When you fly into Longyearbyen, Svalbard, the first thing you notice is the mind-bending scenery outside the window of the plane. ย This land was made for skiing and riding.
The second thing I noticedย was an older lady carrying a hulking .30-06 rifle over her shoulder on the street.
What’s going on here?
I was shortly thereafter informed ofย the 3ย rules of Longyearbyen, Svalbard.
#1. ย It’s illegal leave town without a gun
- You have to have a rifle if you leave town. ย It’s the law. ย Why? ย Polar bears… ย Over 3,000 of them.
#2. ย It’s illegal toย die
- Death is against the law in Longyearbyen. ย They only have a small graveyard that stopped accepting new burials over 70 years ago. ย Why? ย Because the bodies never decompose… ย Scientists found the bodies perfectly preserved due to the permafrost… ย If you get sick or are close to death, they literally ship you back to Norway. ย Tchau!
#3. ย It’s illegal to have a cat
- Dogs rule, cats drool. ย Why? ย Svalbard is home to a huge Arctic bird population. ย Cats kill the birds and now they aren’t allowed anywhere in the archipelago.ย
As soon as I heard these 3 rules, I knew this was going to be an epic trip.
Quick background:
- Longyearbyen is the furtherest north city on Earth
- Svalbard is kind of Norway’s but there are are also Russian settlements and coal mines there
- The sun doesn’t set in Svalbard for 4 months
- Longyearbyen was founded by an America named John Longyear
From the get-go, I was swimming in new experiences, seeing new things, and not allowingย my brain time to catch up. ย I met the crew, moved into my room at the Radison in Longyearbyen, ate dinner, and quickly found myself in a NYC style whiskey bar drinking fine imported bourbon with group of people from all over the world that I already felt comfortable with. ย The next twist came when we rolled out of the dark, musky, windowless bar into the blazing sunlight at 11:30pm.
It hit me, again… ย This is going to be an epic trip.
The next dayย we found ourselvesย in the 62-foot Arctica II sailboat – a seaworthy ship captained and first mated by Stien & Helga from Norway. ย We were 8 clients, 2 guides, the captain, and first mate in that 62-foot boat. ย Downstairs, the boat has a galley, small living space, and 5 rooms (each with a bathroom) that slept all 12 of us comfortably. ย Upstairs is the bridge and a common room for dining and hanging out. ย This was our happyย home for next 7 days.
This trip was one of the bestย trips of my life. ย It was simply surreal to be in a small sailboat charging around these massive peaks and fjords with the sun simply running circles in the sky. ย The sun never set, never rose, just spun around in wide circles playing games with our shadows from every direction. ย It took a few days for me to fully understand what was going on all around me. ย When I was able to finally digest this place and its charms, I felt like I was on higher ground. ย Higher latitude ground, at least. ย Svalbard is pure magic.
Great skiing, reindeer everywhere, ghost towns, icebergs, sea ice, crystal clear water, walrus, seals, a 5-star floating hotel, the constant threat of Polar Bears, not going anywhere without two .30-06 rifles, delicious meals, all the IsBjorn beer you could drink, and the heart stopping polar plunge made this trip nearly too much fun to fully psychologically understand.
In our 7 days in the highย Arctic, we skied 2 isles, 2 glaciers, sailedย through 5 different fjords, and reached a latitude as high as 79ยบ North, by far the furthest north or south I’ve ever been. ย The skiing was corny and fun every day we skied and we certainly found some long, sustained steep runs that got the blood pumping.
It was simply badass arriving on a remote peak with nothing man made in sightย then calling our ship via radio to come pick us up where we calculated our arrival on the beach. ย Watching the distant ship turn and b-line directly for us from the top of a wind swept peak was one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had anywhere. ย Felt like a precise, tactical military operation. ย Except we were just skiing, have a ball, and drinking beer. ย Too cool.
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2016ย SVALBARDย TRIP SKIING DETAILS:
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Day 1: ย Transit from Longyearbyen
- Everyone aboard at about 2:00pm, did the safety briefing with Stein and Helga, had pizza delivered, drank a couple of IsBjorn beers, and then headed out into the wild at about 5:00pm.
Day 2: ย Snowdomen Peak
- Our first day on snow was an exciting one. ย We chose glaciated terrain of Snowdomen peak and had a guide in the lead fall into a crevasse. ย He was remarkably completely unhurt and was able to extract himself. ย We just had to throw him a rope. ย Todd is a stud. ย Our other guide dropped a leg into a crevasse on the ski down and I had to throw him a rope and he pulled himself out easily. ย After those two crack insertions, we were spooked and did two more laps on lower down, non-glaciated terrain. ย Skies were sunny, snow was corny, and the skiing was great. ย 3 runs in total.
