One particular of the highlights of our excursion to Iceland was a snowmobile adventure on Mýrdalsjökull glacier, Iceland’s fourth premier glacier, with Icelandic Mountain Guides. If a snowmobile tour in Iceland is one thing that appeals to you, read through on to understand more about what you can hope.
Icelandic Mountain Guides’ most important base is at Ytri-Sólheimar 1 in Mýrdalur, about 25 km west of Vík and about 11 km east of Skógar. If travelling from Reykjavik, the distance is all over 160 km and the driving time is close to 2 hrs. From the most important Iceland ring highway to the base, it is a 1.2 km travel on highway 222.
You’ll most likely will need to reserve in advance but, when at the foundation and your reserving verified, the initially detail you are going to do is get kitted out. Icelandic Mountain Guides offer you with an general that goes around the clothes you are presently donning, boots, a balaclava, a helmet and gloves… and then you are very good to go!
There’s a large truck waiting around to just take you and your fellow snowmobilers up to the glacier.
It’s all-around a 30-minute drive above tough terrain and then on to the glacier itself.
There are a number of snomobiles ready for us at the finish of the truck experience, and we are accompanied by two instructors who provide us with an introduction to the devices and a basic safety briefing.
Initially, we are demonstrated how to switch the snowmobile on. We change the ignition midway to change the electrics on, hold out a limited even though and then change it fully to start it up. Likewise, we use the crucial to change it off or, in the event of an unexpected emergency, a significant crimson button that kills the machine. At the time on the snowmobile, we do not require to engage it equipment – we just press a button to implement regular, steady tension – that way you have a great and continual journey. The simplest way to stop is to release the gas but there is a brake that can be utilized in circumstance of an crisis. There are hand heaters also – place them to the appropriate and they get actually heat, set them to the left and they get a very little bit warm, center they are off
With the basic principles lined, we’re on to the subject matter of security. The one particular genuinely vital protection component to go over is what comes about if you fall around the device. It can materialize and apparently truly takes place very regularly (even though there were no these incidents from any one on our excursion). But you nonetheless have to have to try to remember a number of seriously fundamental points and, need to you be organized, slipping more than will just be anything to laugh about alternatively than some thing significant.
The one particular most vital thing to bear in mind is that, if the equipment is slipping over, you do not adhere your arm or your leg out to capture it. If you do that, the equipment weighs about 350kg (somewhere around 600 lbs) and all of that body weight goes on to your arm or on to your leg which, as you can envision, is not enjoyment.
So, what do you do? As the driver, you’re keeping on to the handlebars – you basically grab them actually limited, and continue to keep your legs to the centre of the equipment, brace by yourself and drop more than keeping on to the equipment. For the passenger, you have some handles in the vicinity of your hips that you equally maintain on to (instead than keeping on to the driver in entrance). As lengthy as you do this, you will be completely secure. Snowmobiles are developed as crash packing containers and are developed to defend you. Just really don’t adhere your limbs exterior of the machine and you are going to be risk-free. Your intuition will be to be place your hand or leg out, so it is crucial to be very conscious so you really do not allow this transpire.
With that spelled out, we’re advised how not to fall over in the initially place. We find out that, every time you’re driving, you require to counteract the drive that is hoping to pull you off the machine. If you flip to the remaining, the power will pull you to the appropriate, so you lean to the still left with your physique. The reverse, of course, is accurate if you turn to the right. In the same way, if you are driving up a hill, gravity will attempt to pull you backwards, so you would lean to the hill to counteract this force. And even if you should fall about, the staff are on hand to support you if that takes place.
With all that discussed, we travel in one file, with one particular instructor at the entrance and a single at the back again. We retain to paths in the snow, keeping a secure length of at minimum 5 metres among each individual other.
There is no overtaking as this can be quite dangerous. And, if we should really have a difficulty, we are explained to to just stop and increase a hand, and they’ll be with us shortly.
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The full procedure is very slick with at minimum just one stop in the trip where we can transform motorists.
The weather conditions had turned a small from how it was before in the day, and visibility was quite very poor. This didn’t spoil our enjoyment having said that!
We comply with an ‘out and back’ route – climbing from a height of 915 metres up to just around 1,290 metres, just before switching motorists and heading again down the glacier. It is an exhilarating trip and ou can see the precise route we took listed here:
No former snowmobiling working experience is expected, but all motorists will have to be 17 yrs of age or older and have a whole, legitimate driver’s license. A learner´s permit, tractor or motorcycle license is not adequate according to Icelandic legislation. Luckily for our eldest son, he handed his driving take a look at not extensive right before our vacation to Iceland, so this was a good experience for him!
Ordinarily on this tour, you’d be able to get pleasure from the glacial landscapes and landscapes more than south Iceland, but the climate was regrettably not in our favour for that.
The lack of views apart, this was even now a truly pleasurable excusion and, for us, a fully new knowledge as a family members. We would soar at the option to do it once more a single working day, due to the fact the place is reportedly incredibly scenic, with certainly excellent sights on a sunny working day!
Arranging a excursion to Iceland by yourself? You can view a video clip from our vacation to Iceland here. You can see the snowmobile working experience amongst 4m 28s and 4m 47s:
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Icelandic Mountain Guides. Our journey to Iceland was also sponsored by Helly Hansen.
