If only one thing pops into your mind when you think of Iceland, it’s definitely ice. And you would not be wrong. Ice caves and glacier hikes are some of the top things to do in Iceland.
Ice Caves
Iceland boasts many glaciers and therefore many ice caves. Rushing water melting off the glacier flows into a hole, pushing its way down further and further until eventually it finds a way out. Wah-la, we have ourselves an ice cave.
We took our ice cave tour with Mountain Excursions near the town of V?k. To get to the Katla ice cave, it was about an hour drive in a 4WD sprinter (think monster truck) across barren desert fields. The cave is completely isolated, situated in an ash-covered glacier that resembles what I believe Mars probably looks like. To reach the entrance, a few wooden planks act as bridges to cross with a few ropes to hold for support during the climb.
Once inside the cave, the ice walls are not shiny white or blue, but instead are covered in ash. You definitely want to be sure not to brush up against the wall or you?ll be coming out covered in volcanic soot.
The way out is even more exhilarating, and in my opinion, the most thrilling part. You scale the side of the glacier (with clamp-ons and a small rope to hold onto) to get back into the barren field.
From there, we took a small detour on the way back to see some filming areas from Noah and Star Wars, the old Ring Road, and a small emergency house in case of storms or volcanic eruption. If you want to feel like you are on a completely different planet, this is a must.
Glacier Hikes
After exploring Katla Cave, we found our way not too far back east toward another glacier.
Hiking a glacier in Iceland is absolutely the opposite of what I expected it to be, but shockingly exactly what it sounds like. Starting from the bottom, you slowly hike up the glacier. Doesn’t sound too crazy, but for some reason I had imagined myself transported to the top and walking around up there. No idea where I got that image.
Hiking the glacier is easier said than done, though. The glaciers are massive with tongues coming around each corner of the surrounding mountains. Because volcanoes surround most Icelandic glaciers, some glaciers seem to just be mounds of rock that are covered in dirt. In reality, ash covers the ice.
Solheimajakul Glacier Tongue
We hiked up Solheimajakul glacier tongue, which happens to be exactly where Justin Bieber filmed part of his music video to Cold Water. Kudos to him for choosing some cold, cold water to film by.
Once your clamp-ons are strapped around your feet and you have your ice pick in your hand like you’re ready to climb Everest (which apparently you can do in these clamp-ons), you begin the trek up. The easiest part comes first because ash covers the glacier and it feels like you’re walking on dirt ground. As you get higher, melting water starts to peer out, mini rivers form, and the maneuvering becomes more of an obstacle. However, the higher you get, the cleaner and sparklier the glacier becomes because as the glacier tongue moves out about 4cm a day, the black ash moves with it.
On top of the glacier, you could climb as far as the eye could see into the horizon. We opted not to for sake of time and instead wandered for a bit, explored what our guide calls the Grand Canyon of Iceland, watched ice climbers, and drank the freezing clean glacier water as it ran down.
My Experience on the Glacier
I had shockingly made it until the trek down, off of the ice and onto the ash, before I stumbled downwards. Before I knew it, my head was hitting the ice in front of me. Luckily my knee took one for the team, although my jeans were not so lucky. Note to self: Do not wear ripped jeans, because if you’ve caught on by now, my luck is that I’ll fall right where the rip is and blood will go everywhere. And here we have it: This is why my blog’s name is what it is!
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Finding yourself trekking up the side of a glacier and wandering through a volcanic ash-covered ice cave is a must on any trip to Iceland.
