Snæfell - 1833m

Snæfell is a stratovolcano just north of the vatnajökull icecap and was the principle target of our expedition this year. However, the mountain road to the base of the mountain was not open due to excessive spring snowfall, so our hopes of an ascent were scuppered without mounting a multi-day trek. It is the largest 'freestanding' mountain in Iceland not covered by an Icecap, but it does have a few small glaciers at the top.

Note: the name Snæfell (meaning snow hill) should not be confused with the Snæfellsjökull volcano (1446m) in the west that features in the Jules Verne novel, 'Journey to the centre of the Earth'.

This shot is from a hill near Laugarfell by the new Kárahnjúkar dam access road and is rather frustratingly, the closest we could get. The clouds are just clouds and not an eruption in progress. Snæfell has not seen any activity for at least 10,000 years - a mere geological eye-blink.

Still we'll just have to go back and try again ...