Although I've been around many glaciers this was the first one that I had the experience of riding to the top of a major ridge in a snowcat. We departed Hofn (pronounced hup) in a 4 wheel drive bus. The trip up past the electric plant to the chalet and visitors center was not for the faint hearted. We had been on the ship for several days, 2 days without stopping and walking on dry land was odd. Being on a bus going up a very narrow road to the glacier was uncomfortable. We got off the bus at a beautiful chalet and had the customary 20 minute potty and gift shop stop. We then walked across a snow field of about 200 yards (rutted and slippery) and were divided into groups of about 8. We climbed into little enclosed wagons that were dragged by snowcats for about 30 minutes up to the top of the glacier. Snowcats are available for rental, but our Smithsonian 'minder' didn't want the liability of letting us do so. The air system on our wagon failed and we got hoter and hoter until we were actually concerned for our safety. I had some large note cards in my fanny pack and we were able to write HELP on a couple of cards and get the attention of another snowcat driver. By that time my husband had almost broken off the door latch. When our driver finally stopped and opened the door, we all sprang out to cool off. So much for adventure travel. We finished the trip up the mountain with the door open. One man walked, hopping over cravasses.
At the top a picnic lunch of caviar, lobster, shrimp and fruits was laid out on an ice table cut out of the glacier. We ate, hiked around a bit, and got back into our now windowless wagon for a fast trip down the mountain. The scenery was stunning as the sun was shinning. Mountains and ice as far as one could see. Yes, the use of the snow cats is noisy and likely hard on the environment, but not many people come to this part of the world, so likely the impact isn't great--I hope.
Less than 2 months later, a huge volcano erupted at the site of our picnic and became world famous for causing much damage to the ring road that goes around Iceland, farms in the area and many bridges.