Courses
TRAVELLING IN AVALANCHE TERRAIN

A half day course that focuses on developing awareness on how we can prepare our day in the mountains when it comes to understanding avalanche forecast, trip planning, terrain evaluation, human factors and other essential things to make our day safer.

from: **9.990 kr.**
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Trip dates 23.Jan 2025
12.Feb 2025
SeasonJan-April
Duration1/2 day
DifficultySuitable for everyone

Course overview

This course helps you making your first steps of building awareness to travel safer in avalanche terrain. The mountains are big and various hazards are part of traveling on skis or snowmobile. This half day lecture and discussions will highlight some of the important things to be aware of and will assist you in understanding what we really need to understand before we commit into the unknown.

The lecture will be hosted indoors and starts at 17.00, and is finished no later than 21.00

The lecture will cover following topics:

Avalanche forecast and danger levels

Risk reduction methods

Typical avalanche problems

Human factors

Terrain analysis

Avalanche incident, what to do

At the end of the course students should have basic understanding in the terminology in avalanche science, how to choose safer terrain, read and interpret the avalanche forecast and have increased understanding in methods to reduce their own risk while travelling through in mountain environment in winter time.

This course can be a standalone course but to gain a good foundation to move safer on winter tours we recommend that participants also attend our Avalanche Search And Rescue Workshop.

Instructor profiles
Instructors are IFMGA/UIAGM mountain guides holding a Level 2 certificate from the Canadian Avalanche Association (CAA).

Practical information

Below are details about the course. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Requirements

Suitable for everyone. No prior experience is needed.

Prices

Group course (4-12 maximum)
9.990 kr. per person

This course needs minimum of four participants to run.

For a private course please contact us.

Itinerary

The course will cover following topics in the form of lectures and discussions with in the group.

The lecture includes following:

Understanding the avalanche forecast and danger levels

Risk reduction methods

Typical avalanche problems

Human factors and how they affect our decisions

Terrain analysis and terrain traps

Avalanche incident, what to do

Avalanche formations and types of avalanches

Decision making for individual slopes

Logistics

The lecture is delivered at our office iat Dugguvogur 42. Entry is at the far end by Sæbraut, 2nd floor.
The course starts at 17:00.

Meetingpoint:

What to bring

Tools for taking notes.

What’s included

Avalanche education lecture
Printed materials

What’s not included

Transport (contact us if you do not have your own vehicle)

Do you have any questions?

Below are answers to some of the questions we get regarding the tour. If you do not find the answer do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected]

What happens to my booking if the weather or conditions are bad?

In case it is not possible to operate the tour due to weather or conditions we try the following things:

Move the tour to a different date if that works for you, change to a different activity if you agree on that. If none of the above is possible and we have to cancel the tour due to weather or poor conditions, we will refund you the tour.
In how much advance should I book my tour with you?

The short answer is: the longer the better. We have limited resources of guides and sometimes we are fully booked.
For less technical tours like Glacier hiking, Glacier hiking and ice climbing, and alpine trekking tours we can usually accommodate you with a short notice. For more technical tours like Waterfall ice climbing, Rock climbing and alpine tours longer advance is better to secure a spot.
Short notice can be 24 hours before departure and longer notice is at least two weeks before.
What is the best season for the activities you offer?

The best season depends on what activity you choose. The appropriate season is stated at the top of each tour. To break it down:

Glacier hikes and glacier ice climbing
Available the whole year. This activity is not dependant on weather or conditions. The only time we have to cancel or post pone these activities is when the weather is really bad.

Rock climbing and alpine rock climbing
Rock climbing is a summer activity available May-October. This activity is highly weather dependant and not possible when the rock is wet or when it is raining. If you are interested in rock climbing outside of the season, it is possible if we have really good weather days. Please contact us for further information.

Ski touring
The best ski touring in the south-west part of Iceland is usually around spring time. The ski touring season is usually between Feb-May, however it is possible to ski outside the season if conditions are good or we ski the glaciers like on the tour “Ski touring Snæfellsjökull”. If you are interested to ski outside of the season please contact us for further information.

Waterfall ice climbing and alpine winter climbing
The main season is from late November to late March. Iceland has a maritime climate and temperatures fluctuate through out the season making this activity highly subject to weather and conditions. In case we have poor conditions for ice climbing we can always substitute the waterfall ice climbing with ice climbing on the glacier.

Alpine trekking
Snæfellsjökull can be climbed almost the whole year, appart from the darkest month of the year, December.
Other bigger mountains like Eyjafjallajökull and Hvannadalshnúkur, the highest summit of Iceland, have the best conditions from early spring to late summer.
Do I need any prior experience to participate in your tours?

Since all of our tours are private we are able to adjust the difficulty and and experience level needed for each tour. However, for some of your tours it is advisable that you have have some background in the activity:

Glacier hiking and glacier ice climbing
There is no prior experience needed for those tours

Waterfall ice climbing
It is possible to try waterfall ice climbing if you do not have any prior ice climbing experience. We would choose an easy climbing route with easy access. If you have never done ice climbing before it is worth looking into our Ice climbing and glacier hiking tour on Sólheimajökull.

Ski touring
For our ski touring tours you have to be a competent off-piste skier and able to ski down in various conditions.

Rock and alpine climbing
No prior experience is needed for single pitch rock climbing. For multi pitch climbing it is advisable that your climbing level is at 5.7-5.8 and you have to know how to belay a lead climber.
Can I request a tour that is not on your website?
Yes, without a doubt. Private guiding is what Asgard is all about and if you can dream your adventure, we can make it happen. If you do not find your perfect adventure on our website, do not hesitate to get in touch at [email protected]!

Examples of private tours we have done in the past:
- Expedition planning and support
- Cross country ski touring
- Expedition and polar training
- Private hiking, day tours and multi-day tours
- Location management and safety on film projects
- Private tours for photographers
- Alpine trekking on glaciated summits
- Multiday tours in Greenland
Do you offer pickup service?

In general we only meet our guests on location, or car pool from a central location in Reykjvaík. However, if you do not have your own car and can not meet us on location please get in touch.