face was loaded with slabby snow and we had to stay close to the rocks, doing a bit of route finding "chamonix style". The rest of the face was in perfect conditions and it fells really good going down so fast from such a cool mountain...
The night was spent out in Reykjavik where we had to relax and celebrate the success of the trip, enjoying the craziness of the nightlife out in the capital city...

Morning walk to the snowline, Skessuhorn (957m) in the background

Skintrack highway to the top

Pier and Michele getting to the summit

Patrik on the south ridge of Skessuhorn

Pier, Paul and Felix about to drop into the north-east face of Skessuhorn 

Felix enjoying the north ridge

Freeride!

Pier and Paul at the bottom part of the face

Superjeep and ice cave climbing and skiing!

Easy day for some of us today, but Paul, Max and Patrik jumped into Arnar Felix and Atli's superjeep to go on an adventure on Langjokull, to try to find some of these amazing Icecaves, to iceclimb and ski a bit around.
The weather was quite bad for most of the day, and they got lost in the fog of course, getting a bit stuck in the deep snow, but that is part of the fun... They found the ice cave and the icelandic team could play with their beloved ice and climb around, a bit of skiing as well for Paul, but just a nice adventure on a big glacier with the big tires, that is Iceland for sure!

Arnar Felix trying to find the way in the fog

Max enjoying the show, deep....

And here is the cave!

Last step, the tires need some air again before hitting the road

Fishing, one more couloir and an incredible sunset!

Our friend Axel from Olafsfjordur called us and offered us to go fishing with him, great idea, with a calm sea it was the perfect day for a trip on the arctic ocean, we were not that lucky with the fishing, but I guess we have to train a bit more... We checked out a very long couloir from the boat just above Olafsfjordur and decided to go for it,. We raced on the way up, sweating out all the weird (but good) food from the previous night, and we discovered an amazing view above the fjords. The couloir was very long and so easy to ski, so nice... no stress, just pure pleasure! The weather was getting better and we decided to drive down the west coast of the Troll Peninsula looking for a nice sunset, and we found it, a nice evening by the sea with a BBQ, a few drinks and good friends, good times!

Patrik busy with Paul on our nice fishing boat

Axel getting ready with the gear

Patrik trying his best

We're checking the different faces from the boat, good spot

All our clothes still smell...

Paul, Patrik and Paul went horse riding at the local farm

Michele and Paul on the top of Sydriarhyrna above Olafsfjordur 

The never ending couloir on the north face of Sydriarhyrna

Gelato?

BBQ by the arctic ocean, not bad!

Michele enjoying the view

Another drink?

3 peaks and a sheep head?

So back to the Troll peninsula today, after noticing a few nice looking faces around Olafsfjordur we started touring towards Arnfinnsfjall, the summit was incredibly scenic and we rode down some great snow on the backside. Patrik had this idea of line next to some cliffs above the sea from the next peak, so the skins were back on for another skitour, we splited on the top so we could all have a different lines, there was couloirs everywhere, with some crazy shape... amazing place...
But the problem is that we had to get back to Olafsfjordur side, because the valley we were now had only the sea at the end of it, no road or harbour. So we decided to tour back up to the first peak of the day, we finished with a long bootpack in deep powder, and Pier did a lot of the work, thanks.
The way down back the cars was great again, perfect compact powder... As a reward, our friend Axel Pétur Ásgeirsson organised a traditional icelandic food dinner: sheep heads, lamb, fishballs, liver paté, bloodpudding, sour sheep testicules, dried fish, roten shark... We all deserved it after such a long day...
Check out Axel's place, bungalow with private hotpools overlooking the lake, perfect skitouring lodge and about 7 peaks to skitour directly from the houses. www.brimnes.is

Pier on the top of Arnfinnsjall, Olafsvik in the background.

The arctic ocean is not far

Our playground on the second run, the X couloir in the middle

Another nice couloir

Paul enjoying the easy snow

At the bottom, the nice Fossdalur

And one more perfect northfacing couloir

Patrik is on that peak, ready to shoot us on our peak

Deep powder bootpacking up in a crazy landscape

Nice lunch on the top

Pier cannot wait to have his sheep head, it looks tasty, isn'it?

Lucky day in the troll peninsula

After spending the night in Akureyri we went to explore the Troll peninsula, and we started to hike up a slope above one of the tunnel after Dalvik, and while we were going up, the weather was getting better and we could see some nice looking north faces. Patrik was getting excited bout getting some great shots with perfect light, and we hike up and down the mountain 3 times to track it all, perfect snow, like 10cm of powder on top of a compact layer, cream snow to ski down...Later we met up with Jokull Bergmen, the local ski guide, he was busy at that time with clients but gave us some good tips, we will be back: www.bergmenn.com

Getting ready above the fjord

Paul, Patrik, Pier and Michele on their way up

Pier and Michele on the ridge, Akureyri in the background

Patrik and Paul on a private photoshoot

Patrik on the top, looking towards the arctic ocean 

Felix abou to drop in

Paul somewhere on the ridge, about to drop in

Michele's track down

Pier and Paul enjoying a beer after the skitour

Foggy sulfur skiing, secret hot pools and blue lagoon!,

Back on the road after a great time in the east fjords, we drove through the highlands to arrive in Myvatn, where the earth is playing around with nature in a lot a different ways... we skied a bit but it was very foggy and the best we did was to find that crack in the middle of a lava field, and after a tricky climb down because of the snow we found the warm water, turquoise blue, into the earth, and we could swim for quite a while, exploring the crack. After this incredible experience, we went for a second dip in the natural baths in Myvatn, we were all soft by then...

What do we do for photos... "one more time Paul!"

Michele playing with the different boiling mud pools

Michele looking for the entrance of the crack

The secret crack in the middle of a lava field

The natural baths in Myvatn

Eskifjordur lifestyle...

Our host Saevar arranged again for us a couple of snowmobile to go play with, but the expected sun never came, and not much visibility was around... So Saevar made a few phonecalls and we started a little cultural tour of the valley, we visited an old "Iceland spar" mine, a local small farm with really cute smelly sheep, an old whale station, the local shark drying house, and the old fish house where Saevar served us the delicious dried rotten shark meat.... with the icelandic national drink also called black death, the brennivin! In the meantime, the weather got a bit better and we went for a few laps above Eskifjordur, taking some misty photos with Patrik.

Thanks again to Sævar and Berglind in Mjoeyri for their help, skiing, fishing, hunting, snowmobile, shark, mines, hot pool, good food, etc... this place is a amazing!!! www.mjoeyri.is

Paul, Patrik and Pier entering the mine

Paul found a nice peice of Icelandic Spar

The team

The shark for tonight is drying....mmmmm

Paul feeding the friendly sheep

Patrik busy with Paul over some cool looking volcanic rocks

Paul and Patrik waiting for the fog in a nice couloir

Saevar, our great host is introducing the black death: Brennivin