Scaling the Majestic Icelandic Peaks “Hidden” in Plain Sight

“I hope you guys brought a lot of sunblock; otherwise, you are not going up there,” said the guide as he carefully looked us over. My friend and I had just arrived at his hut at 5:30 in the morning, feeling a bit tired after the long drive from Reykjavik to Skaftafell National Park the day before.

Part of the drive, by the way, was through the massive ash cloud from the Mt. Eyjafjallajokull eruption. Incidentally, we had been involved in clearing ash from farmsteads just a few days earlier.

On our way to the Skaftafell National Park, we had to drive through the ash cloud from the Eyjafjallajökull eruption.

Our mission: Scale the four peaks collectively known as Hrútfjallstindar, situated in the Vatnajökull glacier, just west of Mt. Hvannadalshnjúkur, Iceland´s highest peak. The highest of the Hrutfjallstindar peaks reaches 1.875 meters. You could perhaps translate the name to English to something like “Ram Mountain Peaks,” but that sounds a bit silly actually, so let´s not!

These peaks are majestic but they are rarely scaled as people usually go for the their much better know neighbour even if the peaks are in plain sight from Mt. Hvannadalshnjukur on a clear day. To be fair, Hrutfjallstindar Peaks are a tougher proposition than Mt. Hvannadalshnjukur, although the way is shorter. It takes about 8-10 hours to reach the peaks, and the total travel time is probably about 11-15 hours depending on your fitness or conditions. As you are up on a hardcore glacier, you will require safety lines, an ice ax, and crampons. The elevation gain is probably about 1.750 meters. The rub is that there is some climbing involved which is not really a part of the regular hike to Mt. Hvannadalshnjukur.

The imposing cliffs of Hafrafell at the start of the hike. I will repeat my warning from before: Never, ever go up on an Icelandic glacier without bringing and using proper safety gear and clothing. Also, always use the services of experienced companies such as Icelandic Mountain Guides, which are, in my experience, totally the best.

Anyway, I was a bit surprised to get a question about sunblock.  I filled my bag with warm clothes, staying true to the rule of three layers of wool or fleece, and I even brought my prized woolen sweater as an extra fourth layer, but that article saved my half-frozen bacon on the hike up to Mt. Hvannadalshnjúkur three years earlier. I worried about sweeping cold winds, snowstorms, murderous crevasses, slippery slopes, and my fear of heights, which I hoped wouldn’t be a problem.  But sunblock? Not really.

I rummaged through my backpack and discovered that, indeed, I had the good sense to bring the said crucial ointment. I triumphantly showed this to the guide who ordered us to cover ourselves in the stuff. “Lay it on thick and keep it fresh,” he ordered. And we got going.

The route to Mt. Hrutfjallstindar goes something like this:

From the Skaftafell National Park, drive up to the creeping glacier called Svínafellsjökull (literally: Pig Mountain Glacier!) and park your car there. Then walk right next to another creeping glacier, Skaftafellsjökull, beneath the ominous-looking cliffs of Illuklettar (Evil Rocks). Then you go up the slopes of Hafrafell hill. At the top, you get an awesome view of the massive, creeping glacier Skaftafellsjökull. From there you head up a ridge until you reach the not-so-uplifting name of Sveltiskarð (or “Starving Pass”). Then you take the final leg up to the peaks. On the peaks you get an unparalleled view across the Vatnajokull glacier with such stunning features as Mt. Hvannadalshnjúkur, Svínafellsjökull and the ridge Tindaborg (or Peak City) if you want to translate those strange Icelandic names.

Mt. Hvannadalshnjúkur, the highest peak in Iceland, seen from the Hrutfjallstindar peaks. You rarely see it from this angle. The warning about sunblock was pertinent. The sun beat down like a hammer all day, and the sunlight reflected and amplified on the ice. So going up there without sunblock would probably have resulted in first- or second-degree burns.

But thanks to all that sticky sunblock, that didn´t happen. The only thing I wish I had done differently was bring shorts to my glacial excursion. I was wearing a T-shirt up to 1.100 meters, but I was sweating like crazy in my fleece pants, and I am sure you are all thanking me for sharing that with you. But all in all, it was one of those magical days you experience only a few times in your lifetime.

The glacier itself was almost totally free of snow; it was just bare rock and hard ice. Sometimes, our crampons didn´t even penetrate it sufficiently. But man, it was fantastic up there. We found pools of absolutely clear water, and our guide told us that this water would be useless for consumption in the long term, as it contains little or no minerals.

Crossing this huge crevice that cut the slope down from the highest peak in half was best done slowly and methodically.

In the distance we saw the ash plume from the raging Eyjafjallajökull eruption being swept away to the southeast by the high-altitude winds.

In the air, we saw many jet streams as air traffic was directed north over Iceland. We made our way across impossibly narrow ridges covered in ice. We met a group of people who taunted us for being slow as we climbed up and down the peaks. Of course, we laughed it off and had lunch in the white wonderland, drinking cocoa and chewing on extremely high-calorie snacks.

I´m no great mountaineer, but being on an Icelandic glacier in great weather is simply out of this world. Its sheer purity cleanses the soul and clears the mind.