Hello everyone,

Icelad Day 2:
We drove from Reykjavik to Ukareyri then to Dalvik, hit some dirty roads and arrived at the heli pad - Arctic Heli.

First part of the drive was pretty uneventful - rain, fog and more rain... Finally the weather cleared about 200 km from Ukareyri. The drive took us from the very south tip of the island to the very north.

We are now only 60 km away from the Arctic circle. The nature is very intense and raw with an amazing aura and presence.

We tried some dried cod (Icelanduc version of Beef Jerky) and it was pretty intense as well! Let's just say that I don't think I will be able to get rid of the taste or the smell for the next year. This stuff is pretty hardcore! As we stopped to get some foot supplies, Grant had the BRILLIANT idea to fill up our Diesel SUV with gas. A few miles down the road, the engine sounded like a truck driver with lung cancer and we had to stop at the nearest gas station to empty the tank, change the fuel pump and fill up with Diesel this time.

We finally arrived at our base camp - or fur farm - in the middle of the mountains right by a river surounded by snowy peaks. The scenery is unbelievable and I am comfident saying this is one of the most beautiful places on earth.

We were welcome by our guides mother - Anna who made us some pie and made us feel right at home!

Then, we met her son - Jokull which means "man walking on glacier and rock" in Icelandic. His name alone makes me stoked to have this guy as our guide.

After drinking a couple beers and cracking a few jokes, we went to bed happy and hopeful for the following days as the weather is supposed to be good in the next couple days until wednesday.

Our pilot will show up on Monday and he was actually one of the heli pilots flying around in James Bond movies.

We are really lucky to have such a knowledgeable and fun crew. This trip is coming together great.

Jokull also has a couple ideas for some potential first descents/ ski BASE jumps which has never been done in Iceland and he is super stoked about doing a couple wingsuit flights out of the helicopter.

Alright, enough for today. Tomorrow is supposed to be crappy so we are going to look at topo maps and scout out some areas.

Stay posted for more updates soon.

Cheers,
Matthias