Iceland Rescue

Available for over a year

A family stranded in a snowfield. A woman with vertigo on a mountain. A hiker falling in lava. These are just some of the jobs for Slysavarnafélagið Landsbjörg (Ice-SAR): the Icelandic Association for Search and Rescue. Ice-SAR is an elite national emergency militia with a gallant reputation in Iceland. In place of an army, its skilled volunteers, all unpaid, are expertly trained, well equipped, self-financed and self-sufficient. They perform rescues by sea, land and air and contend with earthquakes, avalanches, volcanic eruptions, storms and the island’s brutal, unpredictable weather. Paul Smith ventures to Landmannalaugar in the Icelandic Highlands during peak tourist season. With two million people expected to visit Iceland this year, how is its rescue volunteers responding to the enormous strain on their services on an increasingly popular island? (Photo: Volunteers of the Icelandic Association for Search and Rescue)