Ice climbing
Ice climbing in Iceland: what an introduction actually involves
Six listings on this site put an ice axe in your hands, and every one of them says no experience is needed. That is true, and it is worth knowing what the two hours on a rope actually consist of before you decide whether it is the part of the day you want.
Quick answer
An introduction to ice climbing in Iceland is a guided glacier walk plus about an hour on a top-roped wall of blue ice, with axes, crampons, a harness and a helmet supplied. No experience is assumed and nobody is teaching you to lead. Six walks here include it, from $199 on Sólheimajökull to $230 for seven and a half hours at Skaftafell.
Ice climbing, at a glance
- What it is
- Top-roped climbing on a glacier wallnot lead climbing, not multi-pitch
- Experience needed
- Noneon every listing here
- Supplied
- Axes, crampons, harness, helmetand the rope work is the guide’s
- Wall height
- Usually 8–15 mset by what the glacier offers that week
- Time climbing
- About an hourafter the walk in
- From
- $199a walk plus an introduction, 458 reviews
- Climbing only
- $273four hours, no long walk first
- The long one
- $230seven and a half hours at Skaftafell
- Season
- All yearwalls change through the season
- Cancellation
- Free on all sixbooked through GetYourGuide
What an hour on the rope is like
Two axes, two front points, and a great deal of upper-body honesty
Axes are handholds, legs do the work, and an hour is plenty.
A top rope is already anchored above the wall before you get there and runs down through a system the guide controls. You tie in, you climb, and if you come off you stop immediately. That is the whole safety model and it is why an introduction is possible at all.
The technique is straightforward to explain and harder to do. You swing an axe into the ice until it sticks, then the other, then kick the front points of each crampon into the wall and stand up on them. The instinct is to pull yourself up with your arms, which is exhausting and wrong; the axes are handholds and the legs do the work. Everybody does it wrong for the first five minutes.
Most people get two or three goes at a wall of eight to fifteen metres, depending on the group size and what the glacier offers that week. It is not a long time, and by the end of it your forearms will tell you it was enough.
One honest note: this is the part of the day where being a bit fit helps. Nobody is going to be embarrassed, and guides are used to people getting halfway and coming down. But if the idea of hanging off two axes appeals less than the walk, the plain glacier routes are just as good a day.
Every trip, current fare
Every walk, with the six that include climbing
Six listings add an axe. They differ in whether the walk comes first, how long the day is, and which glacier the wall is on.
| Hike | Length | Price | Glacier | Cost per hour | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vatnajokull: Skaftafell Glacier HikeThe cheapest guided walk on the ice | 3 h | $91 | Vatnajökull | $30.33 | 4.5 · 93 |
| Skaftafell: Falljokull Glacier Easy Group HikeThe easy Falljökull group hike, 1,674 reviews | 3 h | $101 | Falljökull | $33.67 | 4.6 · 1,674 |
| Sólheimajökull: Guided Glacier HikeThe closest glacier to Reykjavík | 3 h | $107 | Sólheimajökull | $35.67 | 4.6 · 3 |
| From Reykjavík: Waterfalls, Black Beach & Glacier Day TripWaterfalls, black beach and a glacier, rated 4.9 | 12 h | $136 | Sólheimajökull | $11.33 | 4.9 · 502 |
| Jökulsárlón: Vatnajökull Glacier Guided Hiking TourVatnajökull from the lagoon side | 4.5 h | $140 | Vatnajökull | $31.11 | 4.8 · 1,054 |
| Skaftafell: Half-Day Vatnajökull National Park Glacier HikeHalf a day in the national park, small group | 4 h | $153 | Vatnajökull | $38.25 | 5.0 · 143 |
| Skaftafell: Ice Cave Tour and Glacier HikeA glacier walk and an ice cave, most reviewed here | 4 h | $153 | Falljökull | $38.25 | 4.5 · 1,962 |
| Skaftafell National Park: Falljokull Glacier Advanced HikeThe advanced Falljökull route | 5 h | $155 | Falljökull | $31.00 | 4.8 · 1,181 |
| Skaftafell Glacier Explorer - Extended Small Group TrekFive hours and a longer route on the ice | 5 h | $158 | Vatnajökull | $31.60 | 4.8 · 375 |
| From Reykjavik: South Coast & Glacier HikeThe south coast day with a glacier walk in it | 12 h | $186 | Sólheimajökull | $15.50 | 4.8 · 504 |
