‘People have lost respect for the mountains’: A recipe for disaster in Iceland

Standing in the cavernous spa of the Blue Lagoon’s Retreat hotel, covered head to toe in a fishy, algae-based mud pack, a terrible thought sprang to mind: “What if I had to evacuate the premises right now?”

For the past few weeks, staff at the luxury property on the Reykjanes Peninsula have been on high alert for a volcanic eruption. On August 22, that moment came when a large fissure opened up east of Sýlingarfell mountain. Continuing to ignite night skies while showering fibreglass splinters known ominously as “witch’s hair”, it’s the sixth large-scale lava spew since December.

“We managed to clear the Blue Lagoon and our two hotels – the Retreat and Silica – in 42 minutes,” says Sigurður Þorsteinsson, the head of brand, design and construction at Blue Lagoon Iceland. He praises a well-honed evacuation plan capable of clearing 1,200 people to safety within half an hour. “We’re in very good co-ordination with the Icelandic Met Office. We have drivers and buses waiting on the premises.”

Living on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where the American and Eurasian tectonic plates are moving apart, Icelanders are no strangers to seismic activity. Of the country’s 30 active volcanoes, six have erupted regularly in recent years. By following appropriate construction guidelines, the team behind Blue Lagoon Iceland see no issue in forging ahead with several new projects – including one in the shadow of the Hekla volcano.

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But the increasing frequency of eruptions, coupled with the effects of climate change, is a reminder that this millennia-old landscape is dynamic and ever-evolving. A swelling number of tourists with a growing appetite for adventure tourism has put inevitable pressure on a fragile environment, illustrated by a fatal accident in an ice cave last week.

Inspired by images on Instagram of crystal-like glacial caverns, hundreds of tourists visit these tunnels carved by summer melt water beneath the ice sheets. Most tours happen during the winter season, but there has been an increasing demand to visit throughout the year.

“I would never visit an ice cave in the summer,” says the Spanish-born mountain guide Ruben Perez, who’s been leading tours in Iceland for many years. “We are talking about ice that can have cracks, that is melting, that is moving.”

When caves reach a certain temperature, the structure becomes unstable. But many believe the incident at Breiðamerkurjökull glacier in Vatnajökull National Park, which left one American tourist dead and another hospitalised, wasn’t simply down to the forces of nature.

Highlighting cracks in a system that run far deeper than any crevasses, Stephen Mantler (who blogs as Step Man), a glacier and mountain guide certified by the Association of Icelandic Mountain Guides, writes: “This is a systematic problem that has pervaded the entire industry. The first symptoms have been showing up for years, and critical voices were constantly ignored.”

Since 2000, the number of tourists visiting Iceland has grown significantly from 595,000 to more than two million. A remote, wind-swept island with a few hot springs has transformed into an adventure playground offering other-worldly experiences in landscapes alien to most of the urban world. Ever edgier activities include crawling into lava tunnels, snowmobiling across ice sheets and soaring above magma flows on helicopter rides. New driving route the Volcanic Way connects eight major volcanoes.

But despite regulations being introduced, these aren’t always observed. The government is currently investigating why safety warnings were ignored during the recent ice cave tragedy.

One of the biggest problems, which Perez refers to as “a shadow no one talks about”, is the quality and training of guides. High demand has created a gold rush fever, with several newer operators employing less-experienced staff, leading to a Wild West scenario in the frozen north.

“There are both local cowboys and international cowboys coming in,” warns Þorsteinsson. “And this combination gets a bit dangerous.”

Mountain guides only need a short conversion course to lead tours on glaciers. Yet it is the guide’s responsibility to assess the terrain and make a judgment on whether it is safe.

“If you are inexperienced or new as a guide, you will not want to cancel any trip, because you will want to prove yourself,” says Perez. “You want to be the guy that always goes, and the companies will be happy with you.”

The other big change in Iceland over the years has been the type of tourist the destination attracts. According to Þorsteinsson, who played a key role in developing the Highland Base hotel in the remote Central Highlands region, hardy hikers carrying backpacks have been replaced with city slickers pulling wheelie suitcases.

“The tourist coming now, compared to 10 years ago, is less prepared,” he complains. “People might be heavily equipped with nice Patagonia shirts, but they are not experienced.”

Both Þorsteinsson and Perez report an increase in incidents, due largely to poor planning and a disregard for rapidly changing weather conditions. The desire to fill Instagram feeds with daredevil posts is also causing problems. Not so long ago, a tourist suffered severe burns after walking through an area of hot springs while trying to take a photo.

“People have lost respect for the mountains,” says Perez, blaming increased ease of access and an underestimation of the wilderness.

“We are speaking to the tourist board, government and rescue teams to see how we can better inform them,” adds Þorsteinsson. “Nature is beautiful, but nature can be dangerous.”

Oddný Arnarsdóttir, the head of Visit Iceland, adds: “Visitors to Iceland need to be aware of the many forces of nature our country lives alongside and exercise sensible caution when exploring all the country has to offer.”

Following the accident in Vatnajökull National Park, permits for summer ice cave tours have been temporarily suspended and there have been calls for more restrictions and better enforcement of regulations already in place.

But could more rules, metal barriers and roped-off areas dilute the spirit of adventure that made this tiny nation so famous?

“It’s tricky,” admits Þorsteinsson. “If you want to have a good experience and be safe, you need to plan better, you need to spend a little bit more – which is something some smaller companies may struggle to do.”

Mantler believes one of the solutions is transparency. He has pledged to publish a safety report for all his tours and is offering free training sessions to guides.

In a rapidly evolving environment, complacency can be fatal.

“I want to live in a world where nature in all her beauty is enjoyable, exciting, an adventure,” writes the guide and blogger. “But first, and above all, safe.”