Sólheimajökull Glacier: Ice Climbing & Walk with Small Group

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Free cancellationExcellent quality

1/11

Duration4h

GroupUp to 6

LanguagesEN

Mobile ticketAccepted

Southern Iceland glacier walk and ice climbing adventure with gear

You’ll lace up your hiking boots at Sólheimajökull, gear up with crampons and axes, then hike out onto the glacier itself for a small-group climb with a local guide. Learn how to use real climbing gear, swing your first axe into blue ice, and catch your breath over coffee and chocolate—all surrounded by Southern Iceland’s wild weather.

Step-by-step itinerary

Sólheimajökull glacier hike and climb

Meet guide at Sólheimajökull parking
Receive hiking and climbing equipment
Hike 15 minutes to glacier
Warm up and prepare for climb
Learn ice climbing basics
Climb vertical crevasse walls

The Experience

We crunched across the black gravel at Sólheimajökull’s parking lot, boots in hand, wind already finding its way into my jacket. Our guide—Bjarni, who had this dry Icelandic humor—handed out crampons and harnesses. I fumbled with the straps (seriously, why do I always get them backwards?) while he checked everyone’s gear without making us feel like total newbies. The air smelled faintly metallic, almost clean enough to taste.

The walk to the glacier took maybe fifteen minutes, but it felt longer—part nerves, part excitement. You hear the ice before you see it: a kind of distant crackle, like frozen cereal in milk. Bjarni stopped us now and then to point out blue veins running through the ice or explain how this whole chunk is shrinking every year. He handed me an ice axe and said something about “trusting your feet,” which made me laugh because my feet were already questioning everything.

I didn’t expect to actually enjoy the climbing part—I thought I’d freeze up halfway up that crevasse wall. But there was this weird moment of silence when I swung the axe in for the first time, just me and this wall of ancient blue. My arms shook (don’t judge), but somehow I made it up. At the top, Bjarni grinned and offered coffee from a battered thermos—plus chocolate that tasted even better than usual in that cold wind. We stood there for a while, nobody talking much, just watching clouds slide over the glacier’s surface. I still think about that view sometimes.

What’s included

Your day includes all necessary glacier equipment—crampons, harnesses, helmets, boots—and instruction from a certified guide as you hike out onto Sólheimajökull for both walking and real ice climbing. There’s also a break for coffee and chocolates before heading back down together.

Good to know

Moderate physical level

Operated by Troll Expeditions