A couple of days ago I was arranging my trip to Quebec, Canada that is coming up in two weeks. I had two options, either use a Finnair flight or an Icelandair flight. The advantage of the Finnair flights was that I would get to use my normal airline, collect points and spend a little bit less time on the trip. The good thing with the Icelandair flight would have been that I would have been able to stay a day or two in Iceland, the tickets were a little bit cheaper and travel schedule more relaxed. My plan was to go check out the summer skiing possibilities on Myrdalsjókull, a glacier that sits on top of the Katla volcano. If you remember Eyjafjallajökull from last year, Katla is next to it but much bigger.
I ended up booking the Finnair flights, mostly because I had to no time for additional skiing.
That's a good thing.
In yesterday's news they were reporting major flooding in the area, and it is suspected that Katla is erupting.
The flood washed away a bridge and cut a major traffic route. According to Wikipedia, "Helicopter pilots flying over the glacier also reported cracks in the glacier, suggesting a large meltdown of the glacier on the south-eastern rim of the Katla crater".
Although... going there would have enabled me to enjoy two of my hobbies, skiing and volcano-watching... hmm...
Photo credits (c) 2010 by Jari Arkko and 2011 by the Living Geography blog
This article was originally published in the Planetskier Blogspot article series.
"Mongolia is kind of close, right? Story about an attempt to ski everywhere in the world where there's snow. And in some places where there isn't. On and off-piste skiing on all continents, skiing into craters of live volcanoes, climbing, photography, and travel." The Planetskier blog focuses on skiing, caving, climbing, biking, flying, sauna, and swimming adventures around the world. See the other Planetskier blog articles about skiing, caving, urban exploration, climbing, cycling, flying, swimming, and saunas.