“You know what would be fun to try? Going on a glacier hike and ice climbing trip!”
I looked at my Viking thinking he must of lost it, he knows I am far too much of a worrier to convince me to willing walk across a glacier full of crevasse and possible dangerous situations. My response, “there is no way.”
So how in the world did I find myself putting crampons on my hiking boots and exploring around a glacier one Sunday afternoon? I blame my Viking and Iceland, they have changed me.
When H first mentioned glacier climbing to me all I could think was it sounded cold, slippery, and well cold. But the more I thought about it the more intrigued I was by the idea. I mean, how awesome would it be to hike across a glacier in Iceland!
The idea continued to tempt me, life is all about getting outside of your comfort zone right? And then, there we were, inside the Arctic Adventure office booking our glacier hiking and ice climbing tour.
As H and the customer service representative chatted I started second guessing every reason I ever gave for this being a good idea. I mean I am the girl who couldn’t even handle a day of snowboarding out of fear that I would crash, get lost and freeze in a blizzard. Dramatic is what I do best, and let me tell you I had a whole list of things that could go wrong on that glacier just brewing in my mind.
Leave it to my Viking to use my “live life outside my comfort zone” motto to convince me to wake up at 6am so we could make the drive to Sólheimajökull glacier for our tour. I must of checked my weather app a dozen times on the drive, I was just certain a blizzard was on its way and we would get stuck on the glacier.
The weather though, it ended up being perfect, there wasn’t even a breeze, it was like Iceland was giving me nice weather to make sure I got on that glacier. All out of reasons why I shouldn’t try glacier hiking I gave in and got out of the car to join the tour. And so, there I sat, listening to our tour guide explain how to put on our crampons, which I am pretty certain are the most important piece of equipment and I need a pair in my daily life during the winter.
With our crampons attached and our helmets in place our group was ready to start the hike. I took the most cautious steps as we made our way onto the glacier. I was certain that as soon as I stepped onto the glacier I would be slipping all over the place and would end up falling down some deep crevasse. Surprise surprise, I didn’t slip once, those crampons were gold.
To be honest I really had no idea what to expect when we signed up for our glacier hiking trip. One thing that did surprise me, how “dirty” the glacier looked due to the debris covering it as we first made our climb onto the glacier.
In my mind I imagined a glacier to be shinning and white, covered with a fresh layer of snow, because it must always be snowing on top of a glacier right? Clearly I really didn’t know much about glaciers, but our guide was full of facts and interesting information. For example, when our guide pointed out how much the glacier has melted in the past few years I was amazed. Nothing like being confronted with effected nature in person to realize the damage of global warming.
For the next two hours H and I walked around the glacier, me using extreme caution, my Viking being a bit more brave and taking all the pictures I wanted while I focused on my balance. Nervous as I was though I was in complete awe the entire time we were on the glacier, I mean how could I not be, glaciers are such a fascinating part of nature!
About half way into our hike our tour guide spotted the entrance to an ice cave tunnel. I mean if I am already hiking around a glacier I might as well walk through an ice tunnel right?!
This had to be the highlight of the tour for me. The blue color of the ice is unreal, one of the most gorgeous things I have seen.
Incredible right? It was a good thing I was in such high spirits after my walk through the ice tunnel, I needed it for what was to come, ice climbing!
The Viking’s face at the ice climbing news versus my face, I tried my best to hide my fear and look excited. And of course I ended up being the last one to ice climb so I had plenty of time to stress myself out over it. H though, he had no problem, he monkey climbed right up to the top.
And then it was my turn. I listened to my guide telling me how to get my ice pick properly into the side of the glacier and to make sure to kick my boots hard into the wall all while trying to pep talk myself that I could do this.
And then it was time and there I was trying to get my ice pick securely into the ice wall to start my climb. Can I just say this was sooo much harder than I thought it would be! By the time I was reaching the top my heart was racing and my arms were shaking, I was worried I would drop the ice pick and hit someone on the ground. The idea to just stop half way was more than tempting, but with H down below cheering me on I knew I had to try, and somehow I was able to toss my ice pick into the wall one last time and make my way to the top.
By this point I felt like I could conquer anything, and that I really needed a nap, ice climbing is hard work!
Once everyone in our group had attempted ice climbing we packed up our gear and began to make our way back down the glacier. By this point I was finally over my fear that I would slip at any moment and just took in the views around me thinking “I am on top of a glacier right now!”
I am so glad the Viking put the crazy idea into my head to go glacier hiking. It is by far one of the most unique things I have ever done. If you are looking for a unique and adventurous experience to add to your trip to Iceland I definitely recommend looking into booking a glacier hiking tour with Arctic Adventures.
Question of the Day?
Have you ever done something completed out of your comfort zone? Would you go glacier hiking?
*Glacier’s can be very dangerous, please do not attempt to walk onto a glacier without a guide and proper equipment.
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