SOUTH ICELAND

Fjallhalla Adventures

FIND YOUR TRUE SELF IN THE WILDERNESS OF ICELAND

INFORMATION

Miðholt 23

801 Selfoss (dreifbýli)

+354 6966758

+354 6966758

info@fjallhalla.com

http://www.fjallhalla.com/

We are family run adventure company focusing on small group tours with a variety of activities in and around Iceland. All the guides have been studying to become licensed hiking guides and have a minibus license.

My name is Erla Thordis, I am the CEO of Fjallhalla Adventurers. Hiking has always been an interest of mine, but what stopped me for so many years was maybe immaturity and insecurity. My mother then brought me with her on an adventure that was a game changer.

The project was called ‘52 Mountains in One Year’. Sounds extreme doesn't it? Needless to say I got hooked! It wasn’t all smooth sailing however, 8 out of these 12 months we had bad weather. In Iceland this means rain and snow with wind sometimes exceeding more than 35 m/s! We learned the hard way what real outdoor clothing was... NO COTTON! No "waterproof" shell can hold intense 35 m/s wind and driving rain for many hours, this is just a fact. That is unless you are wearing an unbreathable raincoat that makes you just as wet on the inside as you are on the outside. What kept us alive was staying on the move, having enough to eat and drink, following a very experienced guide and most importantly, wearing Icelandic wool! Reaching the summit after going through such an ordeal is one of the most gratifying rewards you will ever get, even if it’s a touch foggy at the top!

It was only until after I started leading the outdoor club at the University of Iceland that I realized my true passion for the outdoor. It was something that I must admit I liked much more than studying! After a very fun trip hiking Hekla, an exchange student named Quinten Verdonck asked me where he could buy crampons. This one question made me very happy, because he realized just how important it is to always have crampons in your backpack while hiking during the winter. This was only just the start of a great collaboration, from which he gave me the name Fjallhalla as a Christmas present. I recommend that you check out his website (mostly in Dutch).

So why the name Fjallhalla Adventurers? 'Fjallhalla' In Icelandic: 'fjall' means mountain and 'halla' means elevation, but is also a woman’s name. Halla and Fjalla-Eyvindur were outlaws and famous characters in Icelandic history that survived by living in the wilderness. Those characters were certainly an inspiration when deciding on a fitting name for the company. We wanted it to be different, but more authentic. 'Adventurers' Quite simple really; we enjoy leading these trips and being in the untamed Icelandic wilds just as much as you do. We love our jobs. As the saying goes: do what you love, and love what you do! Looking back on it now, I can definitely say that my time spent in the outdoor club was the launch pad for me to found Fjallhalla in 2014, obtain the minibus licence in 2015 and then finally claim the hiking guide license.

After meeting my boyfriend in November 2016, I decided to make the move to the countryside in March 2017. Since then I have asked him to join me on a hike every day! I consider myself so fortunate to live right at the doorstep of such incredible nature, something that only centuries of harsh weather and active ground could possibly create.

It is the perfect location for an adventure company and I look forward to see my baby grow big.