Helgafell is an important location for Gemma's family history. Gemma's father and Kristjana skipped school one day and attempted to climb the mountain silently so their wishes would be granted...but Kristjana fell and screamed so neither of their wishes would come true. (422). 

Helgafell ("holy mountain") is a small mountain on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula of Iceland. The mountain is 240 ft high, and houses a temple in honor of Thor was built there by the first settler of the area, Þórólfr Mostrarskegg. Helgafell also appears in the Laxdæla saga as the location where the heroine Guðrún Ósvífrsdóttir last lived and is supposedly where she is buried.