Iceland is one of the most unique but also one of the most challenging places to ski/snowboard. Here's a couple of things you should know about which should make planning your trip much easier.
WHAT IS THE BEST TIME TO COME?
SEPTEMBER-JANUARY
The first option would be a dark period from Spetmber till end of January. But, even though I’ve experienced some good skiing in this period, the conditions and weather are just too sketchy and unreliable to recommend it to anyone.
It’s doable, but you can’t really plan for it in advance and need to bring some strong headlights!
FEBRUARY-MARCH
The next option would be from February till end of March is when you can try your luck and come to hunt some powder. We already get plenty of daylight during that time of the year and you can experience some really goof skiing.
That is unless you get unlucky, everything turns into ice and you can’t ski anything above 30 degrees. If you can afford to, plan your trip last minute depending on current snow conditions.
MAY-APRIL
The 3rd part of the season is my favourite part of the year, which is May and April. And that’s because of the amount of daylight we get, more stable weather and safer spring snow conditions.
The downside is the bootpacking you will have to do and how much, well it only depends on the amount of snow base we got during the winter. Tip : Don’t forget to bring sunscreen, sun can be very strong here!
WHERE TO GO SKIING?
Choosing the right place or region is probably even more important as each part of Iceland has a different terrain and different snow conditions. Let's compare them here.
BLÁFJÖLL & SOUTH ICELAND
Let’s start the closest to the airport. There we can find Bláfjöll ski resort which I would only visit if lets say you have some extra time to kill after arrival or before departure. All in all there isn’t that much of off piste skiing there as this part of Iceland generally doesn’t get as much snow as some of the northern parts of the island.
The same thing goes for the whole south of Iceland. I know that some locals do find places to ski there and perhaps the most popular being ski touring to the highest mountain of Iceland Hvannadalshnjúkur (involves glacier crossing) but in general south of Iceland isn’t really what I would call a ski destination.
Hvannadalshnjúkur 2.110m in Vatnajökull National Park
SNÆFELLSNESS PENINSULA
On the west of Iceland we can find Snæfellsnes peninsula. From what I know the mountains which are located in the middle aren’t the easiest to access, but on the end of it we can find Snæfellsjökull which is this beautiful glacier on the end peninsula. You can do go up there on your own if you’re experienced in moving on the glacier, hire a guide or there’s also a cat skiing operation which you can book.
Kerlingarfjöll (highlands)
In the highlands of Iceland we can find Kerlingarfjöll. This stunning geothermal area in the interior of Iceland is a favourite place to go skiing of many people from Reykjavík, but for you as a tourist this isn’t likely a trip that you can do on your own as the only way to get there during the winter is with a superjeep.
And so you can either try to find a guide who would take you there or use a transportation option of Kerligarfjöll Mountain Resort which will cost you some 18.000 ISK one way. The more expensive part of this trip will then be an accommodation there which will cost you around around 100.000 ISK for 2 nights.
Accommodation at Kerlingarföll, source: highlandbase.is
WESTFJORDS
Now if the previous option sounds too expensive there’s another option to go remote. Westfjords located on the north west of the island. This area of Iceland is quiet even during the high season and therefore in the winter it will feel like you have it all for yourself. There are many beautiful mountains with a great terrain often times just a few steps from the road. The northern part of this area can also receive a good amount of snow and you can also find a skia area in the capital of this region Ísafjörður.
And If you have money to spend, this area is also very popular for sailing and ski touring trips. And this is basically when you sail from fjord to fjord, ski during the day and then sleep on the boat. I believe that the experience like this will cost you about 4-5.000 USD for about 6 day long trip.
Ísafjörður in the winter, source : www.westfjords.is
EAST FJORDS
Another beautiful part of Iceland with a great terrain that can hold some good snow are Eastfjords. Similar to Westfjords this is a very quiet place with many hidden fjords. You can also find Oddskarð ski area there which has a lot of fun terrain around it and some incredible views.
This is also a place where a very fun Austurland Freeride Festival is being held each year. This year 2024 speciaficaly between 6-10th of March so make sure to check it out if you’re here at this time of the year. I also recommend you to look up Rúnar on Instagram, icelandic snowboarder who’s from this area and who’s got a lot of great footage from there.
Views from Oddskarð ski area in Eskifjörður
TROLL PENINSULA
The last place on this list is Troll Peninsula (Tröllaskagi) which in my opinion is the best place to come skiing. And the reason for me to say that are simply the following facts. First, this part of Iceland gets often the highest amount of snowfall and has a very accessible terrain. Also all the terrain is compacted into one small area and so that means that you don't have to drive a lot to find a line to ski.
There is also perhaps the best ski resort in Iceland here, Hlíðarfjall located in town Akureyri, with good freeride terrrain surrounding it and it is a great plan B for when the weather isn’t suitable for ski touring. About 60 min drive from Akureyri, there’s another, lesser known ski area Skarðsdalur in town Siglufjörður which is also a home to freeride competition Sigló Freeride, another event worth checking out.
One lesser known fact is that you can even take an international flight from London straight to Akureyri - which if that makes sence for where you’ll be flying from, this can save you a 6 hr drive from the Keflavik airport and back. And that simply means more time to ski.
And If you have budget and want to try go heliskiing you can check out this video here where I compare all of the heli ski companies in Troll Peninsula.
TROLL PENINSULA SKI GUIDE & MAPS
LOCAL'S FAVOURITE ROUTES JUST A CLICK AWAY
Troll Peninsula is the place where I live and where I ski for 95% of the time and so I put together a guide of all of my favourite lines in the area.
Inside you can find descriptions of the routes and whole guide is also connected to FATMAP where you can see the exact routes.
Plus I also marked all the locations using Google Maps and so all you have to do is to enter your location and the map will take you right on the parking spot.
And for those of you who’d like a personalized help with detailed plannig your ski trip and also have me to assist you with anything throughout your whole trip, I have a solution for you too. CLICK HERE to learn more.
GEAR TALK & WEATHER FORECAST
Some of you might be also interested to know what skis I ride for local terrain and how much warm you need to dress. Well all this I discuss in this video below as well as topic of weather and avalanche forecast, which is something you definitely want to have information about. I'll see you there!