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Ice Cave in Vatnajökull Glacier

This was without a doubt the best day of our trip. We went out with Einar and his son from Öræfaferðir / Local Guide Travel Service. They were both amazing, and we would highly recommend their services! Please feel free to check out the link below for more information.

 

Our second stop was to head into an amazing ice cave adjacent to the Svínafellsjökull Outlet on Vatnajökull Glacier. Being in these caves was unlike anything we've ever experienced. They were well insulated so it wasn't extremely cold, but the textures and formations were completely otherworldly. The ice will often take on a rich, deep blue color in these caves. However, we were told that because it was a bright and sunny day, that blue became more of the aqua/teal type color you see here. You can see a hint of the deeper blue on the left hand side here, which was a deeper section of ice, less exposed to the sun.

 

Interestingly, due to the constant changing of the glaciers and temperature changes, these ice caves are rarely ever around for more than a couple of weeks at a time. You can go back every year and have a completely different experience every time. We were told that the ice caves we enjoyed, for example, were gone within a week of our visit.

 

 

You can find more information on guided mountain, glacier and ice cave tours with Öræfaferðir / Local Guide Travel Service here.

 

Nikon D800

14-24mm f/2.8 Lens

5-Exposure HDR bracketed at 1-stop, on a Gitzo Tripod with a remote trigger release, blended in Photomatix

Image cropped to panoramic field of view

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Uploaded on August 26, 2013
Taken on March 9, 2013