This summer we went to Iceland on a great snowkite adventure. Our plan was to use a sailboat to access the remote West Fjords and ride them. The flight to Iceland surprised us with a 4-hour quick hop out of Boston.  We had a few warm-up days snowkiting the Langjokul Glacier near Reykjavik. Einar Gardarsson who runs snowkite tours in Iceland, www.snowkiter.co.uk  provided us with great local information.

We rode on the East side of the glacier for a couple of days in strong winds and with a few of the passionate, Icelandic snowkiters.   It was great to ride in the 24-hour daylight. Here is a shot of Mummi riding on his home turf at midnight.  During our stay, it was windy (7-10m kites) every day on the glacier.

My next stop, and the primary goal of this trip, was to hook up with Siggi and Runar from Borea Adventures in Isafjordur.  They provide sailboat adventures, www.boreaadventures.com into the West Fjords.  This part of Iceland is known for good snow, wind, and great terrain.   Using the sailboat, Aurora, we would sail up one fjord, go ashore in the rubber raft, and ride the amazing terrain.

Chilly winds provide great snowkiting and easy access to Iceland’s majestic Veidileysufjordur just 5 miles from the Arctic Circle. These fjords have been hammered over time by relentless weather and create incredible riding in pleasant summer conditions. In late May, our team of 5, anchored our mobile base camp, the 60-foot sloop Aurora, beside the snow-covered beaches. Each day a new adventure greeted us with snowkiting terrain that few eyes have been lucky enough to see.

We would ascend 1,000 feet up to the plateaus between the fjords in perfect 7-meter winds.  With great views across glaciers, mountains, oceans, and rivers, we would session for the afternoon then continue our kite tour by riding down into another fjord.  Meanwhile our floating home would sail out-and-around to meet us with food picked from the sea, local drinks, and a warm island attitude.  This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to wind-powered adventures to remote locations around the world.

To an energy guzzling American, it was great to visit a country that uses geo-thermal power.  Ohhh, and all those natural hot springs to soak in.  Using the sailboat to access the snowkite spots was not only a very cool adventure but also cool in the sense of global cooling by utilizing wind power.  Yes, we were quite “green” in Iceland. 

Ken Lucas
www.snowaffair.com

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