Firn densification profiles are an important parameter for ice-sheet mass balance and palaeoclimate studies. One conventional method of investigating firn profiles is using seismic refraction surveys, but these are limited to point measurements. Distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) presents an opportunity for large-scale seismic measurements of firn with dense spatial sampling and easy deployment, especially when seismic noise is used. We study the feasibility of seismic noise interferometry on DAS data for characterizing the firn layer at the Rutford Ice Stream, West Antarctica. Dominant seismic energy appears to come from anthropogenic noise and shear-margin crevasses. The DAS cross-correlation interferometry yields a noisy Green’s function (Rayleigh waves). To overcome this, we present two strategies for cross-correlations: (1) hybrid instruments – correlating a geophone with DAS, and (2) selected stacking where the cross-correlation panels are picked in the tau-p domain. These approaches are validated with results derived from an active survey. Using the retrieved Rayleigh wave dispersion curve, we inverted for a high-resolution 1D S-wave velocity profile down to a depth of 100 m. The inversion spontaneously retrieves a “kink” (velocity gradient inflection) at ~12 m depth, resulting from a change of compaction mechanism. A triangular DAS array is used to investigate directional variation in velocity, which shows no evident variations thus suggesting a lack of deformation in the firn. Our results demonstrate the potential of using DAS and seismic noise interferometry to image the near-surface and present a new approach to derive S-velocity profiles from surface wave inversion in firn studies.