Frequently asked questions
Got a question? We’ve answered our most frequently asked, below…
If you need further information, please get in touch with us via phone, form or email.
Icetroll FAQs
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If we cancel a trip due to nature (wind, rain, etc), we will offer the following options:
1. A full refund
2. Rebook onto a different tour (assuming availability) with the difference in cost in the tours refunded to you
3. Rebook to a different date for the same tourIf you cancel a tour booking, the terms and conditions for this can be found at the bottom of each page of the website and on your confirmation email when booking the tour.
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Rain
There is no amount of rain that would make us cancel a tour. The only tour this MIGHT be an issue would be Nigards, and it would be extreme weather. Stygge and Tuns have no such issue.We do not provide rain jackets. Regardless of the weather forecast you need to bring a waterproof rain jacket on the tour. Other clothing info you will find under “Essential Information” on the trip page.
If it is raining, your shoes will be at least wet from the rain. It is possible there are small streams to cross over on the tour – especially Tuns, where you are almost guaranteed to get wet feet. It is EXTREMELY worth it, an amazing trip, with so much variety!
Wind
Wind can be too strong for kayaking, which is the reason we sometimes cancel tours; 3 or 4 days in a season. We make decisions on wind AT THE LAKE when we have seen the conditions – forecasts are not so accurate here. That means we will only cancel a trip once we all arrive at the lake. We don’t often cancel trips in advance, if ever.If the wind is too strong for any trip, we will then offer 3 options to you:
1. Cancel and get a full refund
2. Take you on the motorboat over the lake to the glacier (this is the Glacier Half Day tour). We would refund the difference between the tours.
3. Rebook you to another day for the kayaking tour, assuming we have capacity / availability. -
Your guide is the only animal allowed on the trip 😉 They might require some petting and feeding now and again, but as long as you are kind to them and pretend to laugh at their jokes, they will not bite.
Unfortunately, being dog lovers ourselves, we have tried and tried to take folks with dogs (large and small), but we are just not able to guarantee their behaviour. Also, if other clients are allergic or afraid of dogs, there could be an uncomfortable situation within the group.
We can quite confidently say it would be OK to have your animal stay at the car parks we use, in the car, with a window or two open for them, if they are OK with that. We take NO responsibility for this though. We will be away from the car for between 3.5 and 7 hours, depending on the trip you take.
Another option would be the Glacier Half Day Tour, where 1 of you could take the morning tour, at 10:00 and the other take the afternoon tour at 14:00. We will cross paths at the lake car park at Styggevatnet. So, one of you would finish the morning tour back at the car, and you would have 30 mins together before the next tour arrives there and the second person joins the afternoon tour.
Please get in touch if you wonder about this and would like to try it – as you would not be meeting in the usual place for the tour, we would need to make a note of it on the bookings.
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We cannot take children under 4 years old on any of our trips, unfortunately. As little ones who are not able to walk on their own for 1.5-2 hours are not able to join (please do not try to convince us your 3 year old will be fine. It is a LONG tour for 4-6 year olds also. Little legs need taking care of).
We are not going to take anyone on the glacier in a backpack (aside from accessible tours for disabled, where we will devote several guides to helping make the tour possible). The height a baby will fall if anyone trips over would be devastating and we HEAVILY recommend you take it extremely easy if you are using these backpack seats in nature anywhere. Consequences…
Another option would be the Glacier Half Day Tour, where 1 of you could take the morning tour, at 10:00 and the other take the afternoon tour. We will cross paths at the lake, Styggevatnet. So one of you would finish the tour back at the car, and you would have 30 mins together before the afternoon tour arrives there and the second person leaves for the tour.
Please get in touch if you wonder about this and would like to try it – as you would not be meeting in the usual place for the tour, we would need to make a note of it on the bookings.
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We meet at LABBEN (The Lab) for all glacier tours and the Midgard zipline tour. This is where we create our tours, design the best coffee, offer the best service and sell the best clothing options for your dream tour. Give yourself a little extra time before your trip to look around, relax with a Troll-style coffee and soak up the rural Norwegian atmosphere and views.
On offer at LABBEN (from 1 July): Coffee options (using Bialetti Moka), warm and waterproof clothing for sale, Icetroll & Skyravn mechandise & great music.
LABBEN is located just 1 kilometer before Gjerde, on road 604, where you find Jostedal Hotell, Jostedal Camping and the local shop, Joker.
Address:
Jostedalsvegen 2889, 6871 Jostedal
Phone: +47 9701 4370
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The stated times for the tours is the START time of the tour. We mention in “Essential Information” that you should be ready for the tour at the meeting place 15 mins beforehand, bags packed and clothed for the tour.
The guides arrive approximately 15-20 mins before the tour. They will ask you to sign in, accepting the declaration for the tour. You have a few mins to use the bathroom.
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The time stated for each trip is the total time. We have some time within each trip devoted to safety talks (kayak & glacier). Also we will stop for chats about the area as we pass points of interest.
