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Vetrarútivist 101

Located just below the Arctic circle, the West Fjords of Iceland are an ideal playground for learning the tricks of winter camping. This course is intended to give people with little or no previous experience of travelling in the winter an opportunity to try this in a safe and fun environment. This course can also be enjoyed by people with more previous experience. Even if we are in real arctic environment we are still relatively close to nearest settlements in case we get hit by a storm. We will spend the first days on the remote Korpudalur farm which has been converted to a comfortable guesthouse. There we will spend all day outdoors with basic lessons in rope handling, use of ice axes and crampons, cross-country skiing etc. We will also build snow caves and igloos and maybe sleep there under the Northern Lights. We will then head on into the mountains and use 2-3 days to cross an easy mountain range over to another valley where we will finish the trip with a nice dip into a natural, outdoor, geothermal pool and good dinner at the Heydalur farm guesthouse. This is prime time to see the Northern Lights racing across the sky.
All special equipment will be provided like tents, stoves, skis and climbing gear.

Trip itinerary
 
Day 1 - Monday
Departure from Isafjordur at 18:00. Half hour drive to the Korpudalur farm. Short indoor lessons on rope handling, knots etc as well as introduction to clothing and other equipment. First night will then be spent in the comfortable guesthouse.
 
Day 2 - Tuesday
We'll begin the day with safety briefing and introduction to avalanche search and rescue. Then we will head up into the hills and spend the morning on lessons in the use of ice axes, crampons and basic rope belaying techniques. After lunch it´s out again for some cross-country skiing lessons. In the afternoon we will look for a suitable location to dig snow caves and hopefully build an igloo where we will have dinner and sleep the second night if group prefers.
 
Day 3 - Wednesday
In the morning we will head back to the Korpudalur farm for a hearty breakfast. Morning spent on final preparations for our trip into the mountains. We will ski up the valley and set up our tents above Alftafjordur fjord.
 
Day 4 - Thursday
Full day spent on the mountain, skiing from Alftafjordur towards the 900m high Glama plateau where we will camp again.
 
Day 5 - Friday
After breaking camp we will head on down to Mjoifjordur fjord towards Heydalur valley and the farm/guesthouse. There the natural geothermal pool will await us. We will spend the last night there. Here are opportunities to try horse-back riding, kayaking or fishing for trout through the ice in mountain lakes. Slide show from mountaineering trips and expeditions all over the world.
 
Day 6 - Saturday
Morning spent on activities near the farm. After lunch about two hours drive back to Isafjordur. Oportunity to spend an extra day on a hotel in Isafjordur or fly to Reykjavik and spend one night there before heading back home.


Price: 1250 EUR

Included:
  • All food and fuel during the course
  • Accommodation in guesthouses during program
  • Guiding and instructions
  • Use of tents, stoves, ice axes, crampons, ropes, harnesses etc.
Not included:
  • Travel to and from Ísafjörður, Iceland unless specifically mentioned in itinerary.
  • Personal medical insurance
  • Personal clothes, sleeping bags, avalance tranceivers, boots and ski equipment (can be rented in Iceland)
  • Other personal equipment as pr recommended equipment list.

Difficulty: Moderate to Challenging