| Reykjavík: Glacier Hike, Waterfalls, & Black Sand BeachGlacier, waterfalls and Reynisfjara in twelve hours | 12 h | $191 | Sólheimajökull | $15.92 | 4.7 · 120 |
| Reykjavík: Sólheimajökull Glacier Hike & Ice Climbing IntroA walk plus a first go at ice climbing | 5.5 h | $199 | Sólheimajökull | $36.18 | 4.8 · 458 |
| Skaftafell: Glacier XTreme - Hike & Ice Climbing AdventureThe longest day on the ice here | 7.5 h | $230 | Falljökull | $30.67 | 4.9 · 83 |
| Sólheimajökull Ice Climbing TourIce climbing on Sólheimajökull, no walk | 4 h | $273 | Sólheimajökull | $68.25 | 4.8 · 52 |
| Glacier Hike, South Coast Iceland, Black Beach & Sky LagoonGlacier, black beach and a hot lagoon to finish | 10 h | $287 | Sólheimajökull | $28.70 | 5.0 · 5 |
| From Reykjavik: Fire And Ice Helicopter Tour with 2 LandingsTwo glacier landings by helicopter | 2 h | $913 | Two landings | $456.50 | 4.7 · 158 |
| Reykjavík: South Coast Glacier Private ExpeditionA private twelve-hour south coast expedition | 12 h | $1,803 | South coast | $150.25 | New |
The six
Which climbing tour to book
Same activity, four different shapes of day.
- The introduction — $199
A guided walk on Sólheimajökull and then an hour on a top-roped wall, with 458 ratings at 4.8. This is the one most people should book, and it leaves from Reykjavík.
- Climbing only — $273
Four hours, small group, and the wall is most of it rather than an addition to a walk. For people who want the axe and are not that bothered about the traverse.
- XTreme at Skaftafell — $230
Seven and a half hours: the longest time on ice on this site, a full route on Falljökull and a climb at the end of it. 83 ratings at 4.9. Not a first glacier.
- If you are not sure
Book a plain walk. Every glacier route here shows you crevasse walls and blue ice at close range, and you will know by the end of it whether you wanted to climb one.
- If you have climbed before
These are introductions on a top rope. A climber looking for real routes needs a private guide rather than a group listing, which is a different kind of booking.
- With children
Minimum ages on the climbing listings are higher than on the plain walks and vary by operator. Check the specific listing rather than assuming.
If the axe is not the appeal, the plain glacier routes cost about half as much and show you the same blue ice from the ground.
What a glacier walk involves→Common questions
Ice climbing in Iceland, answered
Do you need experience to go ice climbing in Iceland?
No. Every listing on this site is an introduction on a top rope, with axes, crampons, a harness and a helmet supplied and the rope work handled by the guide.
How high are the walls?
Usually eight to fifteen metres, set by what the glacier offers that week. Crevasse walls and seracs change through the season and the guides pick a safe one on the day.
How long do you actually climb for?
About an hour, which usually means two or three attempts at a wall depending on the group size. Your forearms will find that sufficient.
Is ice climbing hard?
Physically more demanding than the walk, and technically simple. The common mistake is pulling with the arms instead of standing up on the crampon front points.
What is the best ice climbing tour in Iceland?
The introduction at $199, which pairs a glacier walk with an hour on the rope and carries 458 ratings at 4.8. For a longer day, the XTreme route at Skaftafell.
Can you ice climb in summer?
Yes. The walls are on the glacier itself rather than on frozen waterfalls, so they exist all year, though which wall is used changes as the ice moves.
Go deeper
More on walking on an Icelandic glacier
What a glacier hike in Iceland costs
Seventeen walks priced per person and per hour, from $91 to $1,803.
SkaftafellThe Skaftafell glacier hike
Falljokull and Vatnajokull from the national park, and which route is which.
VerdictThe best glacier hike in Iceland
Seventeen walks ranked for one decision, with a straight answer at the end.
SolheimajokullSolheimajokull glacier hike
The closest glacier to Reykjavik, and the one most day tours actually use.
Glacier walksGlacier walks in Iceland
What a guided walk on the ice involves, and how it differs from a hike.
FalljokullThe Falljokull glacier hike
Easy, advanced and extended on the same tongue of ice — the real difference.
