Page 24 of Snug in Iceland
“We are going to drive about ninety minutes to the Sólheimajökull glacier,” Jonas announced to them all as he pulled away and headed out of the city. “It is good weather for glacier walking today, cold and bright!”
Everyone chuckled appreciatively and Jonas turned and grinned at Rachel, clearly looking forward to the day as much as the rest of them.
“Don’t you get bored going to the same places all the time?” she asked.
“No, not at all. Every time you go you see something different. In the summer the ground is covered with flowers and heathers, not that you would believe that when you see it like this,” he said, gesturing to the endless white landscape, “but even today the glacier will be different to the last time I saw it. The waterfalls will be flowing more than last time, or less maybe, it has been so cold. There is always something to see.”
The exuberance which had been there just a minute ago had vanished and instead there was a gentle but sincere passion as Jonas spoke. He had stopped smiling and when he glanced sideways at Rachel her heart melted at the tenderness in his eyes and if she didn’t know better, she’d say a rush of love swept over her at that moment.
“I love that you take the time to notice everything even though you’ve seen it a hundred times before. You never get tired of the wonder. That’s what life’s all about, isn’t it? And everyone just forgets until they come somewhere like this and then it’s wonderful and you feel like you’ve been walking around your whole life with your eyes closed.”
Jonas nodded but kept his eyes on the road. Rachel gazed out of the window trying to memorise every inch of what she saw. At first glance, it was just a snow-covered landscape but there were tiny details which made it spectacular. The wind dusting the snow from the tops of the mountains into the brightest blue sky and a column of steam rising from the snow where a hot spring had punched through every so often were a couple of images Rachel was never going to forget. Iceland was starting to open her eyes to all sorts of things to the point where she felt like she was drifting away from her real life. But she didn’t mind that, at the moment. Let it happen while it could, while she was enjoying herself. Real life would be back again soon enough.
“You can see the glacier up ahead,” Jonas explained as they arrived. “You can see the edge of it where the rock meets the ice. We’ll hike up to the edge and then put crampons on to walk on the ice.”
He pulled the jeep into a large clearing and everyone piled out, collecting ice axes and crampons out of the back before they set off across the lava field towards the ice. The other people on the tour were couples so Rachel naturally found herself walking with Jonas at the front of the party.
“Do you do much hiking, Rachel?”
“No, not really,” she said, trying to make her breathing sound normal and less like someone who smoked twenty a day. “There’s nowhere to hike near where I live.”
It struck her as funny that on holiday she was perfectly willing to travel an hour and a half to hike a glacier in a day but at home that would be out of the question. Aside from there being no glaciers in London, she would never travel for ninety minutes to find a hill to walk up.
“It’s quite a steep incline. Quite tough if you’re not used to hills.” Was he smirking slightly?
“Oh, I’m fine. I think it’s the cold air more than anything.”
“Hey guys,” said Jonas, turning around to address the group. “We’re just coming up to the ice now so it’s a good time to put your crampons on.”
He had put his crampons on while Rachel was still turning hers over and over in her hands, working out where to start.
“Here, let me help,” he said, bending down and taking her foot, forcing her to hold on to his shoulder for balance.
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” His eyes twinkled as he glanced up to smile at her. “I’m going to go ahead so that I can give everyone a hand up onto the shelf. Will you be okay?”
Rachel nodded with what she hoped was a confident grin, while inside she was wondering whether the crampons were going to be any match for the sheet of ice in front of her.
Falling to the back of the group, Rachel walked unsurely at first until she realised she could trust the crampons, up towards where Jonas was standing on the edge of the glacier. He had bedded himself into the slope, leaning against it next to the path with an ice axe in his left hand anchoring him to the ice and his feet planted firmly so that he could help to haul his guests up onto the glacier.
When it was her turn, Rachel grabbed Jonas’s hand and threw herself towards the slope. In the same split second that her feet easily found a grip in the ice, she could feel her hand slip out of her glove and away from Jonas’s reassuring grasp. She felt herself fall backwards, in slow motion; she had time to know that she was falling and there was nothing she could do to stop herself aside from reaching in vain towards the slope with the ice axe that was in her other hand. Then she felt a strong hand around her wrist and was immediately steadied.
“Okay, Rachel?” Jonas asked in such a commanding way that it took her breath away as he pulled her up to him with a force that threw her against his body. He was so strong and reassuring in that instant, wrapping his free arm around her shoulders and holding her close until he was sure she was alright.
“Yes, yes, I think I’m fine.” She took a deep breath as she took in what had just happened. “Oh my God. That was close.”
He helped her up to the glacier before climbing up there himself. Her hand, minus its glove was resting on her chest as if to try and calm her heartbeat after the shock. Jonas put his hands on her shoulders, his eyes searching her face as if trying to assess if she was indeed okay.
“Take a minute, get your breath back. It’s all easy walking from here. Are you alright to carry on?”
He rubbed her shoulders briefly before reaching into his rucksack and offering her a flask. It was a warm, slightly spiced milky drink and it relaxed her immediately.
One of the other hikers had retrieved Rachel’s glove. She could carry on; it was just a scare and even if she’d fallen it wouldn’t have been that far, but she was pretty sure that the ice wouldn’t have made for a soft landing. They walked on with Jonas insistently holding her hand which she didn’t mind at all. She was still a little shaken.
The scenery was spectacular. It felt as though they were exploring an undiscovered world. After an hour or so of hiking on the glacier, Jonas led them towards the side, near to the foot of a mountain.
“We’re going to hike down this trail into a glacial cave,” Jonas said, turning to address the group. “Keep to the sides of the path where the ice is less compacted and watch your heads once we get down there.”