The aim on all of the glacier tours is to get to the glacier in good time, so we can enjoy it to the maximum. This is done in a relaxed (and efficient) way.
Please remember we are on a GROUP tour. We take few people per guide, but still, we all chose the tour as a GROUP and we move as one. There will always be a slowest and a fastest person. Please be aware of this and considerate of others. The slowest will work a little harder to kayak a bit better, with tips from the guide, and the fastest will chill out a bit and enjoy the scenery – that is why we are on the trip, after all!
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All kayaking is in double kayaks, the most stable we can find. You will be joining another person in the double kayak (if you are not with your partner, or are in a group of 3 or 5, it will be with another client, or maybe the guide, if the numbers of the group suit).
You will need to kayak during the tour. The Stygge and Tuns trips are quite physical, at least 1 – 1.5 hours kayaking 2 times in the day. We only stop once or twice over the lake for a pause. It is not sitting around taking photos, more using kayaks to get to the glacier, where the scenery REALLY is! The kayaking on Nigards is quite relaxed, about 20-30 mins over the lake, great for a photo or two.
As we are kayaking on lakes with glaciers nearby, and lakes which are hydro power reservoirs with constantly moving water levels, we need to lift the kayaks (with help from others!). 4-6 persons to each kayak, moving slowly and taking care. The lifting is usually approximately 20-30 meters.
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The tours on Nigards and Stygge we use ropes between guide and each client. The tour on Tuns is not roped.
We use crampons (spikes for under your shoes) on all the trips. The best shoes to wear are boots that go up over your ankles, for some protection and support. It is possible to use running shoes, which would be great on the walk to the glacier, but not very comfortable on the ice.
Walking on the ice is generally easier than walking on the rocks, when you have the crampons on, we have much more grip.
If it is raining, your shoes will be at least wet from the rain. It is possible there are small streams to cross over on the way to the glaciers – especially Tuns, where you are almost guaranteed to get wet feet. It is EXTREMELY worth it, an amazing trip, with so much variety!
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We sell gloves and hats (from July 1st).
Gloves are great to have with you. It is at least good to get some cheap gardening gloves as a minimum. On the glacier you will have a metal axe to hold, so something on the hands could be nice on a cold day. DO NOT wear your gloves kayaking. We have neoprene gloves you can use for this, that are really amazing. They also mean you can keep your gloves in your pocket, warm and dry to use after the kayaking.
A warm hat is really recommended. Wind takes energy from us. If your head is exposed you will lose a little heat and a lot of energy. If you don’t have a warm hat, you can get one at the Breheimsenter, where we meet, maybe? If you have a hood on your rain jacket, that is of course a solution, but better is a warm hat.
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We have a declaration form for all clients to sign. This is to accept you understand we will be in nature during the tour, which has risks we cannot remove, but work hard to minimize and avoid where possible.
You are also required to list any health condition you have at the time of the tour that may impact the trip for you or others. Any misinformation to us about this, or any other safety information needed to know in advance, will mean your trip can be cancelled without refund.
Riverpig FAQs
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The only time rafting trips will be cancelled is if the river level is too high to run the trip you have booked. This is mostly likely on the Boss Hog tour, less likely on Elvepurka and only in flood levels on Little Piggies.
If we cancel a trip because of river levels we will offer the following options:
1. A full refund
2. Rebook onto a different tour with the difference in cost in the tours refunded to you
3. Rebook to a different date for the same tourIf you cancel a tour, the terms and conditions for this can be found at the bottom of each page of the website and also on your confirmation email when booking the tour.
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Rafting is the best option if the weather is bad! You will be in a wetsuit, so getting wet is no problem!
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The time stated for each trip is the total time. We have some time within each trip devoted to changing into and out of equipment and safety talks (kayak & glacier).
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The Jostedal Hotell, in Jostedal, on road 604, is where we meet for the rafting tours. This is located next to Jostedal Camping, where we put the rafts into the river. We meet at our office, which is under the Hotel. The Hotel is located behind the “Joker” shop on the main road 604.
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The stated times for the tours is the START time of the tour. We mention in “Essential Information” that you should arrive at the Hotel for the tour 10 mins before the time listed on the trip page of the website.
The guides will be at the office approximately 15 mins before the tour. Please be aware if you are on an afternoon tour, they could be finishing an earlier trip, with other clients still in the office.
On arrival, we will ask you to sign in, accepting the declaration for the tour. You have a few mins to use the bathroom before the start time listed for the trip.
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We have a lot of neoprene for you to put on: Wetsuit; wetsuit jacket; booties (neoprene shoes) and then a life jacket and a helmet.
If you bring wool clothing, that could be nice to have under the wetsuits on a cold day, wool top, trousers, socks. You should not wear cotton socks or clothes. Just underwear or swimming clothes.
If you wear glasses, this is no problem. If you prefer to be able to see what is coming with your own prescription glasses, we have straps for your glasses you can buy before the tour – with the RiverPig logo on them! Ooooo, ahhhh! If you are really cool, you might want to buy a strap for your sunglasses too! These straps are to HELP keep your glasses on, they are by no means a guarantee of keeping your glasses. When you also have the helmet over your ears, they should be OK, but you never know what happens in a river. This is at your own risk.
