(13th-15th September 2014) – Early winter rather than golden autumn – also impressive in a way, when arctic nature is showing its forces with cold and strong winds. And when it is raining on top of it all, then it is the perfect day to visit the museums in Longyearbyen, you can always learn a lot in both of them. It is especially the Airshipmuseum that is always amazing. Incredible how much Stefano Poli and Ingunn Løyning have collected over the years, all their own initiative. You should have a rough overview of the expeditions of Andrée and Wellman, Amundsen and Nobile before visiting, otherwise the wealth of details may be confusing. But then it is a place where you can return countless times to learn and to be amazed.
Looking back and considering the rough weather, I am almost surprised myself how much we have done in these 4 days around Longyearbyen also. After the first, extensive tour over the snow-covered Platåberget on Thursday, we went up Gruvefjellet on Friday, enjoying views over the wide plateaux around Longyearbyen and down the valley, followed by a glacier walk across Larsbreen and a steepish descent down its moraine just before the whirling snow turned all views white and grey.
Meanwhile, the fossil collectors were quite successful on the neighbouring moraine of Longyearbreen.
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Success also on Sunday in Endalen on the quest for the Dwarf birch. We haven’t seen this tree (yes, it counts as a tree, even if it does not look like it) on our trips before, as we travel mostly on ships and they don’t grow near the shore. We came just in time for some views over Adventdalen from the height of mine 7 before the snow drift settled in, and some hardy hikers even went into Bolterdalen in spite of wind and snow.
Now, the sky is blue again and it is time to board Antigua in the afternoon.
Shortly we will continue with our travel blog. The next tour starts on 15 September at which time we will publish daily travel logs again, that is, if the satellite phone plays along regarding transmission of text and pictures. For now, Rolf has sent a us a picture gallery of a plateau-shaped mountain (platåberg). Webmaster Spitsbergen-Svalbard.com
This is the historical discovery of the year in the Arctic – at least: The Canadian government has announced to have found the wreck of one of the two ships of John Franklin’s expedition.
John Franklin was out to find the Northwest Passage with 2 ships, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, and 129 men, sailing into the passage in 1845. Both ships and all men disappeared. Many expeditions were sent out to rescue Franklin and his men or to find out what had happened. This was a boost for geographical exploration in the Canadian arctic, but the fate of Franklin’s expedition was never fully resolved. After years, the first traces were found; it became clear that the men had left the ships, trying to reach safety, a hopeless effort considering the vast distances and the harsh climate. There were signs of cannibalism, but most must have died of starvation, cold and scurvy. Lead poisoning may have added to an overall health decline. Franklin had already died before the ships were deserted.
The 2 ships had been equipped with everything one could think of at that time, it was one of the largest arctic expeditions ever and its loss was a trauma for the British Royal Navy. The discovery of one of the 2 ships 169 years later is a sensation. It is so far unknown if it is the wreck of the HMS Erebus or the HMS Terror.
The Canadian government has put the search for Franklin’s ships on the agenda some years ago.
Franklin’s ships HMS Erebus and HMS Terror in the Northwest Passage (source: Wikimedia Commons).
The new Spitsbergen calendar 2015 by Rolf Stange is now here, fresh from the printer and it can be ordered from now on. 12 impressions from Spitsbergen: around the island and through the seasons, encounters with wildlife, scenery, light and flowers from the polar night to the midnight sun.
As before, the Spitsbergen calendar 2015 is available in the handy A5 format and large in A3. Click here for more information, images and ordering.
Longyearbyen is not just the cheapest accommodation in Longyearbyen, but also one of the most popular places to stay, as you are in the middle of nature there: in good weather, the view across Isfjord is great. Reindeer, polar foxes and a range of different birds are regular guests, and if you are lucky, you can even see belugas near the shore, that happens several times every summer.
On a nice day in August, I shot a panorama tour which is now online, so you can walk across Longyearbyen Camping now on the internet. There is also a panorama of the campsite taken in the polar night, when it is obviously closed, but nevertheless a very interesting place to visit …
It has been a good summer with a lot of fine weather, and Longyearbyen Camping has done very well with about 2800 guest nights. As an experience, it is worthwhile to mention that you need to bring your own sleeping bag, insulation blanket and tent if you want to stay there. Longyearbyen Camping has limited amounts of rental equipment, but the capacity may be in full use in peak season. When guests come, as happened several times, without anything and without a reservation for rental equipment (or a “reservation” made very shortly before arrival), then bad luck may strike and nothing is available, which translates as: you don’t have a place to sleep. Not great. So: just bring your own stuff or get in touch with Longyearbyen Camping well in advance to make sure they have got what you need. And then: have a good time there 🙂
A polar bear has been observed roaming around near Longyearbyen for more than a week. Since 21st August, the bear has been seen in Hiorthhamn, on the north side of Adventfjord, a few kilometres away from Longyearbyen, where more than 2000 people live.
There is a number of weekend huts in Hiorthhamn, and some of them have suffered damage by the polar bear, which is always looking for food, besides generally being a curious animal anyway. It has since been seen in side valleys (Mälardalen, Hanaskogdalen), and most recently in Adventdalen near Janssonhaugen, where it seems to have found a dead reindeer, securing food for some days. It is, however, not 100 percent certain that it is really one and the same polar bar.
