One of the first line in the canyon.

Nothing for build an anchor on top, we wrapped cordelette around a clamp of ground.

Suggested approach is following the river bed.

FF Andrea Fiocca, Marco Porta and Matteo Meucci 30/11/2020  35m  WI2

Blu line in the topos

Short but steep pillar in a bowl .

From the farm of Hækingsdalur keep the left (going up stream ) of the canyon and cross the 2 main river then lower to the main river and raise to the bowl.

Is it possible to walk along the main river but need to be frozen

FF Matteo Meucci 30/11/2020  WI4+ 30m

red line in the topos

Route number 3

West side of Rauðsgil, above Laxsfoss.

25 m, WI 3.

FA. Ragnar Heiðar Þrastarson, Þórdís Árnadóttir & Bergur Einarsson 22.11.2020

Route number 2

East side of Rauðsgil about 1 km above the farm Rauðsgil, in a cirque below Laxfoss.

~40m 3. gráða.

The route is named after the dog at the farm Rauðsgil, he followed us up the canyon when the route was first climbed. We thought he would go back to the farm when we rappelled into the  canyon but he waited patiently until we  came back up.

FA. Bergur Einarsson, Matteo Meucci, Guðmundur Ísak Markússon & Andri Rafn Helgason 07.12.2013

Route number 1

East side of Rauðsgil about 1 km above the farm Rauðsgil, in a cirque below Laxfoss.

~40 m, WI 3.

FA. Matteo Meucci, Bergur Einarsson, Andri Rafn Helgason & Guðmundur Ísak Markússon 07.12.2013

Route number 13

The route is exactly in the corner between the 2 sides of the crag. Goes through an overhanging section at the beginning and then a more technical one on the second part. Late in the season the second part can get easier if there is ice.

Fully bolted, has an independent anchor that can be reached with a short rappel from the main one on top of the crag. Better to extend the last 2 bolts with some long sling 90-120 to protect a boulder problem and a tricky slab.

FF: Matteo Meucci 25/11/2020

Leið númer 2a.

WI 2/3 10-15m Þræðið bröttustu kaflana í tveim stuttum höftum til að finna lífsmark.

FF: Örn Árnason og Björn Gabríel Björnsson, 22. nóv 2020

Blue line

Hnjúkaþeyr was first climbed 13th of October 2020. The idea was to follow the most direct line on the face as possible.

The approach was done on skis from Hnappavallaleið and took around five hours. Similar to the Italian Job the climbers traversed onto the face to avoid dropping too much height and safe some time. If the approach is done from Svínafellsjökull it’s well possible to follow Beina Brautin onto the face.

The climbers simul-climbed the lower section of the face and climbed one third grade pitch on a running belay leading them to the junction of Beina Brautin and Vinamissir. A waterfall around 100 meter long had formed there leading all the way to the top in two pitches.

Hnjúkaþeyr is the Icelandic word for Föhn winds which are particularly common in the area. Continue reading →

AD+, AI3, 60-75°, 160m

Leiðin liggur upp neðsta hluta vestur veggs Rótarfjallshnjúks, við hliðina á suðurhryggnum.

Aðkoma: Hnappaleið liggur beint við. Hægt er að keyra upp í 8-900m hæð upp jeppaslóða sem byrjar rétt austan við Foss Hótel Hnappavelli. Þaðan er gengið upp vestan við Stigárjökul upp í um 1200m hæð þar sem komið er á jökul. Jökullinn er heldur sprunginn og geta erfiðleikar í aðkomu farið eftir árstíma og snjóalögum. Sandfellsleið væri einnig möguleiki, efri hluti Kotárjökuls er þó mjög sprunginn svo líklega þyrfti að fikra sig austur eftir öskjubrúninni niður með Rótarfjallshnjúk austan megin.

