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4 Wheeling the Volcano

4 Wheeling the Volcano

5th of April 2008

4 Wheeling the Volcano

The day seems perfect for a full day of active 4 wheeling. Not a cloud in the sky and we are heading towards Eyjafjallajokull the volcano.

Jeep Rubicon

This sweet Jeep Rubicon on 38 inch tires catches the eye on our last stop gas station. It is not one of our group so I can only guess how much fun it generates today!

Older Nissan Patrol

First part of the trail is fairly easy with hard beaten snow. This older model Nissan Patrol does well on the 38 inch Ground Hawg II tires.

Newer Nissan Patrol

This newer model Patrol also does well to begin with. As the snow gets more powdery, the 38 inch Mudders are just not big enough to support floating on the snow.

Toyota LandCruiser

Omar has recently got this old model Toyota LandCruiser and has his son as co-driver. The 44 inch Dick Cepec tires prove their worth today.

4 Wheeling the Volcano

The first steep hill is too much for many. The snow is extremely slippery and the grip is low.  Luckily it is also possible to choose another route.

4 Wheeling on the Land Cruiser

Olafur Rognvaldssson has this capable late model LandCruiser on 38 inch Mudders.

4x4 Off Roads!

4x4 Off Roads!

The view from the volcano makes the trip well worth it.

4 Wheeling the ATV

These ATVs seem to do quite well in the snow, although they sometime look like they could flip over when the go fast into holes or humps.

4 Wheeling the Volcano

Getting up the highest part of the mountain proves the most difficult. Here is Geir on his Toyota Land Cruiser. The snow here is extremely loose and almost like sugar. We get stuck again and again trying to get up...

Standing on top

In the end it is only Omar, Olafur and me that reach the top.

Eyjafjallajokull crater

The crater of the volcano is full of ice and the view is amazing and hard to do full justice with these photos. Eyjafjallajokull stands 1666 meters (about a mile high) and is one of the smallest ice caps in Iceland. The last volcanic eruption was in 1821-1823.

4 Wheeling the Volcano

As it turns out it is only Omar and me that continue to cross the ice cap and get down on the east side.

When we are almost up the second peak of the mountain a huge crevasse opens up and Omar's front tire falls in. After pulling it up and refilling the tire we are good to go.

Looking into the crevasse

These ice cap crevasses can be extremely dangerous - if you fall in. This one can easily swallow a man and it is so deep that you can't see the bottom. Larger ones can eat the whole truck!

8 cylinder trucks

We meet these two 8 cylinder trucks that are crossing over the other direction. They give us some valuable information about the route ahead and where to look out for danger.

4 Wheeling the Volcano

Cruising down

The track down is much easier and a lot of fun to drift in a snow cloud as we cruise down full force. The view is no less spectacular.

A beautiful day

It is a beautiful day!

Fimmvorduskali

We stop by the lonely hut that is mostly used for hikers going from Skogar to Thorsmork.

Snow and ice

Wow! Snow and ice can take on so many shapes and forms and texture.

Eyjafjallajokull the Volcano

The volcano Eyjafjallajokull as seen from the east side after our successful journey.

This has been a great day of 4 wheeling fun!

Thrandur Arnthorsson
4x4OffRoads.com