New ski lift will greatly enlarge ski area

Summer is coming to a close, giving skiers a reason to celebrate and prepare for the ski season. In Sauðárkrókur, North Iceland, such preparations have long since begun, for a new ski lift will be taken into use when the ski area opens.

The new lift is 1,054-m (3,458-ft) long, beginning where the older lift ends, going all the way to the top of Tindastóll mountain, thereby enlarging the ski area substantially.

According to Viggó Jónsson, CEO of the Tindastóll Ski Division, all the towers have been erected and only the end terminal is yet to be set up. The lift components were imported from the Czech Republic.

“So, this is all in full swing. This is an incredibly interesting project,” he states. Once the new lift is in place, you will be able to ski 3 km downhill, from the top of the new lift to the bottom of the older one. If you, then, choose to ski all the way down to the road, that makes a total of 7 km.

At a meeting of the Association of Local Authorities in Northwest Iceland last week, the decision was made to contribute a grant of ISK 10 million (USD 94,000, EUR 80,000) to the project. The decision must, however, be formally confirmed at the autumn meeting. The total cost of the project is ISK 12 million.

Viggó welcomes the decision. He expects the ski area to open at the beginning of December. Only once have they been able to open as early as October 31.

“The wait is getting shorter,” Viggó remarks.

Below is a popular song, sung by Helena Eyjólfsdóttir, about how much fun skiing can be. Listening to it might shorten your wait.