Ski & Snowboard Iceland
A Six-Week Ski Touring & Splitboarding Road Trip
Words and images by Rowan B, guide at Glacier and Volcano Expeditions
Spring 2020 was a season to remember! Insane amounts of snowfall during the winter resulted in exceptional snow coverage over most of Iceland and long periods of stable weather allowed us to ski most days throughout April and May. Guðný and I transformed into ski-bum mode and hit the road for a dream ski touring, splitboarding and ski mountaineering spring road trip!
Covid-19 had began to create problems in the world and most of the Glacier and Volcano Expeditions bookings were cancelled. We proudly honoured our cancellation policy and refunded all of the cancellations in full. Whilst this was tough, we couldn’t help but be happy to have the opportunity to take off on a road trip for an extended period knowing that we did not need to go back home any time soon.
The Glacier and Volcano Expeditions equipment van is also a camper van that goes by the name of “Frank” and he was soon emptied out of guiding gear and loaded up with everything we needed to hit the road for over a month. Frank’s setup is not quite as comfortable as Buckingham Palace, however he is more than cosy enough for spring road trips as he is fully insulated and features a little wood burner stove inside. The stove is a wee ripper! It cooks a decent meal, keeps the inside of Frank toasty as well as dries out our ski gear after a day of smashing Icelandic powder (or ice).
The first stop was the East Fjords which is home to some of Iceland’s most incredible ski terrain. Beautiful 1000m peaks that rise directly out of the ocean with top to bottom ski lines that were just screaming out to be launched down, full speed!
Guðný ripping through a couloir near Sauðárkrókur, North Iceland. Waist deep Icelandic corn!
It takes several hours to climb up, and it takes several seconds to ride down. Love it!
Most of the lines that we skied were in places that we had not skied before. We usually tried to time our descents with the sweet corn in the afternoon but occasionally the clouds and temperatures had other ideas so we ended up skiing really solid snow. Perfect for going fast!
We walked up many mountains to look around for a little while, then slide back down again. So much fun!
Frank took us around the Ring Road one-and-a-half times. The East Fjords were so good at the beginning of the trip that after completing the full Ring Road, Frank decided to take us back to the East Fjords again!
The following gallery is a random display of photos from our road trip shot mainly by Rowan Bashford, co-owner and guide of Glacier and Volcano Expeditions. Click on a photo to enlarge and scroll through as a slideshow.
