Climbing Myrdalsjokull Glacier, Iceland

Climbing Myrdalsjokull Glacier, Iceland

Photograph by Keith Ladzinski

“The light in Iceland in the wintertime has more shades and tones than anywhere I have been—it feels like being on an ice film set in Mordor in Lord of the Rings,” says 16-year veteran ice climber Tim Emmett, seen here climbing Iceland’s Mýrdalsjökull Glacier, which was ashy from a recent volcanic eruption.

Emmett and climbing partner Dawn Glanc, pictured on belay, spent ten days in the land of fire and ice climbing new routes and meeting the locals. “Iceland was going through a warm spell, so we looked for a glacier to climb instead of an icefall,” recalls Emmett, who is moving to Squamish, British Columbia, to take advantage of its easy access to world-class adventures. “This was a perfect, very surreal day of climbing.”