Why is the ice blue? An introduction to glaciers in Iceland
Why is the ice blue? An introduction to glaciers in Iceland What is a glacier? A glacier is a huge mass of ice and snow that is constantly moving under its own weight. Glaciers are made up of fallen snow that compresses into thick ice masses. Glaciers form when snow remains long enough to transform into ice. Each winter, more snow is added, and it does not all melt in summer. The weight of the snow creates pressure which transforms the lower parts of the snow into ice. It forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds how fast it melts, over a period of many years, or centuries. Glaciers slowly deform and flow due to stresses induced by their weight which creates crevasses and other features. Glacier mass is affected by long term climate change (precipitation, temperature, cloud cover), which makes glacial changes to be considered amongst the most sensitive indicators of climate change. Why is the glacier ice blue? After snow falls on a glacier, it ends up getting compressed into ice. As it’s compressed ice, all air bubbles are squeezed out and ice crystals enlarge, which makes the ice appear blue. Water is very good at absorbing light. Blue is the colour of light that has the most energy. Only the strongest light, with the most energy, is able to escape. This causes the blue to be the only colour of light that escapes without being absorbed. The thicker the glacier is, the more blue it appears. What is a glacier outlet? Outlet glaciers, or glacier tongues, is where we do our glacier trips. They are channels of ice that flow out of ice caps (such as Vatnajökull glacier), which are constrained on the sides with exposed bedrock. What is an ice cave? A tunnel or a hole in the glacier formed by water flow. As they can be fragile in summer when it’s warm and the glaciers are melting, we can only access them in winter time when it’s cold enough, resulting in most water to freeze up. Ice caves can be full of water or not safe to access in the summer time. After snow falls on a glacier, it ends up getting compressed into ice. As it’s compressed ice, all air bubbles are squeezed out and ice crystals enlarge, which makes the ice appear blue. We are able to visit the ice caves during the winter time only and this is when we offer our public ice cave tours and the private trips for those who are interested. What is the biggest glacier in Iceland? Vatnajökull, the area where we operate as a company, is the place where you can experience the biggest glacier in Iceland and the second biggest ice cap in Europe. This glacier has around 30 different outlets and we proudly operate on two of them: a beautiful Falljökull in the summer and a Breiðamerkurjökull in the winter time. The first one is easy to reach from Skaftafell National Park and the second one is very close to Glacier lagoon Jökulsárlón. Is it safe to go on the glacier on my own? It is not recommended for travellers visiting Iceland to do a glacier walk on your own. The weather in Iceland is quite unpredictable and it is definitely not safe for a person who doesn’t know the area to be going to any glacier outlet without a guide and any safety equipment. We definitely recommend booking a tour with any of the local companies who offer visits to different parts of Skaftafell and Vatnajökull areas. Some travel agencies also offer glacier hikes in the Sólheimajökull area, which is closer to Reykjavík. Good option if you have limited time in Iceland. OUR RECENT POSTS
Why we love exploring the glacier in the summer
Why we love exploring the glacier in the summer From April to September we take you on small group glacier hikes to Vatnajökull National Park. Our favorite glacier outlet for an adventurous but family friendly hike is Falljökull. Pack your outdoor clothes and a light backpack for some layers and sunglasses and head to the southeast of Iceland! All our tours in the summertime start at Freysnes service station. You can leave your car behind and jump into one of our super jeeps. On the short drive you can enjoy a view of Hvannadalshnjúkur, Iceland’s highest peak, rising up at 2,110m tall, right until we dip deeper into the Falljökull valley. We drive as far as we can into the valley along an old sheep track that was put in by the local farmers, before the area was made into a national park. The track is still in use today to round up all the sheep that call the valley home during the summer, during the annual réttir. Our super jeep makes light work of the rough terrain so that we arrive at the edge of the glacier in no time. We care about our environment and therefore offset all our carbon footprints – who knows maybe there will be electric super jeeps soon?! Our guides have all equipment to keep you safe and help you into harness and crampons. With a helmet on your head and an ice ax in your hand we can start our summer glacier adventure. Crossing through the rocks the glacier has left we take the hill to get up onto the ice. You will take your first steps on Vatnajökull ice that is hundreds of years old. It doesn‘t take long to get used to crampons underneath your feet but the sound of crunchy ice never gets old. The Glacier Encounter is a gentle hike on the lower, flatter section with a view of the icefall from below. This hike weaves in and out of the relaxed