Hiking up a mountain and riding it down, Iceland

After spending a night under the Northern Lights, I decided to make the most of this trip and stop by a mountain I had scouted during a previous trip, which seemed to be full of white powder. So I parked the car on the side of the track, put on my snowshoes, and, with my snowboard on my back, I headed up for the top.


Hiking up a mountain and riding down it, Iceland, March 2012

Peace

As the sun shone through the clouds and lit the snow, nothing but peace and harmony could be felt

Hiking up a mountain and riding down it, Iceland, March 2012

Jeep

Shamelessly inspired by a really good photography book I read about Iceland, I love how the snow sticks at the back of the car

Hiking up a mountain and riding down it, Iceland, March 2012

White powder

How can you not want to go there and ride it down?

Hiking up a mountain and riding down it, Iceland, March 2012

Wind

Not easy as it looked, the wind grew stronger and stronger as I climbed up

Hiking up a mountain and riding down it, Iceland, March 2012

Sun

But the sun was there too and, back to the wind, made every little break more appreciable

Hiking up a mountain and riding down it, Iceland, March 2012

Strong

I don't think I have ever been in places where the wind can be as strong as it is in Iceland. It does makes for really pretty snow shapes though

Hiking up a mountain and riding down it, Iceland, March 2012

Snow shapes

Such as these

Hiking up a mountain and riding down it, Iceland, March 2012

Powder

An hour later, I'm getting closer, but there is still a long way to the top. The view is great though, so I'm enjoying the ascension

Hiking up a mountain and riding down it, Iceland, March 2012

Traces

Looking back where I came from, the wind blows so much snow that my traces will be covered in no time

Hiking up a mountain and riding down it, Iceland, March 2012

Snowboard

Actually only seconds later the snowboard is already almost covered, it would not take long to loose it in the snow

Hiking up a mountain and riding down it, Iceland, March 2012

Snowshoes

Perfect for this trip, I can fit my snowboard boots in those snowshoes and they kept a really good grip on the icy parts

Hiking up a mountain and riding down it, Iceland, March 2012

Top of the hill

2h30m later I'm at the top, taking a last break before swapping the snowshoes for the snowboard and riding down
In the background, on the ride side, the lake Þingvellir where I spent the previous night can be seen

Hiking up a mountain and riding down it, Iceland, March 2012

Mini GPS

Very useful little GPS. I marked the location of the car when I left, and should a snow storm or thick fog come, I can get back to the car with zero visibility