Super Jeep Tour pt. 2: Langjökull glacier

Langjökull glacier is the second largest glacier in Iceland covering around 500 square miles. From Gullfoss it took another hour to get close to the top of the glacier with a stop 3/4 of the way to gear up. The company has a few storage buildings close to the glacier full of snow gear they provide for the snowmobile ride. Still though at this point there wasn't much snow on the ground. This is when we finally got to see the super jeep in action. Shortly after we got geared up and back on the trail is when the snow got deeper and the road got nasty. The ruts carved into the snow were at least 12 - 18 inches deep. There is no way the average pickup or SUV was going to get us to where we needed, our driver even struggled with the path a few times.

We finally reached the edge of the glacier. This is where the van stopped and the snowmobiles started.

Notice where the sun is in this third picture? It was noon.

Our guide showed us how to operate the sleds (a popular nickname for snowmobiles) gave us a few pointers on how to turn, then calmly explained to us the importance of staying right behind him because "in an instant, huge cravaces 100ft deep can open up in the surface and swallow you whole." Great! Now I'm REALLY ready! To add to our already frayed nerves he pointed out shiney spots visible through the snow. These were areas where OPEN WATER was running across the glacier and to avoid them at all costs. We spent around an hour on the glacier, making frequent stops to let stragglers catch up, all total ascending and then descending 500 ft in elevation. We did stop halfway through to get a few pictures and warm up fingers toes and faces. At this point the sun was as high as it was going to get, just barely clearing the mountains. There were a few clouds which made for the perfect opportunity to catch some "God beams."

If you look directly below the mountain you can see where a low spot has formed in the glacier and alot of that open water is pooling.

After another bumpy 4x4 ride off the glacier we were back on the road and headed for Geysir.