Wet'n'wild: Cross-country skiing trip no. 2 (2014)

My second cross-country skiing trip of 2014 (again with the hiking association of Akureyri) has been a rather wet one. The snow under my feet was wet and heavy and the air was full of those compact fast falling snow flakes which melt immediately as soon as they touch ones clothes. Plus a layer of thick fog which seems to have chosen the fjord to be on an early february holiday. Smoothly and densely it lies over the fjord and seems to say "There is an amazing landcape to see here but I won't reveal it."
Actually I haven't skied much outside a loipe and I don't own ski for "wilderness" tours. So I was very grateful when my German speaking guide borrowed me a pair of real cross-country ski which even had the right bindings for my shoes. Her ski are slightly broader and a bit "less loose" on the feet than mine, so I got an immediate "Ahaaa, nice!" feeling when I stepped into the deep snow.
The plan was to ski a bit up Mt. Súlur (Akureyri's "backyard" mountain) and then to roam cosily on a fenland located on a softly sloping plateau. Because of the fog and the wet snow it was decided that it wouldn't be really worth it going there (no gliding in the heavy snow and now view in the heavy fog), so the route was changed and we went a little bit into Glerárdalur, a beautiful valley (well, there was a sign showing beautiful pictures of the valley on a clear day). The skiing went more or less okay but at some point we stopped because the heavy sticky snow had formed pads under our ski which made it impossible to glide on it. So we decided to do some "group waxing" and everybody became busy taking off their ski and waxing them properly. So I did the same but went with a bit too much of "the more the better" attitude to work and waxed even the grooves in the middle of the ski. However, these grooves are meant to stop the ski from gliding backwards when walking up a slope. So I was okay when we went down a tiny canyon but failed completely when we walked it up again. The ski just slided away under my feet, I stepped to the left (which was the downgoing side of the slope), lost balance and ended head over feet half-way down the slope in the deep snow. And my ski got of course thoroughly stuck in the wet soft snow and my first and only thought was "Oh God, why?" My German speaking guide laughed a bit before she gave me proper guidance how to safe myself out of this situation (and what I learnt from this is "Don't you ever wax the grooves again like this. Ever.").
Anyway, it's fun practicing on real cross-country ski and here are some pictures:

Up the slope through heavy wet snow!

We were literally IN the snow (which was under us and between us and above us.) Oh, and there is a beautiful valley behind me ... somewhere.

Tea break: Deep soft snow also has its advantages, for example in holding a thermos and a cup really well!