Iceland?

[Simon Wilson]

The oldest rocks on Iceland are Tertiary basalt about 24M years old. There are no carbonate rocks. There are lava tubes but Iceland is geared up for tourism and it's expensive to get places. I think there are a few interesting things to do but caving is not one of them. I've never been but I've researched it and decided it wasn't for me.

Simon, sorry but I couldn't disagree more about caving in Iceland not being interesting.  At the last I heard there were c.500 recorded lava tube caves in the country, a number of other volcanic caves/shafts, and many glacial caves.  The country is still in a golden era of cave exploration, with open cave entrances waiting o be found in many of the more remote areas.  I was involved in seven expeditions to Iceland between 2000 and 2007 and found much of the caving very interesting indeed.

I only said it wasn't for me and that was after spending quite a lot of time looking into it and seriously considering going to Iceland. I know there are most of the biggest and best lava tubes in the World in Iceland with huge potential for finding more. Maybe by us talking about it on here somebody's interest might be raised and they will go.

 

[Ed W]

Simon, I will be the first to admit that lava tubes are not for everyone, and its good that within caving there is enough variety for all of us to find something that floats our own boat!  The comment was not meant to come across as it did - sorry for that.

One bit of caution though, Icelandic lava tubes are great, but there are many places in the world with longer lava tubes than any in Iceland.  According to this list http://www.caverbob.com/lava.htm which is a little out of date, the longest Icelandic lava tube (Kallmanshellir) is 35 longest in the world (and personally I do not think Kallmanshellir is a single cave by most caver's reckoning).

 

[Amy]

I think Hawaii has the longest lava tubes, actually.
I've been to a few in Washington which also has a couple of good size towards the top of the list (one beating out icelands longest).

Question: I know lava tubes tear up clothes (from experience...). They were my first wild caves and it was back when I wore cotton (jeans, sweater), not knowing better. In reading it seems many like cotton boiler suits for lava tubes. Is this still the norm or are synthetics in lava tube caves on the rise? In Washington the tubes were cold and damp (every surface has moisture condensing on it) so while not wet per se, the instant you crawled you got wet. I don't remember being particularly cold but the trips were two hours at longest. Thoughts?

 

[phizz4]

Having been down Icelandic lava tubes 3 times (with school trips, not as an individual explorer), my limited experience is this. We went in March and April. The tubes were enhanced by icicle formations, many parts had very slippery floors due to ice and, on one occasion, we had to dig our way in through the snow drifts. We were given cotton boiler suits to wear over our normal outdoor clothing. The coldest part was exiting in a blizzard and having to find our way back to the vehicles. However, we were never more than a 100 metres away from a road or track. I would suggest that, if you are going in the summer, the same clothing would be suitable. The rock is VERY rough, knee and, probably, elbow pads would be a very good idea. The impression we got from the frozen drips in the tubes was that, even in summer, they would not be very wet. Bear in mind that these were 'tourist' trips, organised by Adrenaline.is, so may not be fully representative of all Icelandic lava tubes.

 

[mrodoc]

Agree with last post. Outdoor clothes are fine with walking boots. I got some smears of dirt on them but no enough to be bothersome. This was in July. If you want to crawl you will need knee and elbow pads but I would just go to another tube. I did some crawling in one cave and it was bloody painful. I think you can probably see which one Amy from my Facebook pics.  We were never cold underground but the weather is so variable out there you need to be ready for the surface. One of the sites we visited was a forty five minute walk from the road.

 

[ttxela]

Have a vague recollection that you can be lowered down inside a volcano there, is that still the case?

 

[cap n chris]

You may be referring to this Lavatastic winch meet equivalent:

https://insidethevolcano.com/

 

[Mark Wright]

If you get the opportunity I would take the twin Otter flight to Constable Point on Greenland. The flight, leaving Akureyri in North Iceland, is truly spectacular.

I was watching the Alexander Armstrong series on ITV last night and the pilot on the program was the same pilot who flew us into Greenland back in the summer for the Northeast Greenland Expedition organised by Dr. Gina Moseley.

