Snæfellsjökull glacier is visible from Reykjavik on a clear day. It sometimes sticks out of the horizon to the north-west of the city, starkly white or painted gold by the setting sun. It is beautiful for sure, and I often find myself longing to go up there. The last time I had ventured up the glacier was in 1994 with my cousin.
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Conquering Snæfellsjökull glacier
That trip in ’94 was fun. We made it our mission to drive from our home town of Akureyri and conquer Snæfellsjökull glacier. It was the right thing to do since we were still laughing about a group of eccentrics who had predicted that aliens would land on the glacier in November 1993. Hundreds of either gullible or curious people waited in rough winter weather for extraterrestrials to no avail. We had such a fun time on our road trip, pitched our tent at Arnarstapi, cooked burgers, and made snide comments about everybody else there. We have, of course, become the same people we thought were hopelessly tacky back then.
Reaching the Icelandic alien landing platform
To complete our mission of reaching the top of the alleged alien landing platform, we joined a snowmobile tour. The guide was furious with us since we decided to see how fast we could go downhill when we reached the top. The guide was right. To plunge a snowmobile at top speed into a glacial crevice is an efficient way to ruin an expensive vehicle and snap your neck. But we had no concept of deep cracks hiding under the white slope until the exasperated guide had explained them us (again). On the drive back home, we felt like we had outsmarted the grim reaper himself and felt very good about ourselves.
Fast forward to 2020, and I believe in doing what the tour guide tells you to do. But to my credit, I listen to way better music than when I was 22. So it is not all downhill!
Last-minute birthday arrangements
I came across Snæfellsnes Tours when I was browsing Facebook and realizing that I had not planned anything fun for my wife on her birthday, which was in two days. That was unacceptable. The weather forecast was a little dubious with cloud cover over the Snæfellsnes peninsula. However, it hinted that cloud cover might break in the afternoon. I messaged her and asked if she was game for a trip up the glacier. I would take the day off. She was, of course.
Crisis mode
The crisis hit when I was out running the night before the birthday. I grasped that I had failed to consider bringing bubbly on our trip. While running, I checked my phone and saw that the state-run booze store was open until eight that night. I had time to complete my 15K run and bike to the store. I picked my pace and made it in time. A brief moment of panic hit me when I only saw the cheap stuff on offer. You do not take the two time voted Best Singer in Iceland, TV star and acclaimed national treasure up on a glacier on her birthday and offer Asti Gancia. Better to find a glacier crevice and jump right in. I panicked, messaged her best friend, and asked her what to do. But when things looked the bleakest, I looked up and lo! Salvation was there in the form of small Moet Chandon bottles. I paid a King’s ransom for those couple of fancy sips and my mojo was restored.
Reaching Grundarfjörður
To get to the town of Grundarfjörður from Reykjavik, you cross the Snæfellsnes peninsula on the so-called lake route, which is just delightful. Grundarfjörður is famous for being right next to the Kirkjufell mountain. The guide greeted us and told us that the glacier was obscured by fog. He said to us that we would give the tour a go, and if the mist held when they approached the starting point, he would repay us all. Fair deal. Well, we boarded a minibus and drove a short while to the starting point. Everybody wondered about visibility. But we were in luck. A break was opening in the clouds, and the sun was shining bright.
Seeing all the way to Látrabjarg cliffs from Snæfellsjökull glaciere
We happily boarded a snowcat, which took us on a smooth, albeit a slow ride to the top. The guide grimly joked that the glacier had halved in the past twenty years. ‘Easy money,’ the guide said. So it would be an excellent idea to carbon offset your tour to Iceland. We made two stops at the top of the glacier, with impressive views of in all directions. Although clouds obscured a great deal of the Westfjords, we saw the massive Látrabjarg cliffs in the far distance. The guide told us that Snæfellsnes Excursions offered tours which take you to up to the glacier to see the midnight sun when it sets in the west. It sounds pretty great and this is definitely on our list for next year. We decided this was the right time to break out the champagne. I can happily report that Snæfellsjökull and Moét Chandon champagne complement each other quite nicely.
Giving up the champagne
We enjoyed the view, and I gave up a large portion of my champagne. After all, I was driving back to Reykjavik and it was not my birthday. The guide then took us to our second stop which was much closer to the top. I think everybody burnt their phones out taking photos of the beauty on the glacier. There is something indescribable of being up on a glacier, there is nothing there but cold stark beauty. Champagne or not, you will not forget being up there.