waves where the crevasses flatten out again and explores lots of interesting features, vertical walls, deep moulins and lots of streams to drink from! You can expect a physically easy, but action-packed hour on the ice itself. The Glacier Encounter is the perfect choice if you are looking for an easy glacier hike in Iceland or a kid friendly glacier hike. You might even get to meet the inhabitants of Falljökull – glacier mice. Some might be relieved to hear they are not real mice but they are for sure special since you can only find them in a few places on earth and Faljökull is one of them! In this lower section of the glacier we also come across something very characteristic of Icelandic glaciers – the volcanic ash. We see it collected in small, volcano-like cones and in great streaks across the surface. Falljökull sits beneath Öræfajökull, the ´wasteland´ volcano that is one of just a few local volcanoes under Vatnajökull and in Iceland. With the ash blowing on Iceland´s high winds, it spreads across the islands and glaciers quite easily. During a glacier walk in Iceland you will truly experience the land of fire and ice. The Glacier Discovery takes you on a longer expedition to make full use of your three hours on the ice, navigating up through the cracks and waves to the base of the icefall. Up here, the ice is moving faster and the ash is dropping into the crevasses and getting washed down the glacier by the streams. We emerge up on a second plateau and choose our path around the edges of crevasses and moulins, where we can look down into the deep blue interior of the ice. Heading up into the seracs gives us an overview all the over the glacier lagoon to the ocean. Even on a rainy day the moody clouds make for the perfect backdrop of the high ice pillars of the ice fall. It’s hard to do the same tour twice up here because there are endless changing features to explore, but that’s the beauty of such a unique experience in nature. Our Glacier Discovery is a small group activity off the beaten path. If you are looking for an even smaller group glacier hike in Iceland we organize private tours. A guide just for your family with smaller children, your group of friends that want to try ice climbing or a proposal on the ice. Let’s find the perfect glacier adventure for you in the southeast of Iceland. OUR RECENT POSTS
A guide to hunting the Northern Lights in Iceland
A guide to hunting the Northern Lights in Iceland One of the biggest draws to Iceland is the Northern Lights. During the winter months when it’s dark you can witness this stunning natural phenomenon where green lights flicker and dance through the cold night sky. Typically the lights are visible in Iceland between August and early April. Here we’ll explain what the northern lights are and how that affects how you look for them, as well as how to use some helpful websites and recommended phone apps. What are the northern lights and how do they work? It helps to understand what the lights are before you start hunting for them. The mistake most people make is that they head out to see the lights and are met with a thick wall of cloud, a full moon, or there’s no forecast for the lights in the area that evening. The dancing lights, northern lights or the Aurora Borealis (in the northern hemisphere, Aurora Australis in the south) are collisions between electrically charged particles from the sun and Earth’s atmosphere. The particles are drawn to the magnetic north and south poles, which is why you only see the northern lights at high latitudes like in Iceland. We often talk about there being a ‘sun storm’ that leads to us seeing the lights. Just like with the rain, if there’s no rain, there are no rainbows. Without these particles coming from the sun carried towards us on a solar wind, there are no northern lights. This is why a forecast will show activity on one day, and not on another. What is the KPI index? When we talk about “activity” or the KPI index, what we’re referring to is how close the particles from the sun are in relation to us on a scale of 0 to 9. The Kp–index describes how much turbulence the solar wind has caused as it interacts with our atmosphere. The faster the solar wind blows, the greater the turbulence and the brighter and more intense the northern lights. The scale indicates how intense the geomagnetic storm is likely to be. It will regularly be between 1-3 daily in Iceland, but when it starts to hit 3-6, you’d better grab your camera and a sweater – but no need for a raincoat, it’s not that kind of storm. The most common colour we see is green, which is made by particles with oxygen interacting with the atmosphere about 60 miles or 100km above the earth. Nitrogen rather than oxygen produces blue or purplish-red aurora, which is generally considered a very good Aurora here in Iceland. This is more about the gas in the particles than how dark the sky is, or how “high” it is on the KP index. However, the more particles and the stronger the wind, the higher chance of seeing the lights and the more intense they’re likely to be. How to check the forecast There are a few sites that we recommend for checking activity. By using these you should be able to get an accurate forecast for each night you are here, and for different areas in Iceland. Check the cloud cover Use the Icelandic site vedur.is (which you can select in English) and here you can see an hourly cloud cover forecast to get an idea of the coverage in the area you will be staying. The trick to vedur.is is to remember that the cloud cover is green, and the clear skies are white – it can be a little confusing at first glance! You can select the language (English or Icelandic) in the top middle of the browser, marked with the flag. If you search “Aurora” in the search bar, or click on any of the coloured images of Iceland it will navigate to a page where the Aurora Forecast becomes available on the browser on the left. If you click that, you’ll see this view with green and white. On the right hand side it shows you the forecast level on a scale from 1-9, and will give you the sunrise, sunset and moonrise times for the day so you can try to plan your hunting hour-by-hour. You can move the blue button at the bottom hour-by-hour to watch the cloud forecast and the aurora forecast change. Check the activity You can do a basic check of the activity near you using the Vedur.is website and mobile version. We also recommend the app Aurora – My Aurora Forecast – Aurora Alerts and Northern Lights forecast app for Android or iPhone. The app can be set up to give you a push notification when the KP index is heading above 3, which is when you’ll start seeing green aurora with the naked eye. The in-app cloud coverage prediction isn’t always accurate however, so we would suggest combining the KP and activity predictions from the app with a more up-to-date and local cloud coverage prediction from Vedur.is. If you’re looking for something more in-depth, Spaceweather.com is a great resource for plain language information about solar activity and storms. They feature a daily forecast on the left hand side, a visual representation of the aurora around the northern and southern hemispheres, and also have an SMS update system you can subscribe to for about USD $4.95 a month that will send you more-in-depth text messages than the Aurora app. OUR RECENT POSTS
A guide to wildlife in Oræfi
A guide to wildlife in Oræfi When you come to visit us to take our tour, you might be staying in the area, taking a hike in the national park or just driving through. Here is a guide to the seasonal wildlife found in this area that you might be lucky enough to spot whatever your itinerary: Summer Sheep – Okay so these might not be wild as they are owned, however in the summer they get everywhere! Sheep are put to roam the countryside for the summer before being brought back in during the winter. They love to head up into the mountains however you will definitely find them along the road , I’ve found them in the middle of the night eating my vegetable garden and last summer one particular group favoured one of our guide´s font decks for their daily hangout so don’t be surprised if you wake up at your guesthouse with a sheep looking back through the window. Puffins – These beautiful and slightly clumsy birds come back to the island in late April/Early May and are here until mid-late August. Whilst you have to go on a specialist tour to see one (due to their cliffside location) it is pretty inexpensive and one of the more unusual and traditional tours you can do in this area. Summer Birds – The summer in Iceland brings back the birds, just open the window and you will hear a chorus of bird song. The Arctic Terns come back to nest, as do the Great and Arctic Skua. Both of these birds are very protective over their nesting grounds and young meaning they can be a bit spiteful and swoop so watch your heads! The Loa, or Golden Plover in English is the sign that summer has come, so once the first bird is spotted on the island everyone knows that summer is on the way here in Iceland. The Snipe (Hrossagaukur) is one of the nosier birds with a comical warble as it flies around, and the Oyster Catchers (Tjaldur) have the prettiest call as they wander around in pairs although often by the main road! Foxes – Not hugely common in this area, but as a wild animal they are around. We sometimes find their footprints in the snow during winter, and they’ve been seen up on the glacier’s edge. These creatures have very camouflaged fur so blink and you´ll miss them but you might be lucky enough to see one scampering around in the lava fields. Winter Reindeer – In the autumn and winter months the reindeer come down from the mountains to the lower ground. Often, we see them towards Höfn but this year they all decided to come and graze just next to Jökulsárlón. There is nothing prettier than a snow-covered landscape and a herd of reindeer standing proudly looking like something from a Christmas card, and they are so photogenic. OUR RECENT POSTS
Five things you might not expect to find on a glacier
