How to Take a Magical Winter Trip to Iceland-With Northern Lights, Gorgeous Inns, and Frozen Waterfalls

"I had been in Iceland for two weeks and, so far, had experienced several of the many types of snow identified in the Icelandic language. These ranged from a hríð-a blinding whiteout-to sliding over hjarn-the layer that freezes overnight and glows iridescently in the morning. And I had trudged through quite a bit of slabb, which is the translation for a sleety, slushy mess."

"I was soaking in my private, geothermal outdoor tub (a "hotpot" in local argot) when wispy flakes began to billow around my head, the only part of my body that was not submerged in the 100-degree bath. Just then, a funnel-shaped green blaze splashed across the sky: the northern lights. Afterward, warmed to the core and floored by the pageant of auroral sublimity, I walked to the Langhús (longhouse), the communal area modeled after Viking dwellings."

A winter visit to Iceland revealed numerous distinct snow forms with specific Icelandic terms, from hríð (a blinding whiteout) to hjarn (a layer that freezes overnight) and slabb (sleet and slush). At the Torfhús retreat, a geothermal outdoor tub experience coincided with falling powder and a vibrant northern lights display, prompting the creation of a new word, podrmjoll, for powder snow. Torfhús is a cluster of turf-clad cabins built in ancient vernacular, using basalt and sod because of the scarcity of trees. Siggi Jensson and partner Alex Hoop opened the retreat in 2019 and emphasize immersive, wintry Nordic adventures using glacier-ready vehicles and communal longhouses modeled on Viking dwellings.

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