Info on Eyrarfjall
Eyrarfjall is a mountain complex that rises out of Önundarfjörður in the WestFjords of Iceland. At the base of the southern slopes is a small village called Flateyri with a population of 267 people. Since the slopes are a natural avalanche area they built a deflecting wall rerouting the natural path away from the village. Unbeknown to us this area had had an avalanche in 1995 which resulted in 20 fatalities.
Exploring the Westfjords Area
Waking up in the morning we looked at the maps and started planning out our day. While we had had a fun time in the area we wanted to check out the terrain North between there and Ísafjörður. It was time to smash all of our gear into the car and see what other lines would catch our attention.
The whole Westfjord area was lined with tunnels that went through the mountains. You would drive through a dark tunnel then all of a sudden drive into wild scenery. Our first goal of the day was to drive out to Suðureyri a small village right on the shore.
Surviving the sketchy ride along the shoreline we drove back to where the tunnel started and went out for a quick ski tour. The clouds had came in and made the area look super dramatic as we rode the open slopes back to the car to find something a little bit steeper.
Heading back south we past by a wall full of couloirs and it quickly grabbed our attention. It was still early april but not to warm so we felt comfortable with the snowpack and decided to get a closer look.
Setting our Eyes on Eyrarfjall
The chute that grabbed our interest was on the Southside of Eyrarfjall. Looking down the way we were within a kilometre of the town of Flateryi and was right off the road. Parking our car on the side we starting grabbing our ski gear and getting ready for a steep climb.
Skinning up the lower slopes we were able to make it a good ways up before switching over to bootpacking. Each one of us put in a part of the trail before the next person would take over trail breaking.
Once on top of the South side of Eyrarfjall we looked down into the steep couloir. It curved off to the right side but since we had climbed beside it we knew that it went. The past few runs were mellow but this would be our first steep line in Iceland.
Skiing Down a South Couloir on Eyrarfjall
Jason dropped in first with a ski cut across the upper slopes to see if anything moved. Once happy with his results he made a few more turns until going to a safe spot to grab photos of us riding down.
Standing on top Ben and I chatted about who would go next and decided that he would ride down to the bend in the chute. Riding down the gut he made smooth turns that built my confidence that we wouldn’t run into ice below.
Once we were all together past the crux of the chute we rode fall line back to the car. Ben and I joked about riding to the sea so we hoped over the pavement and finished on the shore.
This was both of our first time riding to the sea and we were super excited. The adrenaline from the line we had just rode on Eyrarfjall was in full effect and we had made the most out of day even though the weather was pretty bad.
Spending the Night in Ísafjörður
That afternoon we drove out to Ísafjörður as Camille had just bought a place there and offered for us to stay there. Arriving in the town it was wild to see such gnarly terrain so close by. Out of all the towns I have ever been to this place may be the most scenic.
Sitting in her place we looked over the maps again and started coming up with another plan. We were already halfway through our trip and only had a few days left. It seemed the weather wasn’t on our side as it was calling for clouds throughout our trip. Having scratched the surface of what is possible in the Westfjords we decided to head out to the Northern section of Iceland. Chatting with the locals they recommended seeing the mountains nearby Akureyi.
