The trip starts with pickup from your accommodation and transport to our base, where the guide gives a short briefing and helps you prepare the equipment needed for the night. From there, we drive to the trailhead and continue on foot or with snowshoes, heading up towards the glacier.
As we leave the lights of Longyearbyen behind, we start an 400 m ascent to get onto the glacier. During Polar Night, we hike through darkness with only our headlamps to guide us. Your hotel tonight doesn’t have five stars—but with a clear sky, you might just sleep beneath a thousand. Later in the season, the returning daylight and eventually the midnight sun offer a different but equally magic atmosphere.
We reach the ice cave and get settled inside. The cave is a frozen world of small chambers and narrow passages, with thick layers of ice all around. After preparing a simple, warm dinner, we crawl into our sleeping bags and fall asleep surrounded by the deep stillness of the glacier.
The next morning, we enjoy breakfast in the cave before packing up and hiking back down. We expect to be back in Longyearbyen latest by 11:00.
Physical Requirements Suitable for those in good physical condition. This is a moderately demanding mountain hike in rough terrain, with steep sections and a total elevation gain of 400 meters. Some crawling in the cave is to be expected. Not suitable for people with back problems or claustrophobia. You must be able to carry the necessary equipment (such as a sleeping bag) to the cave. The guide will assist with packing.
Practical Information
Included in the trip
Dress in layers – it’s the best way to stay warm. Remember: it is better to be too warm than to be too cold. And also – there is no bad weather, just bad clothing!
Pickup from accommodation at 17:00 | Return at 10:00 (latest by 11:00)
Guide with safety equipment
Food and hot drinks
Cave equipment (helmet / headlamp / crampons), sleeping pad, and pulka (sled)
Other equipment (snowshoes / trekking poles) if needed
Important Information
You must be able to communicate in English to join our excursions.
To ensure your safety we may refuse participation if you are not properly dressed for hiking in the conditions
Difficulty level: 4 / 5
Participants: 2–4
Round-trip distance: 6–8 km
Elevation gain: 400 meters
Duration: 17 hours
Age limit: 16 years
Remember to Bring
Warm, waterproof hiking boots (above the ankle) *
Wool base layers, windproof jacket and hiking pants
Extra layers (warm sweater / down jacket)
Hat, neck warmer, and windproof mittens / gloves
Small hiking backpack (20–35 liters)
Water bottle
Sleeping bag *
* Muck Boots can be rented for NOK 100 * Sleeping bag can be rented for NOK 600
You will receive a recommended packing list upon booking the tour.
Cancellation Policy
•22 days prior to arrival give a full refund •8-21 days prior to arrival gives a 50% refund •0-7 days prior to departure gives no refund
Svalbard is beautiful, but also unpredictable. For your safety, our guides may need to move activities to another day or replace them with a different trip if conditions do not allow the original plan. In rare cases, if the weather makes it impossible to run an activity at all, it may be cancelled. Should this happen, you will of course receive a full refund for the affected trip. Your safety and comfort always come first, and we’ll do our best to make sure you still have a memorable experience.
Did you know that more than 60% of Svalbard is covered with ice? No matter where you travel in Svalbard, it’s hard to avoid seeing a glacier. What does it look like inside these glaciers?
Drive your own dog sled to the amazing Scott Turner Glacier (access only by dog sled from March). The glacier is like an amphitheater, with mountains surrounding the ice on 3 sides.
Explore the sparkling underworld of ice, hidden deep inside one of the glaciers right behind Longyearbyen. You will get to the ice cave in a snowcat, a comfortable and fun vehicle that smoothly traverses its way up and down over the moraine.
This is our longest hike during the winter season; a full-day adventure that takes you to the summit of Trollsteinen and into a glacier ice cave on the way back down.
