Guides
Company founder
Daniel Saulite
Daniel – Mountain Guide & Founder of Pict Expeditions
In 2011, Daniel moved to Patagonia to train as a mountain guide. The two-year course set the foundation for a career that has taken him to some of the most spectacular places on Earth. Since then, he has had the privilege of guiding in New Zealand, Iceland, Alaska, Patagonia, Spain, Scotland, Thailand, Peru, and Nepal, always seeking out the most remote and awe-inspiring landscapes.
After years of working in the industry, Daniel founded Pict Expeditions in 2018 to bring together his wealth of experience and knowledge into bespoke adventures and training courses. His vision was simple: to create exceptional, immersive experiences, using only the best guides he had worked alongside over the years.
Daniel specializes in mountaineering, skiing, rock climbing, and glacier guiding, with a deep passion for technical and exploratory trips. He thrives on storytelling, often regaling those around him with tales of cold mountains, epic journeys, and the lessons learned from challenging situations. And if you’re lucky, you might just find yourself gathered around a fire, guitar in hand, for a singalong under the stars.
Daniel is also an instructor for the Association of Icelandic Mountain Guides, teaching on their mountain and glacier courses. Additionally, he teaches at a mountaineering school based in the southeast of Iceland, where he enjoys mentoring and helping to train the next generation of Icelandic guides.
Certifications & Training:
• AIMG Alpine Trekking Guide (Level 2)
• AIMG Hard Ice Guide (Level 3)
• AIMG Ski Guide (Trainee)
• UK Mountain Leader
• UK Mountaineering & Climbing Instructor (Trainee)
• Wilderness First Responder (WFR)
• Canadian Avalanche Association – Avalanche Level 1
Co owner of Feimna rjúpan
Svanhvít Helga Jóhannsdóttir
Svanhvít – Mountain Guide & Instructor
Born and raised in Öræfi, Svanhvít has an intimate connection to the wild landscapes of Southeast Iceland. If you’re looking for an authentic and unforgettable experience in this region, her deep local knowledge and extensive guiding experience make her the perfect guide.
Svanhvít is highly experienced in guiding and instructing across multiple disciplines, including alpine trekking, skiing, rock climbing, and glacier travel. She is an active member of the local search and rescue team, a respected member of the Association of Icelandic Mountain Guides (AIMG), and a dedicated instructor for the FAS mountaineering college in Iceland.
In the winter, Svanhvít thrives in her element, chasing fresh ski lines across Iceland and the Alps. When summer arrives, her passion shifts to mountain biking and Icelandic horse riding, keeping her equally entertained until the snow returns.
Certifications & Training:
• AIMG Hard Ice Guide (Level 3)
• AIMG Alpine Trekking Guide (Level 2)
• AIMG Ski Guide (Trainee)
• Canadian Avalanche Association – Avalanche Level 1
• Wilderness First Responder (WFR)
With a lifelong love for the mountains and a commitment to teaching and guiding, Svanhvít ensures every trip is safe, educational, and truly unforgettable.
Iceland guide
Bjartur Tyr
Bjartur – Mountain Guide & Instructor
Bjartur was born and raised on Heimaey, a small island south of Iceland. From a young age, he began climbing the sea cliffs around the island in search of eggs and birds, developing a natural instinct for movement on rock. His passion for the outdoors only grew stronger in his teens, leading him to summit Mont Blanc at just 18 years old, an experience that sparked his ambition to become a mountain guide.
Shortly after, Bjartur began working as a glacier guide in Iceland, gaining extensive experience on ice. In recent years, he has played a key role in teaching and developing courses for the Association of Icelandic Mountain Guides (AIMG). He has instructed all Hard Ice courses—Jökla 1, 2, and 3—as well as the Fjalla 1 course, helping to train the next generation of guides.
Bjartur thrives in the mountains and rarely sits still in his free time. His favorite season is winter, thanks to his deep passion for ice climbing. He has climbed well over 100 frozen waterfalls and has established first ascents on some of Iceland’s biggest mountain faces.
Currently, Bjartur is an aspirant IFMGA guide, nearing completion of his certification with the Swedish Mountain Guide Association (SBO). He is also a heli-ski guide in northern Iceland and now splits his time between Iceland and Chamonix, pursuing alpine adventures year-round.
Certifications & Training:
• IFMGA Aspirant Guide (SBO – Swedish Mountain Guide Association)
• AIMG Hard Ice Guide (Level 3)
• AIMG Alpine Trekking Guide (Level 2)
Bjartur looks forward to furthering his guiding career, exploring new mountains, and sharing unforgettable experiences with great friends.
Iceland guide
Mike Walker
Mike – Mountain Guide & Instructor
Mike grew up in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, where he cut his teeth climbing and hiking in the rugged Cascade Mountains. Since then, his guiding career has taken him across four continents and more than half a dozen countries. He holds a degree in Political Science, though he was drawn to guiding precisely because it has nothing to do with politics.
Mike arrived in Iceland in 2014, wearing shorts and flip-flops and feeling extremely lost. However, he quickly developed a love for woolen sweaters and the people who wear them, and he has been happily stuck in Iceland ever since.
