2025–2026

Kverkfjöll

In 2025, four of us went on the trail of Gérald Favre's Swiss team, which explored Kverkfjöll from the 1980s to 2008. The great cave stayed closed. Near the hut, on top of the volcano, we found the Hveradalur system: almost 1 km.

In 2026 a thaw lake had flooded most of it: of almost 1 km, 150 m remained above water.

• Kverkfjöll, 2025 reconnaissance. © Andrea Benassi
• Ice cave, Kverkfjöll, 2026. © Andrea Benassi
• The Encelado cauldron, Kverkfjöll, July 2026. © Andrea Benassi
• The Encelado cauldron, Kverkfjöll, July 2026. © Maria F. Trombini
• Lake at the glacier's edge, Kverkfjöll, July 2026. © Andrea Benassi
• The thaw lake that flooded Hveradalur, July 2026. © Ivan Vicenzi
• Rope work on an ice wall, Kverkfjöll, July 2026. © Andrea Benassi
• Steam and volcanic gas, Kverkfjöll, July 2026. © Andrea Benassi
• Full-face respirator beside a fumarole, Kverkfjöll, July 2026. © Andrea Benassi
• Blue ice, Kverkfjöll, July 2026. © Maria F. Trombini