Mark

 

[ttxela]

You may be referring to this Lavatastic winch meet equivalent:

https://insidethevolcano.com/

Yes that's the one. Doesn't look to be quite as much of an adventure as I imagined, but still, you get to go inside a volcano and have meat soup!

 

[nickwilliams]

You may be referring to this Lavatastic winch meet equivalent:

https://insidethevolcano.com/

Zak and I did this when we went to Iceland in June. It was extortionately expensive but actually I thought it was worth it - it's the only time I've ever been inside a cave which smells of sulphur!

 

[mrodoc]

yup pricey but spectacular. Regarding Greenland I was interested to see the post having just watched the programme. Tempting thought.

 

[Amy]

Booked! April1-10 my awesome cavegirls from Indiana and I are doing a trip to Iceland! We are thinking to just rent a 4x4 vehicle and do the ring road and sightsee. Have a list of caves from you helpful folks. The only thing i dont have is a list of ice caves we would all love to see one. We are all kayakers and would love to do that on the sea as well if weather permitted. None of us want to pay for tours.

What glaciers, waterfalls, seasides, etc would the good folk here recommend? No we are not doing the volcano tour thing (maybe because weve all rappelled huge big pits we dont feel a need to pay $350 to be carted down one...if theyd let us rappel then maybe   but seeing one spitting lava would be neat.

Also - any restraunt and hotel/hostel recomendations along that route are most welcome.

 

[Bob Mehew]

If you rent a 4x4 then you need to get off the ring road and tarmacked roads to justify the expense, assuming the insurance allows you to do so.  (Friends got caught by this!)  I trust you have the river crossing skills, we twice got stuck and saw several other vehicles hauled out of crossings and also facing major bills due to flooding of the car interior.  Else hire an ordinary car and stick to the tarmacked roads

The only ice cave we saw was at Kverkfj?ll.  (You will need to wade the river to get to the entrance!)  There is a hut near bye but not sure if you will be able to get access due to snow in April.  You will also need to check if the region is still of limits due to the 2014 eruption.

Hengifoss waterfalls are worth the effort.  (The basalt columns are spectacular.)

You won't be allows to rapell into Thrihnukagigur as their winch system occupies the whole entrance.  Not sure if any other volcanoes are currently actively spitting lava.  Have a look at http://en.vedur.is/earthquakes-and-volcanism/earthquakes]
[url]http://en.vedur.is/earthquakes-and-volcanism/earthquakes[/url] for information on earthquakes etc. 

We used mountain huts in the interior and found them all of good standard and notably also being incredibly warm.  You generally need to take your own food.

 

[Olaf]

In April, most off the roads in the Icelandic highlands will be closed and inaccessible. If you are lucky, they are only "impassable", i.e. covered with snow and if you go there and get stuck, you might have to way a day or some until the next car comes by to pull you out, so you should rather travel in a group of cars. If you are unlucky, the snow is just melting and turning the roads into a bog. Then they are "closed", to avoid damage to the ground, and this is very strictly enforced! Of course, along the coast and on the ring road you should be fine, the above only applies to the actual highlands.

Ice caves tend to change quite regularly, and you will want to avoid being inside while they do that. April might be a bit late. If the ice is melting I'd be a bit hesitant to go inside, to say the least. If it's frosty and cold they are much safer. There have been fatal accidents in a number of ice caves in Iceland. Your chances to find ice caves should be quite good in the Skaftafell area, where numerous glacier tongues are easily accessible. Likewise S?lheimarj?kull might be worth a try. As mentioned, the precise locations and extent of these caves change every year. You could try and ask some of the locals, if there are park rangers in Skaftafell, they might even tell you without arranging a guided tour for you.

