Snæfellsjökull
1,446 m
Iceland
Also known as Снайфедлсйокудъл, სნაიფედლსიოკიუდლი, +2Also known as
Снайфедлсйокудъл · სნაიფედლსიოკიუდლი · Snæfellsjökull - Miðþúfa · Снайфедльсйёкюдль
- Elevation
- 1,446 m
- Prominence
- 1,442 m
- Difficulty
- 4/10
- Alpine hike
- Best Season
- May–Jun
- Routes
- 1
Routes
1The standard guided route: from the F570 at the Jökulháls pass, walk 40–60 minutes over pumice to the edge of the ice, rope up and climb the gentle but crevassed ice cap for about 750 m to the saddle below the summit nunataks (about 1,418 m). The true summit, Miðþúfa (1,446 m), is a short, steep pinnacle of rock and rime ice.
Elevation Profile
- Distance
- 5.6 km
- one way
- Ascent
- +804 m
- −63 m lost on the way up
- High Point
- 1,446 m
- Time Up
- 3h 30m
- DIN 33466
- Time Down
- 2h 31m
- DIN 33466 · same way back
Drive the F570 from Arnarstapi to the Jökulháls pass on the east side of the ice cap (the road is open only in summer; the northern section towards Ólafsvík is rough and often closed). From the parking area, walk 40–60 minutes across pumice and old moraine, past the remains of an old ski lift, to the edge of the glacier. Here parties put on crampons and harnesses and rope up. The ice cap rises at a steady, moderate angle to the west. The route is 7–8 km from the glacier base to the top with about 750 m of ascent; crevasses open as the summer progresses, and by late summer some lines become impassable. Guided parties normally stop at about 1,418 m on the saddle among the Jökulþúfur, the three volcanic plugs on the summit: Miðþúfa (1,446 m, the highest), Vesturþúfa (1,442 m) and Norðurþúfa (1,390 m). Miðþúfa's final metres are a steep slope of rime ice over rock; some guides fix a rope, and others call it technical ice climbing. Climbers have done it with two ice tools and crampons. Descend the same way. The national park gives 3–5 hours for the walk onto the glacier from Jökulháls; guided trips take 6–8 hours in all (about 10 km and 950 m of ascent). Whiteouts are common, and the featureless ice cap is serious in poor visibility: carry a GPS track.
Start
Jökulháls706 m
- Buses run to Arnarstapi in summer (check straeto.is); guided trips meet in Arnarstapi and drive up the F570. There is no public transport to Jökulháls.
- Parking at the trailhead
Stages
| Day | Stage | km | m ascent | m descent | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jökulháls → Snæfellsjökull - Miðþúfa | 5.6 | 804 | 63 | 3h 30m |
Waypoints
- Parking: Jökulháls706 m
Parking on the Jökulháls pass road below the east side of the ice cap
- Feature: Glacier edge766 m
Rope up here, 40–60 minutes from the road; old ski lift nearby (not on route line)
- Summit: Snæfellsjökull - Miðþúfa1,446 m
True summit; steep rime-ice pinnacle
Key Passages
- Pumice walk to the glacier edge
- Crevassed ice cap
- Saddle among the Jökulþúfur
- Miðþúfa summit pinnacle (rime ice)
Equipment
0/9 packedDownloads
Route confidence 65%Overview
The glacier-capped stratovolcano at the tip of the Snæfellsnes peninsula (1,446 m at Miðþúfa), visible from Reykjavík on clear days and made famous by Jules Verne. A roped glacier walk of about 750 m from the Jökulháls pass leads to three rocky summit plugs; the highest is a short pinnacle of rime ice.
Snæfellsjökull rises straight from the sea at the western end of the Snæfellsnes peninsula, a symmetrical stratovolcano about 700,000 years old capped by a small, shrinking ice cap. It is the centrepiece of Snæfellsjökull National Park. Three volcanic plugs, the Jökulþúfur, break through the ice at the top: Miðþúfa (1,446 m), Vesturþúfa (1,442 m) and Norðurþúfa (1,390 m).
The usual ascent is a guided glacier walk from the Jökulháls pass on the F570: an hour across pumice to the ice, then a long, steady climb up a moderately angled but crevassed ice cap. Most groups turn round on the saddle among the plugs at about 1,418 m; the true summit means a steep few metres of rime ice and rock. On a clear day the view spans Breiðafjörður, the Westfjords and Faxaflói.
The ice is retreating fast: the cap shrank from 16 km² in 1946 to 10–11 km² by 2008, and in August 2012 the summit was free of ice for the first time on record. Crevasses open during summer and can make the ascent impossible late in the season.
Climbing Notes
Fitness for a 6–8 hour day with about 950 m of ascent is enough for the guided glacier walk; no technical experience is needed, and local companies supply crampons, harness, axe and rope. Independent parties need full glacier-travel and crevasse-rescue skills, a GPS track and settled weather, and should check current conditions with the national park or a guide company first, as crevasse patterns change through the summer.
The true summit pinnacle (Miðþúfa) is optional and much steeper: bring a second tool and be ready to belay. Spring (April to June) gives the best snow cover over crevasses and is also the season for ski tours; late summer is more crevassed. Guided trips usually start from Arnarstapi around 10:00 and drive up the F570, which opens only for the summer.
History
Snæfellsjökull is the entrance to the underworld in Jules Verne's Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1864) and the setting of Halldór Laxness's novel Under the Glacier (1968). Pumice mining started near the glacier edge at Jökulháls in 1937, with a pipeline down to the harbour at Arnarstapi.
Season
Best May–Jun- January: Not advisable
- February: Not advisable
- March: Possible
- April: Good
- May: Best (best window)
- June: Best (best window)
- July: Good
- August: Possible
- September: Possible
- October: Possible
- November: Not advisable
- December: Not advisable
- Jan
- Winter storms; F570 closed
- Mar
- Ski tours for experienced, self-sufficient parties
- Apr
- Good snow cover over crevasses; access road may still be snowbound
- May
- Guided season starts; good snow bridges
- Jul
- Crevasses opening
- Aug
- Deep crevasses can make the ascent impossible
- Oct
- Some guided trips; early storms
Access & Permits
- Fees
- Guided glacier hikes are commercial tours; check current prices with operators in Arnarstapi
- Rules
- Snæfellsjökull National Park: stay on tracks, no off-road driving
- Going onto the glacier without a guide is discouraged unless you have glacier-travel experience; check conditions before setting out
- The F570 over Jökulháls is open only in summer; the northern section is rough and often closed
- Getting There
Arnarstapi (hamlet); Ólafsvík
Keflavík International Airport (KEF)
- Car: Route 54 along the Snæfellsnes peninsula to Arnarstapi, then the F570 to Jökulháls (summer only)
- Summer buses to Snæfellsnes (straeto.is); no public transport to Jökulháls
Hazards
- Glacier
- Crevasses
- Weather