North Iceland has seen an unusual amount of snowfall this early in winter, creating prime conditions for skiing. The skiing area in Mt. Böggvistadafjall in Dalvík opened yesterday, the first slopes in Iceland to open this winter.
“We haven’t seen these kind of conditions at this time of year for many, many years,” Óskar Óskarsson, chairman of the Dalvík Skiing Association, told Fréttabladid, adding that locals are thrilled about the snow because it isn’t often that they can bring out their skis already in October.
Inhabitants of Dalvík woke up to a 60-centimeter even blanket of snow yesterday morning. Although the official First Day of Winter was on Saturday, such an amount of snowfall usually doesn’t appear until later in the season.
There is not as much snow in Mt. Hlídarfjall, the skiing area in the neighboring town of Akureyri, but people are hopeful that the slopes will open there next weekend.
“We started producing [artificial] snow about a week ago, but it has been so windy that there is more snow in town than up in the mountain,” said manager of the skiing area Gudmundur Karl Jónsson.
After many years of poor skiing condition, Akureyri invested in artificial snow equipment.
In Saudárkrókur in northwest Iceland, inhabitants plan to open the local skiing area in Mt. Tindastóll this week and Ísafjördur residents are also preparing their slopes. There is actually too much snow in Ísafjördur and the snowdrifts need to be evened out.
Click here to watch an audio slideshow of skiing in Akureyri and here to watch a video of the First Day of Winter celebrations.
