- A Superb Climbing Expedition in the Land of Fire and Ice
- Iceland`s highest peak, Hvannadalshnukur
- Exciting ascent of Hekla
- Weird and wonderful Fjallabak landscapes
- Icecaps, waterfalls and hot springs
With an excellent mix of touring and trekking, including 2 superb day-hikes and 2 challenging day-climbs, this itinerary provides a varied School Adventure experience that is perfect for the school group who are looking for an exciting challenge. After a warm-up trek, the first big objective is an ascent of Mount Hekla, a seriously active volcano which presents a testing 1000 metre / 3000 foot climb across ash, lava and snow. Rugged 4-wheel-drive vehicles are then used to cross the wildly volcanic highland region of the Fjallabak to reach the foot of Hvannadalshnukur (2119m / 6,992ft). From here, a long ascent on an easy-angled glacier leads to the top of Iceland's highest peak. The final few days of this amazing School Adventure are spent visiting some of the geological wonders of this land of fire and ice.
Educational perspective
Iceland is a geological showcase. Its wonderful landscape, created by vulcanism, features hot springs, geysers, tortured lava formations, rift valleys and volcanoes.
Amend or Extend
Add a day to your trip and include a whale-watching boat trip from Reykjavik. Minke whales and orcas (killer whales) are most commonly seen.
Trip Guide
We recommend a minimum age of 16yrs
This is a most unusual climbing trip, providing a mix of sightseeing, exploration and quite challenging day-hikes and day-climbs. We tackle our objective peaks in order of their difficulty and the type of terrain that we will encounter during their ascents will vary from good paths across open moorland, to rocky scree and wide snow slopes. While Mount Botnsulur will involve a straightforward hike of about 5 hours, Hekla will be a 7 to 8 hour day and Mount Hvannadalshnukur will involve an early start and at least a 12 hour day. The ascent of Hekla is across rough terrain, including recent lava flows and the upper slopes are snow-covered. Crampons and an ice-axe will need to be carried and may be used, depending on the prevailing conditions. On Hvannadalshnukur, the upper part of the ascent traverses the Oraefajokull Glacier and the group will climb roped together across easy-angled snow slopes. To get the most out of this trip, participants will need to be strong walkers and have plenty of stamina. Previous experience of using ice-axe and crampons is not necessary - we will teach basic snow and ice walking techniques on Mount Hvannadalshnukur. Each KE School Adventure is given a grade, taking into account the amount of walking involved, the difficulty of the terrain, the remoteness, the altitude and the overall length of the trip. The trips are graded on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the most challenging. This trip is graded 6.
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