Kaldbakur

  • Kaldbakur
  • 1167 m
  • Primary factor 872 m
  • Iceland
  • Location: North 66.00638, West 018.18076 (GPS at the summit)
  • Difficulty: YDS class 2.
  • Climbed May 17, 2016.

Information:

How to get there:
From Akureyri on the north coast of Iceland, drive north on the east side of the fjord to the small town of Grenivik. Continue a short bit further north (along/above) the fjord in order to cross the first creek that comes down in a small canyon. Find parking near N65.87868, W017.97278, this is a good trailhead at elevation about 60 meter.
Route:
Head directly uphill. Skiing in mid May, we noticed a long gully (with a small stream) that had snow coming a long way down. This was a good way to ascend/descend on skis. Higher up, you enter a very large hillside that extends further up and towards the more pronounced summit located more to your left. Ski up this hill that gradually turns into a ridge. Finally, follow a short summit ridge to its highest point at the far end.
Comments:
Having already climbed the most prominent peak in the north, we drove to Grenivik and immediately decided to attempt our second peak of the day. Kaldbakur looked very nice, close to the village and with some snow extending almost down to the fjord. This would be our skiing peak on the 17th. of May!
The only cafeteria in town was closed, so lunch consisted of some rolls and cake that we could buy in the local grocery store.
We started out at 1520, sort of ignoring that we still needed to ascend more than 1000 vertical meter. However, the skiing was nice, up a long gully where the snow connected nicely, then a huge slope that narrowed to a ridge near the end, followed by a short summit ridge. We arrived at the summit at 1800. A very nice view from a very good viewpoint. The evening was fabulous, blue sky, the sun, peaks and fjords all came together to form a complete arctic landscape. We stayed around until 1815, a small breeze reminded us that we should start back down. Skiing was pure delight and we were back with our car already at 1900.
Here is a quick summary of peaks climbed in our trip to Iceland.

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