Ice Climbing tour in Iceland - Glacier Adventure

Ice Climbing in Vatnajökull

Includes Super Jeep ride and a glacier walk with a well-trained local guide

In this Ice climbing tour with a local guide from Hali you experience the wonders of Vatnajökull glacier. Our guide takes you on an unforgettable journey on Breiðamerkurjökull, one of Vatnajökull’s biggest outlet glacier. The trip starts at Hali Country Hotel reception, where your guide drives you to the glacier area, away from the crowds and off the beaten path where you can breathe in the fresh Icelandic air.

Before we start the drive we need to gear you up. It’s necessary to have the correct footwear for ice climbing. We’ll have the hiking boots ready for those who have rented such.

After the Super Jeep ride to the glacier area we take a short zodiac boat trip and sail a short distance to where the glacier walk starts. (We recommend that people take a proper boat tour at Glacier Lagoon or Fjallsárlón, this one is only for 2 minutes).

The glacier walk starts with an introduction to the equipment and safety rules needed to explore the glacier. We provide ice crampons and teach you how to attach them to the boots. Crampons make it easy to walk on the ice so that there’s no worry of slipping. Other security items include helmets and ice axes.

We walk to the climbing area through a wonderland of glacial ice sculptures, ridges and the deep crevasses of the glacier. We see big sinkholes, called “Moulin”, that sometimes have drilled their way through the glacier, draining the meltwater of the ice through little waterfalls and streams. The glacier also carries with it ashes of volcanic eruptions, the ash sometimes forms into a pyramid, called “dirt cone”.

This tour has a maximum 4 participants to make sure that everyone can enjoy the climbing part of the trip.

The tour is intended for those who want to spend half a day outside walking, climbing the ice, talking and creating unforgettable moments with friends and family.

The tour takes approximately 4 to 5 hours (2 – 3 hour on the glacier), including drive back and forth from our pick up location at Hali reception. This tour is moderated and can be done by most travelers. You don’t have to have an ice climbing experience for this tour and we can adjust the climbing part to the group ability, from extreme to easy conditions.

Tour Details

Availability: 9:30
Minimum age: 14 years old
Meeting point: Hali Country Hotel reception
Area: South East Iceland
Duration: 4 - 5 hours
Type: Half day-tour
Group max: 4 persons
Group min: 2 persons
Difficulty: Moderate
RENTED EQUIPMENT
- Rain gear for 1000 ISK
- Hiking boots for 1000 ISK

Provided equipment

- Mountaineering boots and climbing crampons
- Harness
- Helmet
- Ice climbing axes
- Life vest for the boat tour
- Guided tour with a local
NEEDED EQUIPMENT
- Good clothing based on weather. 3 layers on top: base layer, light sweater like fleece and water or windproof top. Light warm pants and waterproof if needed.
- Thin had and gloves
- Camera (optional)

Good to have in mind

Be at our meeting point 20 minutes before departure time
We recommend you to stay somewhere close to Hali the night before a morning tour. You can find accommodation suggestion under useful information on our front page
You can find useful information about the weather at www.vedur.is and the road conditions at www.road.is

Disclaimer: Glacier trips are undertaken at the responsibility of participants. Glacier Adventure does not assume any responsibility for accidents which are caused by it´s customers or can be traced to their own actions.