 

[Judi Durber]

If you are driving this is the best road information EVER  :read:

http://www.road.is/

It tells you the number of cars on the road,  the surface condition, roads open/closed and there is webcams

Also buy/take print off the Rough Guide as it gives lots of information from basic accommodation to top hotels, things to see & maps showing all the little visited sights. (Portable saunas that look like workmen's huts that they move around over the best hot spot  The locals use them & they are free.

http://www.roughguides.com/destinations/europe/iceland/

 

[Amy]

Yes weather obviously might make ice caves dangerous. The first bit of April can be winter or start of spring it seems, depending on how bad the winter was and current weather. So such might be hit or miss. But the other dates we had were the first two weeks of March which we didnt want to risk impassable roads and being stuck.

 

[nickwilliams]

The two main north-south Highland roads were still closed with snow when we were there in June last year, but the locals have very good and up to date road information so you can plan what you do on a day by day basis.

To echo Bob's comment about insurance, be aware that even if you rent a 4x4, the insurance may be invalidated if you try to travel on a road which is officially closed.

You won't need a 4x4 to do the ring road, and there is a lot to see without needing to go far off the ring road.

I could not find a useful electronic map so I ended up buying coverage for most of the country on paper. PM me if you want to borrow.

Nick.

 

[Amy]

I wanted to thank everyone for their advice - and decided to post because I keep getting PM's and emails due to this thread!

I did not strictly cave while there, I went with two friends from my St Joseph Valley Grotto days who are also avid travelers. We rented from Icelandic 4x4 (Definitely rent a 4x4, definitely that company) and had a 10-day trip (really 8 full days there, as cap days traveling). We did Golden Circle and Ring Road, with a few explorations off the normal. By few I mean, you'll see roads and wonder where does it go and we were the type who took it as far as we could safely, to see! Hence, I disagree with those who said a 4x4 was overkill for doing just ring road. Despite staying relatively close to it, the few attempted mountain passes we did it was VERY helpful and it allowed us to get closer to the glacier tongues on our own. Definitely get the gravel/sand/ash insurance, because your vehicle will get sandpapered in the wind, and you will get multiple windshield cracks. PAPER MAPS. Even the rentals GPS was shit.

Classic 4x4 road...
Road Less Traveled by Amy  Hinkle, on Flickr

Mountain pass (this is MAIN road, at 12% grade in spots)
Mountain Roads in Iceland by Amy  Hinkle, on Flickr

And here is where we really got stopped, by snow cats, and decided oh what the hell it is just a 3 KM uphill both ways on steep canted ankle to knee deep snow to where we want to go, and we hiked it!
Snow Cats by Amy  Hinkle, on Flickr

People ask me about cost...well we split the rental and petrol 3-ways so that was about $300 for each ($600 per person for vehicle in total). Hostels were $30-$45 a night and were cheap good accommodation. We ate out maybe one meal a day, cooked the rest - brought enough camp food to use just hot water in the hostels, a smart move as most towns despite saying open until 6pm or 8pm, closed about 4pm! So don't count on groceries, although if you can it is the smarter move than eating out.

I'll let you do the conversion from dollars to pounds.

With WOW air now operating, I did notice flights round trip to London from Iceland were as little as $200! I was very very tempted to pop over to say hi to ya'all for a week, but it did not pan out.

A lava cave (Vatnshellir)...
Walls of Lava by Amy  Hinkle, on Flickr

An ice cave we found exploring on our own near the base of Fl?aj?kull
Sharon in Ice Cave in Fl?aj?kull by Amy  Hinkle, on Flickr

All my Iceland photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/sunguramy/sets/72157666940703732

 

[Judi Durber]

Thank you Amy.  Nice photo's. Love the Aurora Borealis and glad you got underground.

 

[bazdog]

you've all inspired me to go to Iceland this april instead of Spain so if anyone could help with a couple of questions then that would be great.
Are there any easy lava tubes we can take kids into (4 and 6) similar to Yordas or Great Douk especially near the road?
If we only have time to go to Jokulsarlon or the snaefellsnes peninsula which one is unmissable? (Don't want to spend all holiday driving around)
Cheers