Iceland Trip Report
James Morland •
I’d never really been too turned on by the prospect of skiing in Iceland – rolling hills and howling north Atlantic gales was the image I had. However, a brief chat with the late, great Frederick Ericsson following his trip there, soon changed my mind and on the 14th of May, when most people had long ago hung up their boards, we headed off to the Troll Peninsula on Iceland’s north coast. I was joined by Umberto, Enrico, Andrea and Filippo from Italy and Patrice, Will, Tom and Alf. Tom and Alf will be writing articles for the FT, The Independent and a few other ski mags - due for publication this autumn.
We were a group with a lot of heli skiing experience between us and I think it is fair to say that this trip was something pretty special for us all – and on several different levels. For me personally, I like the style of operation. It’s low-key, personal and relaxed with a real emphasis on quality skiing. Unlike many of the more commercial operations, here you are treated as an individual both on and off the mountain - not just another cash-generator on the conveyor belt.
We skied a total of 36 runs for just under 30,000 vertical metres in three days. Around half of these were first descents and we soon struggled to come up with new names. From top to bottom of every run, there was barely a bad turn and with the odd shower passing through, we even skied some powder in addition to the perfect, creamy spring snow. Day in, day out we skied big, wide open faces and steep couloirs with spectacular views of the rugged north Atlantic coast.
One of the really big advantages of Iceland in the spring is that the stable, maritime, snow pack generally leads to minimal avalanche risk and as a result, there are few issues with skiing genuinely steep terrain – way steeper than you will find at 95% of heliski operations.
Over the years I have skied in some fairly remote places but nowhere have I ever experienced the sensation of isolation that I felt standing on the peaks on the Troll Peninsula...and having just checked the map, I think I know why. If you drew a north / south line the entire way round the globe from Iceland and back again, it would travel, almost entirely uninterrupted by land, directly through the north and south poles, only just scratching the north east coast of Greenland on the way. It’s strange but you could actually feel this huge open space when you looked north...
The food cooked by Sonja was outstanding -she even got the firm nod from the Italians! The emphasis is on locally produced organic produce: fresh eggs from the lodge’s chickens, lamb from the farmer down the road, wild goose and of course, fresh fish – simple, unpretentious, good stuff.
Fortunately most of us managed to sneak out before the volcano erupted. Alf and Will on the other did not are possibly still in Reykjavik eating hotdogs and drinking beer under the midnight sun.
...If you want chocolates on your pillow, waiters in bow ties and your ego massaged do NOT come here. On the other hand, if you want a ‘real’, raw experience with an emphasis on quality skiing....give us a call now because the word is out and there will definitely not be enough seats to go round next season.
