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Explore Iceland’s Sólheimajökull Glacier in the most exciting way possible - ice climbing.
Learn from expert guides with personalized instruction for your skill level. Climb the icy walls with crampons and ice axes and build confidence with each step.
Reach the top and enjoy the stunning views you've earned. This tour is the perfect way to test your ice-climbing skills and explore a glacier. Join us for this unforgettable adventure!
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Join our small-group tour to Sólheimajökull Glacier for an exciting ice-climbing adventure. You can start from Reykjavík or meet us at the Sólheimajökull glacier parking lot. This tour will give you three hours of pure ice exploration, including ice climbing.
The tour begins at the parking lot, where you’ll be provided with all necessary equipment: ice axes, helmets, crampons, and safety lines. Your certified glacier guide will demonstrate how to use each piece and conduct a safety briefing to ensure your confidence and safety.
We’ll kick off the adventure with a simple hike across the glacier. Work up a sweat as you navigate its impressive network of crevasses, ridges, ice walls, moulins, and mesmerizing blue-hued frost. Did you know glaciers are constantly moving? You might even hear the ice cracking beneath your feet as it shifts and adjusts.
After that, it’s time for the fun part - ice climbing. Join your fellow adventurers as you ascend an icy wall, learning about the glacier’s unique features. Your friendly and knowledgeable guide will be by your side, ensuring your safety and sharing fascinating glacier facts with you.
By the end of the tour, participants leave with a deeper appreciation for the rugged beauty of glaciers and a thrilling experience exploring this ancient frozen wonderland.
You’ll be climbing on Sólheimajökull, the outlet glacier of Mýrdalsjökull, Iceland's fourth-largest ice cap. There is no doubt that the glacier and the surrounding area are exquisite. Your knowledgeable glacier guide will point out to you how the glacier is retreating and give you a fascinating history and geology lesson to get you to understand the true magic of the glacier.
You'll witness how natural forces shape the glacier, forming intricate patterns of ice ridges and deep, V-shaped crevasses. Look out for massive sinkholes known as "moulins," which occasionally puncture the glacier, channeling meltwater through small waterfalls and streams.
This adventure is suitable for participants in good physical condition who can comfortably walk for a few hours at a steady, moderate pace. The trails are generally manageable with gradual inclines.
Opt for pick-up from Reykjavík to add some sightseeing to your adventure. Pick-up from your hotel or a nearby meeting point is at 8 a.m., and it can take around 30 minutes to gather everyone. On the way, we’ll stop at some of Iceland’s most majestic waterfalls: Seljalandsfoss and Skogafoss.
Seljalandsfoss is a 213-foot (65-meter) high waterfall that can be explored from multiple angles, offering ample opportunities to snap photos. In summer, you can even walk behind the waterfall. (FYI, there’s no gold there, just breathtaking views.)
Skogafoss is a 197-foot (60-meter) high and 85-foot (25-meter) wide waterfall. The cascading water is majestic and mesmerizing, often creating one, two, or even more rainbows from the sprayed water.
You can drive to the Sólheimajökull glacier parking lot yourself. It’s located 98 miles (158 kilometers) from Reykjavik and takes around 2 hours to reach. The meet-on-location option gives you ample time to visit the locations mentioned above. However, it’s important to remember that poor weather and road conditions can prolong your journey.
If the tour is booked for a child above 14 years old, an adult must accompany the child during both the transfer to the location and the tour itself. Safety and supervision are essential when planning the tour for young participants.
Shoe Size: For safety reasons, crampons are not available for shoe sizes below 35 EU, as they cannot be securely attached to smaller footwear.
Iceland is known for its colorful weather. It can sometimes show you all 4 seasons in one day.
Dressing for this sort of weather can be a challenge so we always recommend dressing in layers. 3 or 4 upper layers are highly recommended such as a light t-shirt (preferably wool) next to the skin, then a fleece or heavy wool garment, topped off with a waterproof windbreaker.
Jeans are not recommended for our trips as they become very heavy, cold and uncomfortable to wear when they get wet.
Lightweight hiking pants, track pants or long cotton pants are best and then wind/waterproof pants over. We also recommend using sunglasses and sunscreen even if it is cloudy due to the high UV and sunlight reflecting off of the glacier.
You will need sturdy hiking boots with ankle support that fit crampons for the glacier hiking tours. If you do not own a pair then we rent out good hiking boots as well as a waterproof raincoat and trousers.
We recommend bringing your own backpack on our full day or 1/2 day tours. It’s great to carry a small lunch and some extra clothing.
You can bring your camera along, and you should definitely bring one since the setting on the tour is full of amazing, scenic views.
This is, of course, a personal choice, we have often had pregnant women on our trips. We recommend you take a close look at our trip description and difficulty rating, they will hopefully give you a better idea. It is also good to contact your physician, pregnant women’s health can be quite different. Feel free to contact us if you have further questions or concerns.
We do not provide lunch on any of our trips, so we recommend you bring your own lunch (for the longer trips), snacks and a bottle of water (you can refill it on the trip).
Crampons are metal spikes that we attach to the soles of your hiking shoes, these enable you to walk on the glacier ice without slipping. Find out how to put crampons.
Yes, there is a specially trained and certified glacier guide on every glacier tour that we offer.
When glacier hiking you will be provided with an ice axe, crampons, harness and helmet. This will help you to complete the tour safely. The minimum shoe size to attach crampons is EU 35.
When snow stays long enough in one place it turns to ice. Over long periods of time, the ice layers up becoming huge blocks called glaciers. As there is a lot of snow in Iceland, it forms to create ginormous glaciers that sweep across huge masses of land. Iceland is home to Europe’s largest glacier named Vatnajökull. This Glacier Guide will also tell you everything you may want to know about Glaciers.
Rain is not uncommon in Iceland. However, we do not let the rain stop our tours. This is why having appropriate clothing is very important to keep you warm and dry. Nature is not something that we can control and therefore we need to adapt to the weather. If your safety is compromised by going on the tour, we will cancel and you will be fully refunded.
This guide to Glacier Hiking includes all the information you might need when preparing for a glacier hike.
