4 Wheeling the Volcano

5th of April 2008

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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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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...

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

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

It is a beautiful day!

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

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

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