Leiðin byrjar rétt innan við syðsta horn Rótarfellshnjúks og var klifin í þremur spönnum. Fyrsta spönn er um 75m af 60° snjóbrekkum sem þræða milli kletta í ís. Önnur spönn var 55m. Heldur brattari snjór og upp stutta rennu snís rennu milli kletta, endar á stuttri hliðrun til vinstri. Þriðja spönn byrjar á þriðju gráðu snís klifri í um 20m en léttist seinustu 10m upp á brún.

Það var ekki mikill tryggjanlegur ís, en við notuðum ísskrúfur, spectrur, fleyga og hnetur og snjóhæla. Continue reading →

Route number 4

The route climbs the obvious Z or lightning bolt cracks to the right of ‘Originalin’ (3), well-protected.

Begin tentatively up the wall to the base of the crack (multiple starts possible). Good hand jamming moves (protected with gold #3 cams) leads to a short, thin diagonal crack. Move slightly left to the wide fist/off-fist crack (#3, blue cam), here use good side-pulls to the right leading to a good rest at the big flake. Take a deep breath and fire leftwards along the jug rail using pure brute strength or heel-hooks to climb onto the small ledge above. Alternatively, go straight up the off-width crack (4b, protected by #4 (DMM #5), grey cam or larger – not yet climbed). Possible to belay at this ledge or finish up the corner above to belay as for ‘Originalin’ and ‘Mundi’.

Grade: 5.10a (?)

FF: 5/Sept/2020, Robert Askew and Brook Woodman

The route Googooplex (WI4, AD+, 340m) was climbed during ÍSALP´s annual ice climbing festival in February 2020, that took place in the Ísafjörður area, Westfjords of Iceland, just before the Covid-19 pandemic struck.

To reach the route you go to Hnífsdalur village. From there there is a gravel road that leads well into the valley. If that´s clear the approach is quite a lot shorter. If it´s impassable, the best option is to park at the end of Bakkavegur street, the one that reaches furthers into the valley. The route is in the first corrie on the left, called Bakkahvilft. It´s just over 2km from the end of Bakkavegur street to the base of the route.

In total the route is around 340m and was climbed in 5 long pitches. It´s a mix of ice walls and snow slopes of various steepness.

1. 70m. Short section of ice, snow slope, main section of ice (steep WI4), snow slope and then a short section of ice in the end.
2. 70m. Short section of ice, a long snow slope and then short section of ice again.
3. 60. Snow slope, sort section of ice, snow slope again up to a very short section of ice. Stance made in ice that could be found under a bunch of snow.
4. 70m. Long snow slope.
5. 70m. Long snow slope to the top.

FA: Björgvin Hilmarsson og Bjartur Týr Ólafsson, 8th of February 2020.

The name of the route comes from an album by the legendary Icelandic punk band Purrkur Pillnikk. Three of four members later were members of The Sugarcubes along with Björk and others. This area/sector has another shorter route that is simply called Purrkur. More can definitely be done and I kindly ask others who will (hopefully) set up more routes there, to stick with the Purrkur Pillnikk name theme. Thank you.

Rib up NE wall of Þverártindsegg.

Sinful Pleasures
D+, WI 3-4, 400 m
FA: Eugene Glibin & Aliesya Bozhytska, 26.04.2020

Driving lies through Kálfafellsdalur valley which is a continuous river bed that requires passing across the numerous streams so off road truck is a must.

The approach to the wall is associated with a climb up +1000 m along the steep snow slopes and Skrekk glacier. Crossing the bergschrundt can be tricky. The couloir looker’s right next to the route is extremely rockfall dangerous. The most of the falling rocks are caught by the bergschrund.

R0 – R3 enjoyable climbing WI3-4 with adequate protection

R3 – R6 very thin ice covered with snow, avalanche hazard, long run-outs, still easy climbing WI3,R

R6 – R7 crossing over the SE ridge and climbing along it on steep snow ex.: 70º

R7 – R9 couloir on the SW slop ex.: 50º

R9 – R10 steep climb up to the summit ridge with poor protection M4,R

R10 – R11 summit ridge –  simul short rope traverse.

Descent via the North saddle by the classic alpine trekking route (F).

