LOCALadk Magazine

At that point, they took a break to hydrate, have a snack, and check their equipment. As planned, they'd arrived at the valley during the lingering hours of daylight. Even then, witnessing the volcanic fissure and iconic cones spewing lava over the valley's floor confirmed that their efforts had been worthwhile. ough they were not alone —there were many others looking at the eruption and venturing down to the cooling edges of the lava flow—they shared an overwhelming sense of awe at the beauty and raw power of what lay before them. e acrid odor of volcanic gases and dramatic pyroclastic light show combined with the sounds of molten rock as it cooled and crackled across the valley—all this in the setting of blowing snow—made for a multisensory experience that held the two spellbound. It seemed as though nature had deliberately created this surreal vision by framing it all with snow-covered mountains. As night fell, they suspected the best was yet to come. e reds and yellows seemed more vibrant, the colors more saturated. With no light pollution to dull their hue, the lava flow and volcanic projectiles that were already remarkable at daylight took on an even more intensified brilliance. Equipped with headlamps, Tony and Ingthor carefully made their way down to the lava's cooling edges. Tony had taken some wide-angle photographs of the eruption and surrounding mountains. His next goal was to capture the textures of the lava as it cooled and the intense glow as it flowed down onto the valley floor. Completing that, he set aside his digital camera and prepared his drone to make a video of the eruption from above. Some of the accompanying photos are from his digital camera, other photos and frames from the drone's video. More than three months have passed since Tony and Ingthor visited Geldingadalur. ere have been dramatic changes since then. At least one of the craters pictured in the photos is now inactive. Additional fissures have opened up. e volume of lava flow has increased and there are currently a total of five volcanic cones strewn across the landscape. e subarctic days are getting longer, and it will be months before darkness returns. Worldwide coverage of this event, coupled with a near-normal return to international travel, have resulted in thousands now making their way to this remarkable spot, confirming Tony and Ingthor's feeling that they were right to have visited Geldingadalur as early as they did. LOCALadk 55

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