Making Snow Angels Under an Icelandic Waterfall

By the time we arrived at Skogafoss the sun had already started its slow descent into the sky — at a crisp 3:45 pm — and a good layer of snow blanketed the ground. The snow had just fallen; there were no footprints or gray patches that muddied the sight. Against the vibrant orange that conquered a quarter of the otherwise cool blue sky, the ground sparkled. We had been in Iceland for five days at this point of the trip, but this was our first encounter thus far with the pillowy, icy precipitation — so, we were all excited, to say the least.

Skogafoss is one of Iceland’s biggest waterfalls at 197 feet tall and 82 feet wide. The waterfall is located right off of Route 1, also known as the Ring Road, the largest and most popular bus route in the country, so it is an easy quick stop on any day trip around Iceland’s south coast. It is also an ideal photo spot as a flat plot of land leads directly up to the base of the falls, so the height of 197 feet feels true and the drama of the cascading falls can be seen to its fullest extent.

Skogafoss

As we made our way slowly to the base of the falls, someone — I honestly could not say who — threw a snowball, and before we knew it, a mini snowball fight broke out. Our inner children shone through despite our new adultness, but, with our thick layers of padded waterproof coats and gloves, we were already well equipped for the fight. The battle started out quick and simmered down as we started keeping snowballs in our pockets to catch quickly forged friends off guard. We were high on excitement and slap happy at the sight of snow that we didn’t care that it was cold or that we were perhaps being slightly obnoxious Americans or that we had a time constraint to worry about. Underneath the falls with the snow below us we didn’t have a care in the world.

The waterfall flows in the middle of a semicircle cliff that slopes down on each side. Each side of the falls present themselves differently. The left of the falls are bathed in the fleeting light of the sunset, and appear to disappear into the orange light, while the right is encompassed in frosted icicles, a harsher, but just as beautiful reality of the landscape. The waterfall itself slides down from the gradually sculpted cliff, and the water descends with such force that anyone in the near vicinity will no doubt be struck with drops of water.

Among sneakily thrown snowballs, and taking in the sight before us, we snuck in a few photoshoots and videos to remember our fleeting time there. But right before we were due to be back on the bus, unwilling to let go of this experience before us, four of us hurried close to the base of the waterfall and relished in the near shower of water being sprayed at us. Before we knew it we were in awe of the power of nature above us and found ourselves on the ground, backs against the snow that was already starting to ice over, making snow angels at the base of the water. We were being sprayed with water particles so cold that they were basically solid by the time they battered against our waterproof jackets. But we didn’t care — we laughed at our questionable choice to lay down on the freezing cold ground — and spread our arms and legs wide as we took in the waterfall from this new perspective below.

Sunset on the Left Side of Skogafoss