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We use rafts with 6 or 7 places available. If you are more than this in your group, or if we have many groups of 4 people, we will need to divide you over 2 rafts. That is rafting. We try to avoid this as much as we can, of course. As we go down the river, the rafts will often be next to each other for fun and games while on the calmer sections of the river. In the wilder, white-water sections, we will keep your mind entertained with other things than where your mummy is… she won’t be able to hear your squeals over the noise of the river anyway.
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The glacier river here in Jostedalen is perfect for families and nervous clients. The river waves increase as we go further downstream, so it is possible to get out of the raft at several points on the tour before being overwhelmed. This means children (and / or parents) can relax and take it as it comes, experiencing rafting before deciding how far they can actually go.
All the tours first go through the Little Piggies section, then the Elvepurka section follows on from the end of Little Piggies.
If you have children only 10 years and older, PROBABLY they will be OK to do at least the first half of the Elvepurka tour. This is not a guarantee, you have to be aware the guide has the final say on how far anyone goes on the rafts. After all, they know what is coming further down the river.
If some of your family get out of the rafts before the end of the tour, they can join the driver / photographer in the vehicle following the rafts. We have some hot chocolate to drink, when time allows and warm water to pour down the wetsuit!
If you have a family of children over and under 10 years, then we have some decisions to make:
1. The youngest children (under 10 years old) won’t be able to join the Elvepurka section in a raft, so they will have a period of time in the vehicle and stopping at photo spots to watch the rafts. If one parent joins the child with the driver, after we finish the first run through Elvepurka, then you could swap with your partner and we repeat the Elvepurka section a second time, so you both have a “white-water” experience with the rest of the family.
2. You all take the Little Piggies tour, focusing on the little one and their experience rafting 😊
3. Split the family so 1 parent takes Little Piggies with the smallest children and the other parent joins the other children on Elvepurka -
The Boss Hog tour takes the rafts through a canyon near the village of Myklemyr. The river levels here need to be within a narrow range, not too high and not too low. For this reason, we are not able to offer this tour every day.
If you call us and ask for the tour, we can open it and you can book on. If the river is then too high, we would reserve places for you on the Elvepurka tour, refunding the difference. If the river is that high, the Elvepurka trip is great fun – with the odd flipped raft and quite often swimmers (who were not intending to swim…). If you prefer to cancel anyway, that is also no problem with a full refund.
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We have a declaration form for all clients to sign. This is to accept you understand we will be in a moving river, which has risks we cannot remove, but work hard to minimize and avoid where possible.
You are also required to list any health condition you have at the time of the tour that may impact the trip for you or others. Any misinformation to us about this, or any other safety information needed to know in advance, will mean your trip can be cancelled without refund.
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Alcohol is best after the rafting tour, with some excitement and some stories to tell. Any clients known to have been drinking before a tour will not be joining the tour.
SKYravn FAQs
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The zipline trips we run are guided. There will be at least 2 guides joining you around the circuit (Midgard). After you have put on the harness, glasses and helmet, one guide will connect you to the pulley and on the zipline. The wires on these trips hang between the stations (not a tight wire with a breaking system at the end). So, you will fly down the wire, past its lowest point. As you slow down (moving under 2m/s) the pulley will begin to drive you up to the end of the wire. At this point, you will have a period of time hanging, moving a bit slower, time to enjoy the view! Once you come to the arrival station, there will be another guide there to disconnect you from the zipline and pulley.
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You will have to be wearing shoes (that enclose the whole foot, no toes dangling free outside shoes). Most of the stations are on natural terrain.
If you wear glasses, this is no problem. We provide safety glasses for all clients, but if you prefer to be able to see what is coming with your own prescription glasses, we have straps for your glasses you can buy before the tour – with the SkyRavn logo on them! Ooooo, ahhhh! If you are really cool, you might want to buy a strap for your sunglasses too! These straps are to HELP keep your glasses on, they are by no means a guarantee of keeping your glasses. When you also have the helmet over your ears, they should be OK, but you never know what happens while flying. This is at your own risk.
It is also best to have warm clothing on, dressing for the weather of the day – and moving fast on a zipline or 3!
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We have a declaration form for all clients to sign. This is to accept you understand we will be in nature, which has risks we cannot remove, but work hard to minimize and avoid where possible.
You are also required to list any health condition you have at the time of the tour that may impact the trip for you or others. Any misinformation to us about this, or any other safety information needed to know in advance, will mean your trip can be cancelled without refund.
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We require to know your weight for safety reasons. There is unfortunately a need for this and hope you understand. Any misinformation to us about this, or any other safety information needed to know in advance, will mean your trip can be cancelled without refund.
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This is best after the zipline tour, with some excitement and some stories to tell. Any clients known to have been drinking before a tour will not be joining the tour.