Beyond guiding, Mike plays an active role in the Association of Icelandic Mountain Guides (AIMG), serving as Vice President since 2019 and as a member of the AIMG Technical Committee, helping to develop industry standards and training programs. He is also a teacher at the FAS mountaineering school, where he enjoys passing on his knowledge to the next generation of guides.
In his free time, Mike loves rock climbing, mountain biking, trail running, and occasionally falling over on skis. He often jokes that he plans to get an office job when he finally grows up—probably sometime in his late 60s.
Certifications & Training:
• AIMG Alpine Trekking Guide (Level 2)
• AIMG Hard Ice Guide (Level 3)
• Wilderness First Responder (WFR)
• Canadian Avalanche Association – Avalanche Level 1
• AMGA Single Pitch Instructor (SPI)
• AMGA Alpine Guide (Trainee)
Mike’s wealth of experience, humor, and dedication to both guiding and education make him a key figure in the Icelandic guiding community, always ensuring that every trip is as safe, rewarding, and fun as possible.
Patagonia and Greenland expert
Arnaud de Leveleye
Arnaud – Mountain Guide & Polar Specialist
Born in Belgium, Arnaud followed a classic academic path, studying Geography before becoming an air traffic controller. However, the call of nature and the mountains proved too strong to resist. In 2010, he decided to live his passion, trading radar screens for the outdoors.
Setting out on an extraordinary adventure, Arnaud climbed the highest peak in every country in the Americas, relying solely on his bicycle as his means of transportation. He ended his journey in Iceland, where he chose to settle, giving his leathered buttocks a well-earned rest and becoming a fully certified Hard Ice and Alpine Trekking Guide through the Association of Icelandic Mountain Guides (AIMG).
Arnaud’s guiding and mountaineering career has taken him across the four corners of the globe—from Alaska and Canada to Africa, “forbidden” Tibet, Bhutan, Europe, New Zealand, and beyond. His experience has led him to summit some of the world’s most iconic peaks, including:
• Denali (Alaska)
• Logan (Canada)
• Aconcagua (Argentina)
• Ojos del Salado (Chile)
• Mont Blanc (France)
• Kilimanjaro (Tanzania)
• Huascarán (Peru)
• Chimborazo (Ecuador)
Beyond mountaineering, Arnaud has successfully crossed the Greenland Icecap (30 days) and now specializes in guiding expeditions in Patagonia, Iceland, and Greenland. He plays a key role in Greenland crossings and is currently developing a polar training certification for the Association of Icelandic Mountain Guides (AIMG).
Certifications & Training:
• International Polar Guide Certification
• AIMG Hard Ice Guide (Level 3)
• AIMG Alpine Trekking Guide (Level 2)
With an infectious enthusiasm and a passion for spreading happiness, Arnaud is known for his generosity, tireless energy, and sense of humor. He ensures that no expedition ends without a great meal before crawling into a sleeping bag. Long after your adventure, you may still hear the echo of his mantra—“I love my job”—whispering in the wind.
UK guide
Tom King - Guide/instructor
Tom [Last Name] – Mountain Guide & Instructor
Tom has over a decade of experience working in the mountains and nearly two decades of personal climbing experience. He began his guiding career on the glaciers of New Zealand, and after becoming a fully certified AIMG Hard Ice Guide, he moved to Iceland in search of better snow.
Following seven seasons of work in Iceland and trips to Canada, Morocco, Chamonix, India, and South America, he took the plunge and moved to Antarctica, assisting with climate research—and, of course, getting in some skiing.
After 18 months in the frozen wilderness of Antarctica, he returned to the UK and became a fully certified Mountaineering & Climbing Instructor (MCI, UK). Now, he is based in Wales, eagerly awaiting a snowy winter.
Tom is an experienced Antarctic guide and currently manages groups for both the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and the New Zealand Antarctic Survey. Beyond guiding, he plays an active role in teaching and training, serving as a technical committee member of the Association of Icelandic Mountain Guides (AIMG) and as an instructor at the FAS mountaineering school.
Certifications & Training:
• MCI – Mountaineering & Climbing Instructor (UK)
• AIMG Hard Ice Guide (Level 3)
• AIMG Alpine Trekking Guide (Level 2)
• UK Mountain Leader Award
• Wilderness First Responder (WFR)
With extensive experience across continents and disciplines, Tom is passionate about guiding, teaching, and leading expeditions in some of the world’s most extreme environments.
Mark has been living and guiding in Iceland for the past 4 years where his passion for guiding and mountaineering only got stronger. When he's not in Iceland he is working on expeditions from the Himalayas to Kilimanjaro and in his spare time has climbed in a variety of mountains ranges in India, Kyrgyzstan, Morroco, Georgia to name a few.
- WFR
- Hard ice 3
- Fjalla 1
- Moutain leader
- Iml winter/summer training.
- Aimg technical rope rescue course
- Rec 3 Ice field saftey course.
-kari search and rescue team member