My Impact on Icelandic Glaciers

 

My father and I arrived at Skaftafell National Park to see the most voluminous ice cap in the country. Before we exited the car my pops informed me he would not be able to climb with me because his knee injury was agitated by the cold and causing him pain. I felt sadness that I wouldn't get to share this epic adventure with him. Before getting fitted for crampons, I cleansed myself with Palo Santo. This cleansing was to ensure that I take no bad vibes onto this living natural thing. I needed to be completely present for it.

An hour later and 15-20 degrees colder, I was standing at the tongue of Svínafellsjökull. That translates into pig- mountain- glacier. The nearby mountain was said to look like a pig for the person who was doing the labeling Helga, my Icelandic guide, said.

I spent an hour climbing up the glacier which was apparently a backdrop for Game of Thrones. Next, I repelled into ice caves. Helga said 2 weeks ago, these caves didn't exist. The ice ceiling above and ice walls around me would crumble on itself and no longer be safe to go inside in 2 more weeks.

My favorite part was seeing the balance within the glacier. Dirt cones help the glacier grow thick in parts by protecting the underlying ices with sediment deposits from the sun. The cones become vertically taller and larger over time. At the same time Moulins (holes ranging in size) allow water melting from the surface to spiral into the glacier and escape under the glacier to which a river forms - spitting out at the tip of the tongue. Helga mentioned people falling in and not coming out for a day or two, dead of course.

Before we left the park, I took one more hike to check out Svartifoss waterfall that is known for the photogenic basalt column walls that flank the smaller water spout in the center. It was gorgeous!

Might remember the from Batman Returns

Now we headed farther east to check out Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon. We jumped on a small kodiak boat, that went around gigantic icebergs. The most striking memory was when we were closer to the glacier mass and you heard an explosion - I imagine that is what a bomb detonating would sound like. My heart dropped and stomach turned a little. Our guide tells us its the ice separating from the main glacier mass.

The lake we were boating through has doubled in size within 15 years. With glaciers in Iceland estimated to be completely melted within 250 years, the same feeling of my heart dropping and stomach turning came back. My physical response matched my mental - as I think hard about how I can make my carbon footprint smaller everyday to ensure less impact on this beautiful world.