Our Staff
Kolbrún Björnsdóttir
Kolla is a political scientist and a guide, but she loves the outdoors so much more than the political scene. That is why she spends most of her time in the mountains all over the world. As a guide, she takes people to places like Kilimanjaro, Everest Base Camp and of course, Inside the volcano.
Icelandic meat soup is one of her favorite foods along with harðfiskur (fish jerky) and she really likes winter camping. Probably because she likes the cold, but we think it is also because there are no spiders during the winter!
Alexía Björg Jóhannesdóttir
Alexía is a hard-working actress who gets her kicks in the vast expanses of Icelandic nature. She'll sing, dance and act like there is no tomorrow if given the opportunity, but put her on top of a mountain and you’ll see what she’s really made of. Alexía is an adventurous woman who recently sold the family car and found a cat-sitter to go traveling with her husband and kids (9y and 14y) around South-America for six months. She says it’s healthy for all of them to learn more about the world by seeing it, not only how it is in the books.
Arndís Einarsdóttir
Daughter of Einar. Arndís has been a part of the team from 2012 and is one of the tail-guides. She grew up traveling around the country. In fact, she was only three weeks old when she went on her first jeep tour on a glacier. She loves to snowboard and explore new places. In the winter time, she studies natural-science at the commercial college of Iceland. Her favorite part about this job is the exercise and the fun and loving staff.
Björn Ólafsson
Björn is a dedicated mountaineer and has been since childhood. He has climbed peaks and mountains all over the world and was part of the first Icelandic group that reached the top of Mount Everest. Björn has been a member of an Icelandic Rescue Squad for years and has supervised courses in mountain climbing and rescue tactics. He is the managing director of 3H Travel.
Bryndís Björk Kristjánsdóttir
Bryndís has been a guide at Inside the Volcano since 2013. She has a degree in Sports Science and is a personal trainer among many other things. She lived in Luxembourg for 23 years along with her husband and kids and among speaking Icelandic she speaks English, German, France, and some Luxembourgish. She loves to climb, ski and explore the wilderness. For example, she topped Kilimanjaro early 2019.
Dagur Adam Ólafsson
Dagur is the son of Ragga, who is one of our guides. Dagur loves to travel and has been all over the world! He did an exchange program in Italy. In 2017 he spent four months traveling South-America. When this is written he is preparing to leave Iceland to explore Asia. He loves sports and his all-time favorites are yoga and snowboarding.
Dögg Ármannsdóttir
Dögg studied business and has mainly been working as a sales and marketing manager for Icelandic companies selling their designs abroad. Dögg started guiding for Inside the Volcano part-time 3 years ago, sort of as a paid vacation, but totally fell in love with it and decided it was much more fun to take tourists into a volcano than sitting at a desk all day long. Dögg is always ready for adventures and loves the outdoors.
Einar Stefánsson
Father of Arndís and Stefanía. Einar has climbed mountains all over the world and was, along with with Björn, part of the first Icelandic group that climbed Mount Everest. Einar is an engineer with long experience as a tour guide and has supervised courses in mountain climbing and rescue tactics. He will spend most of his summer 120 meters down inside the crater.
Gísli
A brother of two former employees, Gísli has been working with us since the summer of 2019. He, along with Sóley, is studying to become an economist at the University of Iceland. A former handball player and current tail guide at Inside the Volcano, he will help you go across the lava field and carry you if he has to.
Gísli Bjarki Guðmundsson
Gísli has the looks of a viking, is ruff on the outside but soft on the inside. He can turn a bad day into a fantastic one within a blink of an eye, just by smiling and emanating his tranquil aura. Gísli, as so many of our staff, is a member of the Icelandic Rescue Teams, so you are in good hands with him. On his days off Gísli sings with the local male choir "Bartónar" in downtown Reykjavik along with his fellow guides Sveinn and Tryggvi.
