King of the mountains for 42 years

The farmer Kristinn Guðnason from Skarð in Landsveit has been the king of mountains in the herding of Landmannaafréttir since 1981.

In the near future, the documentary film “King of the Mountains” will be directed by Arnar Þór Þórisson, starring Guðnason. Morgunblaðið contacted Kristinn and asked if he was excited about the film?

“Yes, of course one is excited to see how it all comes out. I’ve seen a glimpse of the film and I’m pretty happy even though you feel a little weird watching something that’s largely about you,” he tells the Sunday edition of Morgunblaðið. The film’s producers are Áslaug Pálsdóttir and Guðrún Hergils Valdimarsdóttir. They have been following Guðnason with other filmmakers, through the rounding of the sheep in Landmannaafréttir in recent years.

Guðnason’s great grandfather was also a king of the mountains so his role is to some extent hereditary. Is it not rare for humans to serve as kings of the mountains for four decades?

“I think that this is rare now. However, sometimes it is said that if people do fairly well in their job, they will stay for long. I do not particularly want to quit, although I will soon have to. Our trips are popular and that is extremely positive. As a result, there are many people involved, and controlling many can be a small problem. In fact, it is a luxury problem for us, considering the people around us. We need to deny people the opportunity to come along, and people interested in going to a mountain place themselves on our waiting list. Every fall it is one of the more difficult jobs is to have to deny people to tag along, even if you know they are good people,” says Guðnason, “and he says that his group has been well-manned for quite a few years.

The full interview with Guðnason can be found in the Sunday edition of Morgunblaðið.