Hey, you don’t know until you try, amirite?
We set out this morning and met up with the guide and a family from Colorado to hike to the summit of Snæfellsjökull, the glacier over the volcano at the center of Snaefellsness peninsula. The weather was great: 52 degrees and a clear sky.
We caravanned out to the starting point and collected our harness and crampons from the guide and set out first on a gravel road. We crossed some snow and then walked on moss & rocks a little ways, and then more snow. The guide said that he was very happy with the conditions because if it was any warmer, the snow would be softer and our feet would be getting wet. Any colder and we would be slipping on the snow.
We all shed a layer when we transitioned from the gravel road to the snow. I was just in my heatgear baselayer and coldgear shirt. Jaron kept his fleece on under his gore tex shell.
After some time on the snow, Jaron & I started slowing down. It was basically like walking in sand. I asked how much more snow we would be hiking on and the guide said basically the entire way. Oh…kay. I’ve hiked in Colorado at a higher altitude in a similar temperature with snow around but not on the trail and it was way easier.
But we weren’t on a trail. We were hiking straight up a ski slope. Our guide pointed out the ski lift. So, no switchbacks and it was really steep. The slope had 3 levels to it and then from there you were on the glacier. I took off my coldgear long sleeved shirt and was down to my heatgear baselayer. You know, what I wear on a motorcycle in 90 degrees.
Jaron was breathing pretty hard and cussing a lot. I asked the guide what the protocol was if someone was not going to make it all the way up. He said you could follow the footprints back to the car or wait. After a little big longer, Jaron sat down and I asked if he was ok and he said he needed a minute. I kept making progress with my 6″ baby steps, shoving my toes in to the snow and checked on him a few minutes later. He said he was done. He asked if I was going to keep going and I said I was going to try. I yelled “happy anniversary” as I left and he yelled it back.
At a later break, I asked about the glacier. The guide said that once you’re on the rope, if one person needs to turn back then the entire group has to turn back. So we agreed that the point of no return was at the actual glacier at the top of the third slope.
I made it up the second ski slope. I was taking a lot of breaks and the guide and the other family were being very patient. Like I said, you basically had to jam your toes in to the snow to make any progress. I was thinking my feet were starting to get cold, but it was going to level out soon at the top of the second slope, but it didn’t really seem to get easier when it leveled out. Then I stepped on my right foot at too much of an angle and felt something pop and a sharp pain. I said alright, this is my cue. It’s not going to get any better if I keep doing this, thanked the family for their patience and said I didn’t want to prevent them from reaching the summit today. I went over to a mossy area and sat for a bit and then started making my way down to Jaron.
This is the rest of the party making their way up the third slope.
I really had to jam my heels in to the snow to walk down. I almost slipped a couple of times and was like, eesh. I’m alone on a snowy mountain in a foreign country. It was really tempting to just slide the entire way down.
I met up with Jaron a little sooner than I expected to because he’d come up a little since he tapped out. We decided to try following the footprints and took a few breaks for Julie’s poor foot.
Based on the elevation where we started (1700 ft) and where we each stopped, Jaron made it 1/4 of the elevation (600 ft) and Julie made it 1/3 (830 ft) of the elevation before turning back. Julie went a total of 6.2 miles, so, 3.1 miles out.
We did not realize that we would be hiking on snow the entire time and going straight up a ski slope. It was basically like hiking the hill at Julie’s dad’s farm continuously if it was covered in sand.
We looked back at the information online to see where we’d gone wrong. The summit was at 4744 ft and we started at 1700 ft elevation, which is lower than we thought we would be starting from based on the trailhead (which made it more to hike). Julie’s guidebook said 2500 ft elevation gain, which is a lot, but we didn’t have 60# backpack so we thought we’d be alright. Based on where started, we would have had to do 3000 ft in elevation gain.
The reviews all said it was hard but doable. And the website said it was “not challenging and suitable for most people.” 🤔 The elevation gain and distance were not posted on the website.
So if it was 3,000 ft elevation gain in, say, 5 miles each way, that’s an average grade of 11% or a 12.2 degree incline. So, more of a climb than a hike. I mean, that’s steep for a motorcycle. In fact, the first time we went to the ADV rally DirtDaze, it was at a ski resort in the summer and people were taking dirt bikes up the ski slope and wiping out.
It was a bummer to drop out, but we both feel like we dropped out at the appropriate time for ourselves. Jaron was wearing too many layers and got too hot. I remember seeing frost on his forehead from sweat. He only had 500-800 ml left of 3 liters of his drinking water when we got back to the car. It’s unusual for him to suck water down that fast. So he would have run low on water if he’d kept going.
We’re not feeling like _total_ wimps and think we made a reasonable decision to try it based on the information available. Apparently only people who book thru the website AND complete the activity can post a review. It kind of makes you wonder what percentage of hopefuls end up dropping out. If asked for feedback, we are going to suggest that objective metrics like distance and elevation gain be included in the description.
When we set out I remember being surprised that there was only 1 guide for 6 people. The tour was capped at 7 people. If we’d had a 2nd guide (like some of the reviewers did), then Jaron & I could have split off and at least made it to the bottom of the glacier at a slower pace. Probably the reason I stepped on my foot wrong is because I was going too fast trying to keep up with the group.
After we made it off the mountain, we got lunch and then headed back to the hotel for showers, much hydration, and a quiet afternoon of reading.
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