Day 3: ย Blomstrandbreen Glacier and Bloomstrandhalvoya Island
- This day started off socked in and foggy. ย We skinned upย the large Blomstrandbreen Glacier with ropes hoping for the fog to lift. ย It didn’t so we skied back down by following our skin/pole tracks back to the beach. ย After an deliciousย soup lunch, the fog lifted and we had an excellent climb and ski ofย Bloomstrandhalvoya Island. ย We skied the steepest terrain of the trip and it was a long sustained pitch. ย We saw some old Polar Bear prints on the skin up and they were absolutely intimidating. ย We skied 2,000′ in the morning and 1,300′ in the afternoon.
Day 4: ย Trongdalen Valley
- We skinned up a long valley, past grazing Reindeer, and up mellow terrain to the base of a alpine cirque. ย At the base of the ย cirque there were two peaks to ski from. ย We chose the one to the south first and found steep, sustained skiing from top to bottom in corn snow up top and punchy snow down low. ย A funย run. ย We then tried the opposing peak and found excellent skiing inย corn snow top to bottom. ย Some from our group did a second lap on this second peak. ย Weather was tough with snow/mist all day. ย 3,700′ of skiing on 3 runs.
Day 5: ย St. Jonsfjorden
- We awoke early to light winds. ย During breakfast, the windย began to howl and the rain began to pour… ย We waited to see what would happen in Signeheim bay for a bit before pulling anchor and sailing south to St. James. ย Pretty rough seasย on the voyage south, but not traumatic. ย No skiing this day.
Day 6: ย Transit viaย Kongsfjord to Ghost Town of Pyramiden
- This was a long day of sailing in rough seas. ย Overcast skies, high winds, rain. ย We sailed all day, then arrived in the Russian coal mining town of Pyramiden under clearing skies. ย The Russians stopped mining here in 1997 and the place is a real ghost town. ย It’s eerie, other worldly, very Russian feeling complete with Vladimir Lenin statue, and beers are only $3 (beers are about $10 in Norway). ย Pyramiden is a photographers dream. ย Incredible, contrasting vistasย of pristine nature and discarded humanity. ย We had an excellent time in Pryamiden complete with a full tour of the facilities and a bit of partying with some real Longyearbyen locals. ย One of which got real friendly with us, ended up kissing Elizabeth (photos below) and attempting drunken headstands on our table. ย Good times!
Day 7: ย Billefjorden, Campbellryggen Peak & theย Mathlesondalen Drainage
- Sailed in sunny weather from Pyramiden docks through blown-in sea ice across the Billefjorden fjord for about 30 minutes to an attractive zone with a 2,800′ peak called Campbellryggen. ย Skinned and booted up to the summit. ย Skied back down where we’d climbed up in really fun, fast, responsive corn. ย Skied right back to the shore where the Zodiac came and picked us up.
- We ate a delicious lunch and moved a couple miles southwest to the end of the Mathlesondalen drainage that holds some beefy peaks. ย We skinned up the drainage and only had to boot the last bit to the summit. ย Sunny, clear, no wind, warm. ย Incredible views of a bizarre, glassy sea with snow clad peaks on every side. ย Skiing was superb with a fun little spine/wind lip we all slashed apartย in the drainage.
- From the top of this peak, I felt the coolest I’ve ever felt anywhere. ย The Arctica II had sailed a ways away to safe harbor during our climb. ย We called them on the radio while eating lunch on the summit and let them know we were about to drop in. ย From the summit, while eating lunch, we watched the Arctica II motor towards us to pick us up exactly where we planned on arriving on the shore. ย It was an amazing feeling. ย Felt like the execution of a precise military operation. ย This trip is wild…
- We skied right to the water’s edge and were picked up by the Arctica II. ย We sailed to a safe spot across the fjord and had a terrific last dinner aboard the ship in Skanbukta bay. ย After dinner we sailedย to Longyearbyen.
Day 8: ย Longyearbyen & Home
- Woke up, packed up the gear, disembarked, high fived, flew home.
CONCLUSION:
I can’t express enough how sublime, intense, wonderful, luxurious, and unique this trip was. ย Sublime views and skiing, intense weather and wildlife, luxurious anytime we were on the ship, and a relentlessly unique experience full of firsts, once-in-a-lifetimes, and no ways. ย There’s simply nothing like Svalbard. ย Svalbard is a world unto its own.
Ice Axe Expeditions will be cruising to Svalbardย to ski again in Mayย 2017. ย Iโve been invited to guide the trip again and Iโd love to share this experience with you and yours.
If interested, please email me here for the ski trip of a lifetime:
Contact@SnowBrains.com
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Thereโs really nothing more that I can convey to you in words about this place. ย Iโll let the 100ย photos below tell the rest of the story. ย Many of the photos below are from our great clients. ย Thanks to everyone.
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