Five things you might not expect to find on a glacier When you plan to visit Iceland’s glaciers, you might have conjured images of large icy waves creeping down the mountains. A myriad of colours including blues, whites and greys and dramatic cracks in the ice. However, there are a few other things you might not expect to find up there that you might be surprised to find. Mice: Okay so not what you or I know as a mouse but a glacier mouse. These are round furry stones that have collected moss as they have travelled along the ice and are home to hundreds of tiny organisms. The internal temperature of this mini ecosystem is warmer than the temperature on the ice and makes the perfect home and breeding ground for all these microscopic bugs. You can find these scattered on the surface of the glacier so keep your eyes peeled. Ravens: Here in Iceland there are a lot of Ravens around. A large group together is called a conspiracy or unkindness and you might become suspicious if you see a lot of them all gathering in one place as this can be considered a bad omen. If you come on a tour with us to Falljökull you will very likely see some ravens who have cheekily identified that tourists often drop the odd crumb or two as they have their lunch. These ravens are curious and very clever, and you’ll probably be able to see them very close up as they browse the menu and decide who´s scraps they want for lunch that day! Volcanic Ash: You might not think that a large icy scape such as a glacier would hold so many secrets within, however beneath the surface of the ice you can find layers of ash from each volcanic eruption in Iceland. After each eruption thick layers of ash would cover the glacier, as more snow falls and compresses on top of the ice then this layer is locked inside. In certain caves and tunnels, you can be lucky enough to witness the layers running horizontally through the wall making stripes in the ice. Running water. Not just a frozen block of ice, on the glaciers you can find fresh running water. Natural melting of the ice surface and snow high up in the mountains makes channels and waterfalls on the glacier. You can often find somewhere to grab a mouthful of icy cold water or ask the guide to show you how to do the drinking challenge using your ice axe and upper body strength for that refreshing gulp. Hollywood actors. So, this one is perhaps a bit far-fetched as it will not be a daily occurrence, however many Hollywood films and series have been filmed on Icelandic glaciers such as Interstellar and Game of Thrones. The glaciers lend themselves to interpretation of large lunar landscapes or a cold icy no-man’s land meaning they are a popular filming location. You never know who you might find up there filming their next blockbuster! If you would like to experience any of these up on the glacier, why not join one of our hiking tours. Here you can see a list of summer hiking tours. OUR RECENT POSTS
What to do with young kids in and around Skaftafell in the summer
What to do with young kids in and around Skaftafell in the summer If you are coming to visit our little corner of Iceland in the South East and you are traveling with young kids you might wonder if there will be enough for them to do, and activities you can enjoy as a family but here is a guide to some of the adventures you can take in this area. A glacier hike at Local Guide We are proud to offer private glacier tours suitable for children as young as 5 years old. Not only do we have a lot of experience as many of our guides have been taking their own children up on the ice, but we also have all of the necessary safety equipment in the smallest of sizes to allow your little ones to experience the glacier. Private tours are bookable on request and we encourage you to get in touch if you would like to have more information about these tours. Walk in Skaftafell National Park There are a number of hiking trails in the National Park and some of them are on flatter ground and accessible for all. A visit up to Sél is also very interesting, it is a small uphill hike to get there but rated easy/moderate. Sél was an old working farm, and there is still a traditional turf house in this location that you can visit and see how people lived in the past in these traditional Icelandic houses. If your children don’t fancy a hike, you can also just pack up a picnic or buy an ice cream from the café and explore the grassland around the campsite where you might even find sheep hiding in the bushes and friendly birds hoping you will drop a crumb or two. The playground in Hof In Iceland it is possible to use the playgrounds of schools and kindergartens on evenings and weekends. This means that after 4.30 on a weekday and all day during the weekend you are able to enjoy the playground in Hof that has some swings, slides, climbing wall etc as well as some football goals and grass area for running around and burning off some energy. Puffin tour with From Coast to Mountains This puffin tour is sure to appeal to all ages, you head out onto the black sands in a tractor and trailer before arriving at the cape where you will explore, learn about the history and geography, encounter birdlife and see puffins too. The minimum age online is 5 years old however it is possible to take younger children if the weather conditions are suited so make sure to get in touch with the office and check the weather forecast before booking a tour with children as it can get blustery down by the sea. OUR RECENT POSTS
ICELANDIC WEATHER AND TRAVEL PLANS
