Info on Arnfinnsfjall
Arnfinnsfjall is a 833 meter within the Northern Portion of Iceland. Located just west of Ólafsfjörður it is within the popular Trollfjord area. It is one of main peaks that follow a constant ridge and borders the Greenland sea. This area is infamous with high winds coming off the water but offers good skiing on the Southeast portion when the weather is stable. The best access is via the town of Ólafsfjörður right next to Héðinsfjörður Tunnels to the west and the Múlagöng tunnel to the east.
Heading to Northern Iceland
Leaving the Westfjords we made our way towards the Northern Capital Akureyri. Looking at the maps we wanted to explore the terrain around Trollfjord where there was good access to ski touring with a tunnel through the mountains being finished in 2010. Making our way east we past by a fast changing landscape from mountainous terrain to barren flat lands and back to mountainous terrain.
Once in Aykuriri we stopped by a local grocery store and loaded up on food for our next ski tour. While the town had nice mountains we were interested in checking out the terrain to the north so we made our way up to Dalvik where we would stay the night at a hostel.
Arriving to Dalvik for the Night
Arriving at our accommodations the place was empty. It was still months away from the tourist season and we had the area to ourselves. Pouring over the maps we decided to check out Arnfinnsfjall as it was right out of Ólafsfjörður and would only be a 30 minute drive.
Watching the sunset we were blown away with the difference between the mountains here and in the Westfjord area. While our previous ski tours had been in couloirs this was a place with wide open bowls.
Heading out to Arnfinnsfjall
Waking up the sky was clear and the winds were calm. This was Jason and my last day so we wanted to make the most out of the sunlight. Driving though a single lane tunnel it went through a mountain and all of a sudden we were in the middle of the mountains.
Driving 2 kilometres past the town of Ólafsfjörður we parked our car and immediately focused on the Southeast bowl of Arnfinnsfjall. The slope seemed like a consistent pitch all the way to the top and we could safely climb up the ridge.
Looking at what seemed to be a summer road we were happy that they built a tunnel through the mountain in the photo below. Having numerous avalanche paths going to the sea it was obvious why this village had been isolated for such a long time.
Getting on to the ridge we put our skis on the packs and started bootpacking. The whole area was surrounded with awesome looking mountains with bowl steep couloirs and wide open bowls.
Following the ridge we kept looking into the Southeast bowl of Arnfinnsfjall. While it would be a nightmare in powder conditions it looked like prime corn snow.
The moment we arrived on the summit ridge and took in the full view of the area we knew why people had said such great things about it.
Arriving on the Southeast Ridge of Arnfinnsfjall
We stopped climbing once we reached the top of the Southeast bowl and hung out in the sun for a while. It was still pretty early in the morning and we wanted to wait for the sun to soften the snow a bit more. Making the most out of it we took in the views and prepared to make some great snowboard turns all the way back to the road below.
Looking to the East we could see where the tunnel exited the mountain. It seemed like it would be an impossible project but somehow Iceland had done it.
To the west was a spine wall that dropped into an open bowl below. We were standing on the last peaks before the open seas and although clouds were moving in we were still in the sun.
Snowboarding Down to Ólafsfjörður
Once we felt the snow was perfect for riding we dropped in. The pitch was consistent on the upper slopes before mellowing out in the valley below. Making our turns into the Southeast bowl of Arnfinnsfjall we had a great view of Ólafsfjörður.
Back on the road we walked back to our car with smiles on our faces. It was only a sample of the area but we had made the most out of our time. It was time to drive towards Siglufjörður and finish the trip with a sunset run in the area. Both Jason and I had a 6 A.M. flight to Northern Norway from Rekyivik.