Summary: Super picturesque route with all types of alpine terrains. Though easy climb but numerous hazards have to be considered. Exposed parts R0-R6 and R9-R11  require adequate level of commitment. Long approach and descent have to be taken into account when planning this trip. The first ascent took almost 23 hours. The detailed report of that adventure can be found  here.

Innst inni í Seljalandsdal þeim er liggur inn af Álftafirði er ónefnt gil í stöllum þar sem gilið breikkar og myndar eins og skálar. Leiðin er í annarri skálinni af þremur.

Þarna er einstaklega formfagur berggangsveggur sem við klifruðum með og fyrri spönnin sem er um 50m, endar nánst á bakvið hann. Þar fyrir ofan er brattasta hafið, spönn sem er um 15m.

Fyrri spönninn er væntalega nokkuð mislöng eftir því hversu mikill snjór er í gilbotninum. Þó líklega alltaf hægt að ná niður í einu sigi á 70m línum.

FF: Björgvin Hilmarsson og Viðar Kristinsson, 28. janúar 2020.

Ísfirzku goðsagnirnar Búbbi og Rúnar Karls hafa farið leið í þessari skál og finnst þeim líklegast að hún hafi legið þar sem leið 2 er merkt inn á myndirnar. Núna 20 árum seinna var ákveðið að kalla hana Í blámanum. Við nánari skoðun á nýjum og gömlum myndum læðist að manni sá grunur að línan þeirra gæti hafa verið aðeins innar (lengra til hægri á myndunum). Það verður skoðað nánar og uppfært ef þarf.

Innst inni í Seljalandsdal þeim er liggur inn af Álftafirði er ónefnt gil í stöllum þar sem gilið breikkar og myndar eins og skálar. Leiðin er í annarri skálinni af þremur.

Klifraðar hafa verið tvær leiðir í þessari skál. Í blámanum er merkt nr. 2 á myndunum sem hér fylgja. Línurnar sýna hvar Búbbi og Rúnar halda að leiðin hafi líklega verið en það er sem sagt ekki alveg á hreinu (gæti líka hafa verið aðeins meira til hægri). Líklega er leiðin svona um 45m með öllu. Hin leiðin, Múrverk WI4, er merkt sem nr.1

FF: Sigurður Jónsson (a.k.a. Búbbi) & Rúnar Karlsson, 30. nóvember 2000.

Ath: Myndirnar sem eru með rauðu línunum eru ekki teknar þegar leiðin var farin svo þær sýna ekki aðstæður eins og þær voru þá. En myndirnar af Rúnari og Búbba að klifra eru klárlega engar falsfréttir og teknar meðan á stuðinu þeirra stóð.

Route D7

A route up the buttress between Frosti (D6) and Dvali (D8).

Grade M(D) 7, 26m, 13 bolts. Up on top there is a single bolt that can be used to approach the edge and then by the edge there are two bolts, one of them has a ring.

The route follows the same crack from the beginning and all the way to the top. A lot of the holds for the axes relys on  torquing the axe so the blade stays in but occasionally you can hook a deeper edge. The footholds are in some parts very few and delicate for crampons. Probably it’s better to wear normal rock climbing shoes since there is no ice and almost no wet parts in the route. The route can be climbed as a sport climb in the summer.

FA: Matteo Meucci, 25. april 2020.

Route 5 í Skálin

Short and easy climb to the lookers of Pilar Pillar. From there climb a snow slope up to few short steps of ice to the top. It’s best to get down a gully to the lookers right of the route.

WI3, 160 m

FA. Bjartur Týr Ólafsson and Matteo Meucci, 16th April 2020

Route 4 in Skálin

Steep pillar to the right of the main gully in Skálin sector in Eilífsdalur. Main pillar is around 30 meters long. From there climb one pitch of snow and finish with short steps of ice to the top.

WI5, 160 m

FA. Matteo Meucci and Bjartur Týr Ólafsson, 16th April 2020

Leið númer 3 á mynd

WI 3 R

FF: Matteo Meucci og Marco Porta, apríl 2017.