Mount Esja — Þverfellshorn
Experience a thrilling trek up Iceland’s Mount Esja! Leaving crowded tourist spots behind, an adventurous photographer pushes further to reach the mountain's true, isolated summit. Discover the breathtaking payoff of untouched valleys, glacial rivers, and pure, rugged wilderness in this exhilarating journey off the beaten path.
Read as a story This page is the story's words and pictures in order. In the story itself they move as you scroll.
Climbing Þverfellshorn
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On the edge of the wilds -
Outside Reykjavic
Based in Reykjavik and with one day left with the rental car so advanced it mostly drove itself, this was the first day in the Land of Fire and Ice where the aim was to capture some of the ubiquitous "Iceland" wilds.
I am pleased to say I wasn't disappointed ...
I set out to do the Mount Esja trail and reach Þverfellshorn — Mt. Esja is actually a series of mountains closely packed together and Þverfellshorn is the pinnacle of them.
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Hey, that's me -
Fairytale
The start of the trail felt like a scene from a fairytale — snow-melt brook surrounded by lupines and dandelions, and a little white flower that I couldn't identify.
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Field of lupines -
Snowmelt brook -
Blooming Dandelions
The wildflowers completely covered the sun-facing side of the foothills and shone bright in the springtime sunshine.
The walk up the mountain was about 4km, climbing to an elevation of 840m. I was carrying both of my cameras, the L-series lens set and my drone, so my fitness was tested.
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The trail so far
I felt pretty good the whole way, but the locals who run the loop component of the trip definitely showed me I could always be fitter ...
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Rest stop -
... but honestly, who runs up a mountain?
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Disappointingly brown -
First sign of chains
The final part of the ascent was tough, but thankfully chains had been installed that I could pull myself up on ...
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Unsure footing
... and use to catch myself after the occasional, sliding footfall.
When I reached the top, I sat to rest, watching the trickle of fellow hikers climb up, take a couple of photos and immediately head back down. Sure, the view over Reykjavik was nice and all, but there had to be more ...
I noticed a cairn in the distance, and another beyond that, marking out a trail nobody else was following. It would be another couple of kilometers before I would summit this mountain and find myself ...
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Looking back over the valley
On the edge of the wilds.
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Walking on the edge
Mountain top
Snow Bank
Enormous cliff-face overlooking an uninhabited valley with a river formed by the convergence of hundreds of snow-melt runoffs from surrounding mountains.
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Above the ridgeline
The view of Iceland I had been looking for. All to myself.
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Down toward the sea -
Above the melt -
On the wall
