Hard ice glacier courses
Dates to be announced
75.000 kr.
75.000 kr.
Intro to Glacier Travel is an excellent way to begin your journey into glacier travel and mountaineering. Join us for three days as we explore a variety of outlet glaciers in Öræfi and learn the foundations of safe glacier travel. This is a comprehensive course designed for beginners and requires no previous experience.
In Iceland, we are fortunate to have exceptional access to outlet glaciers. These glaciers reach down into the lowlands and offer a remarkable environment that more people should have the chance to experience. Through this course, participants gain a solid introduction to safe travel on outlet glaciers, the hazards associated with glacier environments, and the key safety considerations involved. Participants will also develop a deeper understanding of glaciers, climate change, and the challenges connected to a changing landscape.
The course is designed to train participants to move safely through varied glacier terrain and to perform simple crevasse rescue techniques.
Topics covered include:
- Use of essential glacier safety equipment
- Ropework, ascending, and abseiling
- Crevasse rescue
- Route selection on outlet glaciers
- Glacier hazard assessment
- Crampon techniques for glacier travel
- Introductory ice climbing
Who is this course for?
This course is ideal for anyone who loves the outdoors and wants to expand their skills and opportunities in mountain environments. It is also excellent preparation for those who are interested in glacier guiding and plan to continue on to AIMG Glacier Guiding 1 through the Association of Icelandic Mountain Guides.
The course is taught by experienced instructors and glacier guides from Fjallaskóli Íslands. All instructors also teach on AIMG outlet glacier courses.
Location: Öræfi (exact locations will be announced later).
The specific glacier locations will be chosen based on weather and the terrain best suited to the group and course objectives at the time. Likely glacier destinations include Svínafellsjökull, Falljökull, Virkisjökull, and/or Kvíárjökull.
Day 1: The course begins at 09:00 at Hofgarður. We start indoors with a short lecture and introduction to glacier travel before heading onto the glacier after lunch.
Day 2: A longer glacier day focused on terrain reading, route selection, crevasse rescue, and ice climbing.
Day 3: A longer glacier day continuing work on terrain reading, route selection, crevasse rescue, and ice climbing.
Physical fitness: Participants should be in reasonably good condition for mountain hiking.
Technical Equipment
- Crampons (12-point glacier crampons)
- Walking ice axe
- Climbing harness
- Helmet (climbing helmet)
- 40 m rope, for example 9 mm
- 2 x 5 m prusik cords – 6 or 7 mm
- 120 cm or 180 cm sling
- 8 locking carabiners
- Belay/rappel device with the option of assisted braking or a progress-capture function
- 2 ice screws, 19 or 21 cm long
- 30–40 L backpack with ice axe attachment points
Personal Equipment
- Warm insulated jacket
- Waterproof clothing (Gore-Tex or equivalent, jacket and trousers)
- Softshell jacket and trousers (or other suitable outdoor clothing, but not cotton)
- Wool base layers
- Semi-rigid or fully rigid hiking/mountaineering boots
- Gloves, for example light work gloves, plus a warmer pair of gloves
- Hat that fits under a helmet (not with a pom-pom or excessively bulky)
- Sunglasses
- Sunscreen
- Buff / neck gaiter
- Water bottle (1 L)
- Personal medications
Registration
Please fill in all fields for your registration to be considered valid. Please note that further information about the course will be sent by email closer to the start date.