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Hvannadalshnúkur: Hike the Highest Summit in Iceland
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- Experience the beauty of Skaftafell National Park
- Hike up to the highest summit in Iceland and take in amazing views of Hrutfellsindar, Þumall, and Vatnajökull
- Local guides, climbing gear, ropes, helmets, carabiners harness included
Tour departs from
Skaftafell
Duration
14 hours
Pick up / meeting point
Skaftafell Information Center, 785 Skaftafell, Iceland
Languages
English
Difficulty
4 (High)
Minimum age
0 years old
Overview
Join an expedition on the beautiful Vatnajökull glacier and ascend the highest summit in Iceland with a private, local tour guide. Take in the beauty of Skaftafell National Park on a 10 to 14-hour hike that is suitable for beginners.
What's included?
Glacier gear
Crampons
Ice axe
Ropes
Carabiners
Harness
Local Glacier guide
Warm clothes:
Rain gear pants & jacket
Down or primaloft jacket ( can be nice on lunch brake)
Good hiking shoes
Hat & gloves
20-30L backpack
Food & water for the day
Sunglasses
Hiking poles (not required)
You can rent some of this gear from us if you don‘t have it
What to expect?
Take an exciting expedition up to the highest summit in Iceland on the biggest glacier in Europe, called Hvannadalshnjúkur. Hike 10 to 14 hours up to the peak for a lightly challenging but rewarding experience surrounded by the glacial beauty of Iceland.How to get to Skaftafell:
Drive road 1 heading east. You are going to pass 6 towns on the way: Hveragerði, Selfoss, Hella, Hvolsvöllur, Vík, Kirkjubæjarklaustur. After the town Kirkjubæjarklaustur, drive for about 40-50 minutes on the road 1. After that, make a left turn going on road 998.
Itinerary:
We’ll meet up the day before the hike to make sure you know what the summit day is going to be like. Our guides will also go over how the glacier gear works. We also want your experience in the mountains to set the starting time right. If you are a beginner, we start earlier so we can do this at a nice pace, but if you are a good hiker and used to mountaineering, we can start later in the morning; the primary purpose is to be on the summit around 13:00 a clock (1 pm).
The trip starts early in the morning, our guides will meet you at Sandfell (Sand hill) which is the beginning of the hike. The first part is a steep gravel hill that takes us from 20 meters up to 700m. The good thing about this first hill is that you can refill your water bottle in a spring around 500 meters, so you don’t need to bring a lot of water for the first 1-2 hours, this is also a nice place to grab some snacks.
We will continue gravel, rocks and snow up to 1100m. This place is called Skerið or (the reef) at this point we put on harnesses and rope up for the hills ahead. This is another good place to eat and drink something so it’s nice to stop and take in nature and view the area.
Next part we will go from 1100m up to 1800m, that is a long snow hill and will lead us to the plateau of Öræfajökull glacier. On a clear day the view can be beautiful in this area so it’s nice to break up this hill with some stops to drink and take some photos. The main danger on this part is crevasses, that our guides will navigate through.
When we get to the plateau it’s a perfect place to have some lunch and enjoy the view and the achievements of the morning. After lunch we start to cross the plateau to the summit itself. The peak rises about 200m above the plateau. We make a short break below the summit and put on crampons this is the final push to the summit of the highest peak in Iceland. On clear days the view from the top is stunning, you can see Hrútfellstindar, Þumall and part of Vatnajökull ice cap.
Next, we’ll hike back down the same way, this will not take as long as the hike up but we will move slowly due to tired muscles and we still have rope between us. After Skerið (the reef) we can move a lot faster back to the car.
Summarized Itinerary:
Day 1: Drive to Skaftafell
Day 2: Summit day 10-14 hours
Day 3: Sleep, recover and drive back. We don’t recommend to drive back to Reykjavík the same day as the hike is.
Note: Pick-up starts 30 minute(s) before departure.
We offer pick-up to the following places for this experience:
BSÍ Bus Terminal
Bus stop 1 - Ráðhúsið -City Hall
Bus stop 10 - Hlemmur
Bus stop 11 - Austurbær
Bus stop 12 - Höfðatorg
Bus stop 2 - Tjörnin -The Pond
Bus stop 3 - Lækjargata
Bus stop 4 - Tryggvagata
Bus stop 5 - Harpa
Bus stop 6 - Safnahúsið -The Culture House
Bus stop 7 - Traðarkot
Bus stop 8 - Hallgrímskirkja
Bus stop 9 - Snorrabraut
RECOMMENDED CLOTHING – No Cotton
Boots: A reasonably stiff leather boot is the best choice for climbing most peaks in. You can bring plastic if that is what you have. Be sure to break them in before arrival. All boots must be crampon compatible.
Gaiters – An ankle gaiter is often sufficient but if it snows a bunch, full gators will not be necessary.
Socks – Synthetic, be sure they work well with your boots. All socks change the volume of your feet. IF possible look for, Bridgedale, Smart Wool.
Long Underwear–- Capaline, bergaline, merino, polypro.
Long sleeve shirt – Light colored for sun protection – silk weight capaline Bottoms – both shorts and long bottoms.
Climbing Pants – Relatively light synthetic pants, preferably with a hard and durable finish.
Rain jacket with Hood – Gore-tex or other water resistant and breathable material recommended.
Rain Pants – Look for something very light and compact.
Fleece Jacket – 100 weight Polartec is a good weight for this garment.
Down Jacket / Primaloft: Useful for the higher peaks,lightweight.
Gloves: Leather gloves/ fleece glove –. Bring a gore-tex pair in case it rains
Warm Hat: basic fleece Sun Hat / buff
Backpack liner: to pack your gear in to keep it dry – either large garbage bags, or better yet Sea to Summit pack liners.
Back Pack Rain Cover: To help keep your pack and contents dry.
Water Bottles: camel packs work well, bring a bottle as well.
Backpack: look for around 20- 30 liters.
Sunglasses: glacier glasses are nice if you have them.
Sunscreen: Will help you live longer
Lip Protection – You might need
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What to bring
warm cloths :
rain gear pants and jacket,
down or primaloft jacket (can be nice on lunch break)
good hiking boots
hat and gloves
20-30l backpack
food and water for the day. 2Liters of water.
sunglasses
hiking poles
rain gear pants and jacket,
down or primaloft jacket (can be nice on lunch break)
good hiking boots
hat and gloves
20-30l backpack
food and water for the day. 2Liters of water.
sunglasses
hiking poles