Learned Traveller

Kirkjufell is a very iconic mountain on the Snæfellsnes peninsula of Iceland. You've probably seen photos of it with a waterfall in front - it is very striking. There are also dozens of people taking photos of it at any given time, and even a car park simply for this view. Here are my photos, including one of the classic view: Iceland 2018

I got interested in the idea of climbing it. It's only 463m high, but really narrow with lots of rock steps. But there are ropes in place to help you over these. I was advised before I went not to climb it, however, as it is known to be dangerous, and there was a fatality last year.

When I got there I found an information panel which said that the summit was accessible to experienced mountain walkers. I looked at the route through binoculars and thought that it really didn't look that bad. So I decided to go for it, and if it got too exposed, to turn around. 

After a bit of scrambling I was soon at the top, on a wonderful airy ridge enjoying amazing views. It was really great fun and I felt that it would be a great shame if people were discouraged too much from doing the climb. I hadn't felt in any danger at any time and felt that the information panel had it about right. I got back down without any problems and carried on my journey around Snæfellsnes.

A couple of weeks later I learnt that another had person died in a fall on the mountain. And a few weeks later a French woman fell and had to be taken to hospital. I'm aghast.