Tourists "underestimate the weather and overestimate their capabilities"

SAR teams in Iceland were called out seven times yesterday, three times to Fimmvörðuháls and again to Fimmvörðuháls this morning. Jónas Guðmundsson at the Landsbjörg rescue team says that despite action taken to inform people of conditions, people often underestimate the weather and overestimate their own capabilities.

"The weather often surprises Icelanders, so it obviously surprises tourists. If it wasn't surprising we wouldn't have to chase all these trampolines," he said speaking to mbl.is.

He says that rescue teams and the travel industry could do better to educate travellers to Iceland but more funds were needed for this effort to improve the services, such as Safe Travel .

"If more funds were invested in that project more people could be informed and there should be more regulations on hiking paths.  The road to Landmannalaugar was opened very early, maybe it should have been closed for longer." He also points out that perhaps more demands should be placed on hikers who choose certain paths such as the Laugavegur route between Landmannalaugar and Þórsmörk.  "Hikers would need to speak to landguards and go over equipment and a safe travel plan. We could do plenty of things but that costs work and money. But it obviously costs work and money for rescue teams to be called out."

Many hiking paths have opened early despite a long winter.  Many parts of Laugavegur and Fimmvörðuháls are still covered in snow. "People quickly become exhausted after hiking ten kilometres in the snow. These are all contributing factors: trails open too early, there's still plenty of snow and the weather has been awful.  When the weather is bad people underestimate conditions. We've seen that happen over the years."