Hekla, Iceland, 1974

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

In another recent thread of more of Rajan's Iceland images, I mentioned having climbed Mount Hekla in 1974, in between eruptions (1970, 1980, and roughly every ten years since).

Rajan responded with this:

Eric, I hope you don't have any imminent picnics planned at Hekla. See this.

"Iceland's Hekla volcano eruption could spark 'major disaster' at any moment, experts warn."

So here are a couple of shots of the summit and near summit of Hekla in 1974. Not great landscapes, but they remind me of the excitement of reaching the summit through the wind-blown snow patterns. Half of our group stayed at the base. I'm sorry I don't have a good overview of the mountain.

[Rajan Parrikar]

Eric,

Thank you much for posting these images. A real kick to see them. And I sense that you relived some of the excitement of getting up there.

[luxborealis]

As we drove past Hekla a few days ago, we were all giving it verbal encouragement to start the eruption process while we were still in Iceland to see it firsthand, but to no avail. Our guide suggested an eruption can't be too far off as the volcanic dome has risen to heights greater than its last eruption. Our driver remembered going to bed as a kid during the 1970 eruption and having his room lit up red at night. His farm is just 30km away. Let's hope the damage won't be as great as forecast.

BTW - Congrats to the underdog Iceland football team for beating England in Euro 2016. It was especially satisfying as all the Icelandic players have regular full time jobs while all the England players are millionaire league footballers.

[Chairman Bill]

Nice photos, and does nothing to convince me that I shouldn't get myself to Iceland in the not too distant future.

As for Iceland beating England, well we usually cheer the underdog, and I was hoping they'd win, if only to leave the Ingerlund thugs causing some mayhem in France, well & truly p***ed off. With luck, they'll fall overboard from the ferry, mid-channel. The world would be a better place without them.

[MattBurt]

Looks like a great adventure! Thanks for sharing. I'd love to get over there for some ski mountaineering and photography of course.

[Petrus]

The first time I went to Iceland was in 1980, using local transportation, also the cross country 4x4 busses which run during the summer. While having an afternoon nap in our tent in Akuruyri it started to rain again. Or so we thought, but peeking out it was raining black sand! "Hekla has erupted" said a gentleman passing by. So we hurried to Reykjavik and rented a Lada Niva, the cheapest 4x4 available and drove to Hekla along with the hundreds of others in their much fancier off-road trucks. We had the right mind to cut a stick from the last bush before the mountain and buy a packet of sausages. There were maybe a hundred cars parked on a small hill while the lava flowed slowly by on both sides, looked nice in the midnight dusk. We also got to roast the sausages in the volcano, just as we had promised before we left home…

Sorry, no pictures, buried away somewhere and not digitized. I shot also B&W for the newspaper I worked for at that time and wrote a story about our adventures, paying for a part of the trip.

[Paulo Bizarro]

Great images, I hope someday I will be able to go to Iceland.

[blueview]

BTW - Congrats to the underdog Iceland football team for beating England in Euro 2016. It was especially satisfying as all the Icelandic players have regular full time jobs while all the England players are millionaire league footballers.

Actually that's not true.
http://www.skysports.com/football/news/19693/10323757/the-price-of-icelands-squad-taking-on-england-at-euro-2016

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

Thanks for all the comments, everybody.

Yes, Iceland is amazing, and my 1974 visit was quite memorable.
Even if now volcano is currently erupting while you are there, the evidence is all around. Near the base of Hekla, for example, you can easily distinguish recent ash from that of earlier eruptions, where lichen and whatever have started growing.

My understanding is that 1974, when I was there, was the year they first completed the "Ring Road" that goes all the way around the island. My wife and I spent two weeks with a hiking club in the south, and then we flew to Akureyri in the north, where we rented a VW bug to explore places like Myvatn on our own.

[Jeremy Roussak]

Lovely shots, Eric, particularly (IMHO) the third, which has an almost abstract look to it.

As for Iceland beating England, well we usually cheer the underdog, and I was hoping they'd win, if only to leave the Ingerlund thugs causing some mayhem in France, well & truly p***ed off. With luck, they'll fall overboard from the ferry, mid-channel. The world would be a better place without them.

Bill, thank you! I'm not alone!

Jeremy

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

Thanks, Jeremy.

In that one the ridge line is the edge of the summit crater. The black areas are where the wind has blown the snow off.
The wind was quite fierce up there (as it is almost anywhere in Icelend as I recall).