Guðmundur Ingi Þorvaldsson
Guðmundur or "Gummi" has been on the team since the beginning and is now a part-time guide. Gummi has an MA in stage arts from the Goldsmith, University of London and an MBA from the University of Reykjavík. Gummi was previously the managing director of „Tjarnarbíó", which is a living center for arts, and was recently hired as a lector of acting at the Icelandic University of the Arts. Gummi has acted in a number of stage plays, movies, and tv shows and has significant experience as a director.
Halldór Albertsson
If you ever need a strong hand you should call Halldór (better known as Dóri). As a child, Dóri took an overdose of his vitamins and grew into an adult size overnight. He is a mechanical engineer and his day to day work is developing prostheses for those in need. Dóri is an experienced mountaineer and a member of the Icelandic Rescue Teams and loves to travel the world for great adventures. Be sure to ask Dóri to share with you one of his great stories.
Helga Frímann
Helga runs the office along with Markús. She has a BA in Political Science and Geography and has a passion for environmental issues. Her favorite activity is rock climbing and she lived for two years in Málaga, Spain, to be able to climb more. Helga is very adventurous, has traveled all over the world and lived in various countries. This includes India, the States, Sicily, Australia, and Tanzania. She has worked as a volunteer in four continents. While working as a volunteer in Tanzania she took a short break to climb Kilimanjaro! Helga is also a member of the Icelandic search and rescue team.
Hugrún
Hugrún is one of our hard-working tail guides. She makes sure that everyone is safe and no one gets left behind on the hike! Her dream is to become an architect and she’s currently preparing her application.
Ísabella
Sometimes called an adrenaline junkie, Ísabella craves adventure and is a part of the Icelandic Rescue Team. Whether it be by foot, bike or skis, her favorite thing to do is explore nature and push her limits. She has been teaching yoga for a few years as well as being a ski instructor during the winter and teaching kids mountain biking in the summer.
Jónas Alfreð Birkisson
Son of Þóra. Jónas is outgoing and likable. He is a drama student at the Iceland University of the Arts, aiming at a carrier in theater and films. He has worked with our team for two years. In his spare time, Jónas likes to explore nature both in Iceland and abroad.
Kamil Kluczyński
Kamil was born in Poland, raised in New Jersey and moved to Iceland 10 years ago. He has a degree in Environment and Natural Resources and has been a mountain guide for years as well as working with the Icelandic rescue teams. Kamil is a tall, handsome and really likable guy who always brings out the best in people. His ongoing project is to cross all of the Icelandic glaciers, either in summer or winter time, to raise awareness for diabetes. His project is called Pole Diabetes.
Katrín Kjartansdóttir
Katrín, daughter of Kjartan, is one of our tail guides. She grew up traveling around Iceland and being in the mountains and loves it. Her favorite part about working inside the volcano are the funniest and most amazing colleagues!
Kristján Maack
Kristján Maack started his photography carrier after the graduation from Brooks Institute of photography, Santa Barbara California in 1993. Since then he has been located in Reykjavik, specializing in advertising and illustration photography. During the last 25 years of practice, every angle and corner of photography has been his subject and interest, both on the studio floor and on location all over the world. For inspiration, Kristján travels all over the world for adventures in the purpose of creating images. Kristján has been a member of the volcano team since day one.
Margrét
With Margrét, you will get the full fire and ice experience. She has been a part of the volcano team since 2019 and also been a professional figure skater doing some tricks while cruising the Caribbean's. During the summertime you will find her lost in the mountains, but in the dark winter, she escapes to Denmark for her medical studies.
Markús Torfason
Markús runs the office along with Helga. He is a highly skilled computer scientist and a math teacher. He is working with the Icelandic Rescue Teams and loves all the adventures that come with being out in the wilderness. He has traveled a lot and did parts of his studies in the States. Recently he spent six months exploring the different scenery in Asia and Australia. He, for example, skied in Japan and dived in the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.
Ólafur Þór Júlíusson
Óli has over 20 years of experience in mountaineering and has climbed peaks in the Alps, Africa, and Greenland. He has worked with an Icelandic Rescue Squad for several years and likes to spend most of his summer inside the volcano, assisting the adventurous travelers who take part in the tour.
Ragnar
Ragnar is a cheerful and happy young man who has three children and loves being with them.He is a theater maker, writer and actor.
