Shred the Slopes of Iceland

The volcanic rock known as Iceland is home to a growing ski scene, attracting thrill-seekers with its plentiful fresh powder and rugged, wide-open slopes. “It’s just empty field after field after field,” says Aaron Blunck, an Olympic freeskier who has twice been to the island’s northern coast and cut tracks in the mountainous Troll Peninsula. “There are no trees, so there are no places to avoid, no places to stop. You can be skiing for 3,000 vertical feet and not even know it.”

The mountains might be taller in Alaska, and the runs more predictable in Canada, but the joys of skiing Iceland go beyond villages with unpronounceable names or the chance to meet the mythical huldufólk. Here, the hills aren’t overrun with tourists, and you can ski all the way down to the ocean by yourself, a unique proposition these days. And the long days in spring mean that you can still be on the slopes at 10 o’clock at night—all while the snow reflects the orange-and-pink light of the slowly setting sun.