Any mountains to safely climb solo?

I'm planning to be in Iceland from about 23rd August to 3rd September. I'm thinking of flying up to Akureryri then getting a bus down to Nyidalur, doing a few days hiking there and then another bus down for the Landmannalaugur trail before going back to Reykjavik.

Are there any mountains I could incorporate an ascent of into this itinerary? Herðubreið would be interesting but is not really on the route and I'm not sure how I would get there. Eyjafjallajokull is close to the Landmannalaugur trail but there are crevasses so doing it alone is out of the question. I don't mind paying a bit for a guide, but it seems Hvannadalshnúkur and Eyjafjallajökull are not being climbed this year because of snow conditions. Maybe Hekla is possible. I don't mind carrying ice axe and crampons but I'm not sure how close I could get with public transport. Maybe I can hike between there are Landmannalaugur? I'm experienced in the mountains and the €300 cost for a guided climb up Hekla seems rather a lot to me.

Any thoughts?

You can of course walk to the former Eyjafjallajökull eruption site as it is on the Thorsmork -Skogar path, but my understanding is that it is illegal to walk much further off the path to the top of the ice cap as it is a strict reserve. At least that is what it said on the Julia Bradbury TV show about walking from Landm to Sk you can find on youtube. She was taken there in a helicopter after applying for special permission, rarely given.

You do have to walk over a steep snow slope to get to the top of Hekla. And most people don't bother going to the top because there isn't much point in zero visibility and with high winds making it dangerous. It does hide in the clouds most days. Then there is the issue that historically its eruptions have come with only minutes warnings: the met office hopes that with modern instruments they might give an hour's warning, but you'd have to be listening out for it to hear it as soon as it came. Clearly with suitable experience you can do it yourself, I don't think you usually use crampons. Part of the reason that the guided tour is expensive is because of transport to the trailhead is up a very rough track and thus needs a suitable vehicle, the track is about 8km long from the main track the bus takes to Landmannalaugar. You can take the bus to, in practice stay overnight at, Rjupnavellir and walk in but it makes it long walk.

Hvannadalshnjukur is a rather more serious expedition because of the glaciers. Even experienced mountaineers with glacier experience, but without local knowledge, have killed themselves around there. You are perhaps a bit late in the season to find an organised climb. Summer season is generally considered over for more serious stuff by about 20 Aug.

Herdubreid is accessed at Herdubreidarlindir campsite, which is accessible on the Askja tour which operates out of Myvatn, you can also get a connection to the tour at Akureyri. But it is getting late in the season for it. Check the operating dates, but be aware that some years the road is already snowed in by the last week of August. It is a nasty climb due to steep loose material. Someone who appeared to be experienced tried to do it one time I was there, but gave up as he was getting scared with all the material falling down.

It is much easier to climb the mountain at Askja itself, that's just a walk, if you can get there. Some people did it in a storm last time I was there, set off after arriving on the bus and didn't come back till midnight. We flattened their tent and put rocks on it so it didn't blow away or get smashed to pieces, unlike some other tents.

There are of course hundreds of more modest mountains you could climb, just look at the map.

Thanks, that's very helpful. I think I'll pass on Hekla given that it's expensive, dangerous and cloudy. Herdubreid might be worth a shot and I've emailed the bus company to ask if I can stay overnight - they say on their website that they operate up to 7th September so hopefully that would be possible.

It's not unusual to break the Askja tour by staying overnight in one or both of the two campgrounds/huts it passes.

As it says here
http://www.summitpost.org/her-ubrei/152981
wise to have a helmet because of all that loose material that can fall on you.

This
http://www.summitpost.org/object_list.php?object_type=1&distance_1=100&distance_lat_1=65.16670&distance_lon_1=-16.33330
mentions some interesting options near Akureyri of easier access. I guess Prilakkar is Thrilakkar, standard confusion over the thorn letter used in Icelandic.

Just got back. Climbed Herdubreid which was great - had it all to myself in beautiful weather. On the Laugavegur trail I was tempted by Haskerdingur which an information panel suggested was possible. But on closer inspection it looked as if there might be some crevasse danger, and there was only one set of footprints going up it, so I gave it a miss.

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