Ragnar also loves the volcano and has been working there for a few years now, but one thing he really loves is candy. When he goes abroad he always brings Icelandic candy with him, and eats it at his hotel room late at night before falling asleep. Sometimes he wakes up in the middle of the night and brushes his teeth
Ragnheiður Harpa Leifsdóttir
Harpa is a nature enthusiast. Along with climbing into volcanos she makes art. Her favourite weather is the fog you see sliding down a mountainside from distance.
Sigrún Hlín Sigurðardóttir
There is only one thing to say about Sigrún. She loves champagne.
Snæfríður
Snæfríður, or Snow-beauty as she likes to be called, has been working on and off in the volcano since 2015. Currently she is taking her masters degree in theater directing and when she is not guiding she makes music videos, creamy pasta, rat costumes or knits hats.
Sóley Ólafsdóttir
Sóley is one of those people who is able to do just about everything! She loves sports and her favorites include alpine- and backcountry skiing, crossfit, and doing backflips. Sóley’s love for backflips comes from her time in gymnastics, but she won a Euro championship in TeamGym in 2012. Sóley practiced on the piano for 10 years but now she’s learning from her grandmother to play the accordion. Over the winter season (when she’s not busy doing backflips) she studies economics at the University of Iceland.
Sólveig Guðmundsdóttir
Sólveig is an award-winning actress and one of Iceland's best-regarded linguists. When she is not traveling the world with her beloved friends and family, you'll find her chin deep in mud, desecrating the Icelandic flag, or engaged in similarly outrageous behaviors, all in the name of art. Yes, that woman is truly one of a kind.
Stefanía Einarsdóttir
Stefanía is the daughter of Einar and sister of Arndís. When this is written she is preparing to travel the world! Fun fact: Stefanía loves animals and has for example kept pet foxes.
Styrmir
Styrmir is the son of Kristján, one of our guides. He is an excellent hockey player and plays for SR in the Icelandic Hockey League. Styrmir previously played for the Kingsville Kings in Canada. Even though Styrmir is only 18 years old he has been on six tours with the national team of Iceland, making the rest of us quite jealous! The countries are Taiwan, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, Serbia, and Croatia.
Tryggvi Gunnarsson
Tryggvi is considered by many to be an absolute legend. Why, no one can really tell. Some even go so far as to say he might be of celestial origin. He holds a degree in "biology", "anthropology" and "performative arts", as well as being a fully licensed celebrant, and therefore able to wed guests at a moment's notice down in the volcano if he feels so inclined. He has been on the (lava) field for nine years, but has now retired to a desk job at the office. So if you call, he will probably be the one to answer.
Unnur Freyja Víðisdóttir
Daughter of Víðir. Unnur is the nicest bad ass you will ever meet - you’ll find her doing intensive training for the rescue squad along with her university studies and at the same time volunteering in her community and practicing all sorts of exotic sports. She is truly a young woman who knows what she wants and where she comes from.
Víðir Pétursson
Father of Unnur. Víðir is a powerful, athletic man "capable of jumping his own height in full body armor, both back, and front". Víðir is also an excellent swimmer. There is supposedly no game at which he has an equal. His behavior is always polite, but firm — he gives good advice and is kind and mild, yet he is not thought of as an intelligent man because of his way of talking. However, Víðir's wise insights and deep understanding strongly suggest that he is as smart as he is handsome.
Þóra J. Jónasdóttir
Mother of Arnar and Jónas. Thora has been a part-time guide for Inside the volcano since summer 2013. She simply just loves guiding in combination with her busy daily work as a veterinarian. She also trains a rescue dog and is a member of ICE-SAR, the Icelandic rescue squad. Besides rescue training, mountain hikes, skiing/snowboarding, horseback riding, and biking are among favorites.
Þórunn Garðarsdóttir
Þórunn is a registered nurse and is a director of a daycare center for seniors in Reykjavik. She is truly a daughter of nature who loves being outdoor riding horses and going off-piste skiing. Þórunn has lived and worked in Switzerland and speaks German fluently.