Icelandic weather and your travel plans. There is a phrase in Iceland that you will probably hear when on your travels, and even find fridge magnets, mugs and tshirts in the gift shops: “If you don’t like the weather in Iceland wait five minutes” This phrase can be used as a fun slogan but should also be heeded as advice. Iceland is a rock in the North Atlantic, an island exposed at all sides, and subject to a number of weather systems which can cause intense weather that may result in disruptions to your travel plans. Whilst uncommon in other European countries, Iceland experiences strong winds especially during the winter classed as storm conditions. These can be as strong as 40-50mps (140-180kph). Whilst Icelanders are used to these kinds of conditions and are well prepared by way of experience and advice in the local media, the winds often take visitors by surprise. One of the main things to remember when travelling especially in winter is to check conditions before you set off on any drive. There are a number of websites you can use, as well as taking advice to locals which can stop you ending up in any uncomfortable situations. Road.is Is the Icelandic road authorities website in English, here you can see live updates on the conditions, wind speeds, closures as well as webcams. It is recommended that you check this before setting off on any journey. Vedur.is Here you can see the weather forecast for up to a week in advance and it is available in English. Safetravel.is This is the website run by the Icelandic association for search and rescue. Here you can see weather alerts and travel warnings that may affect your journey. There is also a function to log your travel plans, this is especially useful if you intend to embark on any multi day hiking tours where contact may be limited, allowing the authorities to know your whereabouts. Leave enough time Always leave extra time, if conditions are unfavourable you may need to drive slower, and it is always a good idea to have time on your side so you do not end up rushing. Be flexible One of the most important pieces of advice all travellers should take note of, is that itineraries should be flexible. If strong weather conditions move in, and road closures take place you may not be able to reach your next destination, this means you may have to stay somewhere else, or re-arrange pre booked tours. If you cannot make your tour with Local Guide due to weather, we will always do our best to re-schedule (weather and availability permitting). It is important to make sure your contact details are logged correctly with us when you make your booking and you check your emails the night before the tour. You should not be afraid to drive in Iceland in the winter. Cars are equipped with studded tires in the winter months. With planning there is no need to be concerned, but by using the tips above you can be best prepared for a successful road trip. OUR RECENT POSTS
What to see in Iceland and when?
what to see in iceland When can I see it? We know that Iceland has a number of appealing natural phenomena that draw people to this little rock in the North Atlantic. This article will serve as a guide to best plan your holiday so you don’t miss the thing you want to see most! Northern Lights Whilst Iceland is Synonymous with Northern Lights, what some people may not realise is that you can’t see them all year around. Whilst the solar activity that results in the lights is always active, you need darkness in order to see them. This means the best time to see the lights in general is from late September to mid april. That is not to say that you can see them in August, or late April but consider them ´shoulder seasons´ and head for the main winter months. You can read more about how to spot the Northern Lights in our guide here (insert link to our northern lights blog) Midnight Sun Just as you can only see the Northern Lights in winter you can only experience the midnight sun in the summer months. At its peak in mid june iceland experiences almost 24 hours of complete daylight with the sun barely dipping below the horizon before rising again. The abundance of daylight in summer means a great number of activities can be done late into the night. It’s not unusual for people to head off on late evening hikes or to see people playing golf at midnight! The peak of the light is in mid-june but the summer days are long from May into August. Ice Caves One of the most popular winter activities is visiting an Ice Cave, and of course we are proud to be offering these tours during the winter, the season that runs from October to March. We can start to scout for the caves in later September and tend to start the tours in mid October, however this can be a little earlier or later depending on the weather and glacier conditions. We are safely able to run the tours right through to March, much like with the start of the season, the end date is also subject to weather conditions. If you are only travelling to Iceland in the summer there are some alternative options to visit some different kinds of ice caves. These include: the made cave in Langjökull, the ice cave in Katla or the cave inside the Perlan wonders of nature exhibit in Reykjavík. Whales Whale watching is a very popular activity in Iceland, and the presence of them in Faxaflói bay in Reykjavik means you don’t even have to leave the capital to take a boat trip to see them. Whilst whales can be seen all year around, it is important to note that the migratory patterns of the whales bring the majority of them to the islands waters in the summer months. The main season is April to October and the peak is around June and so the spring and summer are the best times to come to see Whales. OUR RECENT POSTS