LOCALadk Magazine
Issue link: https://localadkmagazine.uberflip.com/i/916092
Winter 2017 LOCALadk Magazine 59 LOCALadk cause of the poor visibility. In the distance I see something. A rock? Or maybe one of Siggi's crew coming to usher us back to shore. I wave and link a few more wobbly turns but now whatever I saw is gone in the mist. We continue down, op- erating on feel, checking the GPS ever y so often to confirm our location. As we descend out of the cloud the visibility improves and we open up our turns on smooth, velvety snow. Back on the beach we're giddy from an adventure sur vived. "That was as good as skiing in Utah," I exclaimed. "Only bet- ter because we're on a sailboat in Iceland!" On our remaining days aboard Arktika, the skies clear and we manage a few more spectacular runs from summit pla- teaus down to the sea. By the time we start back to Isafjor- dur, ever yone is tired; our legs ache and the call of home is strong. Most of the group flies home on the ver y evening we arrive back. But three of us choose to drive from Isafjordur to Reykjavik. Normally a six-hour drive, we take a leisure- ly three days, driving up and down each fjord of the claw- shaped Westfjords. Along the way we stop to ski. We park and walk across sheep fields and cross rivers and make our way up unexplored peaks, rewarded with endless, untracked lines on the way down. We stop at empty hot pools multiple times a day and stay at guesthouses where we are warmly welcomed and often asked, "Skiing on the Hornstrandir? But Why? It's so cold and empty there." For most Icelanders, the Hornstrandir would not be considered a place to vacation, let alone ski. I've chartered the Arktika again for this winter. I have lit- tle hope for bluebird, powder skiing or long days under the Arctic sun – not in March anyway. But that's okay, there's something about those raw, turbulent, mid-winter days that I'm drawn to. There is a comfort in discomfort and a famil- iarity reminiscent of the northeastern United States, a place where I've spent countless days outside in winter conditions. The allure of sailboat skiing in Iceland isn't just the skiing; it's the countr y itself: the semi-Nordic culture; the vast, deso- late mountains; the stormy North Atlantic; and the occasion- al feeling that even when you're alone, perhaps you aren't.