Iceland Winter Adventure

[Tom]

Hello Everyone,

We are (I and two friends) preparing an expedition to cross Iceland in january, on foot. We have the itinerary defined, and have submitted it to safetravel.is.

Our route follows the offroad paths in highlands, but some main roads and huts are also included.
Here´s a preview of our route, and the places near our predicted camp site:

09/jan Left Akureyri
09/jan Hólakirkja Holar 40 40
10/jan Laugafell Cabin Sandbuoir 40 80
11/jan Nýidalur Sandbuoir 48 128
12/jan Versalir Grimsnes 53 181
13/jan Hrauneyjar Hella 51 232
14/jan Iceland Igloo Hella 50 282
15/jan Hvolsvöllur Hella 42 310
16/jan Hostel Skogar Asolfsskáli 46 360
17/jan The Barn Vik I Myrdal 46 406

We´ll be carrying all our needs in pulkas, and sleeping in a 4 season TNF tent. We have two Spots (Personal Locators).
Eventhough we´re experienced in expeditions in winter and climbed some mountains, we´ve never been to Iceland before.
We are trying to get as much information as we can, in order to prevent any troubles and to decide wich way to go.
We are aware that the weather is the main factor to be considered, and it will be the first thing on our radar to make decisions.

We´re also aware of the risks involved and the difficults of the issue. We read about the British guys and their unfortunate adventure.
Our purpose is different. We don’t want the exposure and publicity, just looking for a challenging and beautiful adventure.
We would appreciate information that could help us planning this adventure.

Thanks in advance for all the information.

Sincerely,
Tomaz

Attachments:

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   Route.jpg
   

[Peter]

I loosely know the Brit team you reference in the above post and this is something a friend and I have considered doing previously. We did quite a lot of research so might be worth us swapping notes, can you share an e-mail address?

[Tom]

Hello Peter,

Thanks a lot for your answer.

It will be great to hear about your research and exchange information.

You can mail me in tpaniz@hotmail.com

Thanks again

[Matteo]

Hi,
I’m not experienced in crossing but here are my tips:
– i would rather have skis (slightly wider than cross-country one) more than walking just to make easier.
– Track is kind of ok, but of course depend how much you can do every day.I think in average you can do 25km, usually you need to sleep in the tent half way to huts.I know people take 9 days to get to Hella, maybe only 4 is a bit optimistic.
– I think after Hrauneyiar can be that the snow pack is little or not present, so carry sledge on half of the south coast can be really painful (i don’t know if that is in the project, or you drop them in Hella) unless you have wheels to put underneath.
Cheers,
Matteo

[Sissi]

Please leave a plan with Safe Travel Iceland, and preferably contact them for advice.

Submit A Travel Plan

[Tom]

Hi Matteo,

Thanks for your answer and tips.
Eventhough we have skied before, we´re not experienced in cross country skis, so I think that´s not a good option.
We´re using snowshoes, and we plan to do more then 25km, despite of the short day light hours. Of course it will depend on the terrain and weather conditions, but we´re aware that´s going to be necessary.
The 9 days you mentioned would be from Akureyri to Hella? In winter? We have a few spare days for setbacks.

I´ll take a look at the south coast issue.

Do you know any store were we can buy or rent the sledges in Reyk?

Thanks again.
Cheers
Tom.

[Tom]

Hi Sissi,

Thanks for the advice. We already submited our plan to them, and i spoke with them by email. The only thing missing is the monitoring link, that we will provide so they can follow us on track.

Thanks you.
Tom.

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