There is significant traffic in all these areas: tourists are on tour there, and so are students and locals in their free time. Additionally, it is reindeer hunting season.
Everybody moving around on his own is reminded that potentially aggressive polar bears have to be expected anywhere and at any time outside the populated settlements. A suitable, heavy calibre weapon is necessary for tours even close to Longyearbyen. Additionally, a deterrent such as a signal pistol with special noise-making ammunition to scare polar bears away does not only make a lot of sense, to solve dangerous situations without doing harm to a bear, but it is also legally binding now to have a deterrent. Pepper spray is, however, not recommended by the authorities in Spitsbergen, although it can make an important contribution if used, for example, from the relative safety of a hut to get rid of a very curious or even aggressive bear without doing harm to it. It must, however, not be relied on as the only means of “safety”.
The polar bear near Longyearbyen has, so far, not been aggressive. Generally speaking, polar bears are usually not aggressive towards man, but there are exceptions to the role, such as a very hungry bear. Also in Pyramiden, a Russian settlement largely deserted since 1998, polar bears have been seen several times during the summer, also in central parts.
This polar bear has been roaming for more than a week near Longyearbyen. Here at a weekend hut in Hiorthhamn on the other side of the fjord.
The arctic season 2014 ist not over yet, but a good number of photo galleries are already online, and so is my arctic blog, of course. The recent trips in Spitsbergen with SV Antigua and SY Arctica II have both been amazing. Both yielded a wealth of impressions and memories, some of them captured with the camera, and you are welcome to join these trips now online.
Within a few weeks, I will add slideshows of the individual trips on the respective sites, and there is still one more trip to come in September.
My original plan was to be lazy. Spending the day with the newspaper, friends, and hanging out in Fruene – the best Café in town. And pretty much the only one. No matter how beautiful and exciting it is to sail around Longyearbyen, it is also quite energy-demanding. Especially on such a small boat, without a colleague who could occasionally take over. Well, no complains, but a day to relax sounded like a great thing.
But the time of the midnight sun ends in such a grand way that doing nothing was simply not an option. To start with, the campsite panorama project was number one on the to-do-list. Directly followed by Hiorthfjellet. The problem with this mountain is that you need a boat to get there in summer, something that is not always at hand, but available today. Another good reason to do that today. Getting up to the plateau on top, viewing across Adventfjord to Longyearbyen. The other way around is an everyday thing. 900 metres up over loose scree, yeeha! Two steps up, one down. But the view is worth every single step. You have Adventfjord to your feet, from Adventdalen in the east, Longyearbyen with the well-known mountains and glaciers around it, Platåberg and Hotellneset with the airport and campsite and finally the western half of Isfjord.
And a good part of Nordenskiöld Land is stretching far, far into most directions. Countless brown plateau-shaped mountains, ridges and peaks, small glaciers and valleys. This is the part of Spitsbergen that I got to know first, at times when Edgeøya was a far dream, as easy to get to as the moon.
Visiting the old coal mine of Hiorthhamn on the way back added a completely different, but comparably interesting aspect to the excursion. The mine is more than 600 metres high on a rather steep slope. Not far from it, there was Ørneredet, the eagle nest, where 40-50 workers had accommodation, and they had to stay there during the polar night, as the steep slope down was deemed too dangerous in the dark time. Darkness inside the mountain, darkness outside.
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Darkness is looming just around the corner here these days, too. Today will be the first sunset this summer. A day of four months is coming to an end.
Friday, 22nd August (still) – Highlights until the last minute. After it had been blowing quite a bit off the west coast, it was nice to be back in Isfjord where the water was flat calm and the sun was shining again. We met a whale briefly in Adventfjord, just off the camping site. And on the shore under Hiorthfjellet, just opposite Longyearbyen, there was even another polar bear walking around, would you believe it? That doesn’t happen every day. Heinrich wasn’t too happy as he has got a hut in that area, one of the windows was damaged so the bear may have been inside and in that case, it might need more than just a little bit of cleaning to make it a cosy place again.
We finish the day and the trip with a nice last evening and a good meal on board. More than 1100 nauticla miles around Spitsbergen are behind us now, with about 26 landings in many possible and some impossible places. Not to mention all the landscapes and the wildlife we have seen from the boat. The photos will tell the story, soon there will be a gallery online together with the trip report.
There is more to Spitsbergen than „just“ polar bears and wild landscapes, there are also good people living here. Seeing some of them will be amongst my next tasks.
The Greenpeace-ship ‘Esperanza’ which is currently sailing in the waters around Spitsbergen has repeatedly violated the new pilotage regulations, being step-by-step established since July 2012.
The ‘Esperanza’ is present around Spitsbergen this summer to call attention to the impact of climate change to the arctic and to protest against the expansion of oil exploration to the Barents Sea. As a prominent supporter for this campaign amongst others the British actress Emma Thompson was aboard.
In the end of July it was noticed that the ship violated the new pilotage regulations on Spitsbergen for several times. For a round-trip which was accompanied by the actress Emma Thompson therefore a pilot was taken aboard. In the Middle of August the captain of the ‘Esperanza’ then again acted against the regulations as he led the ship towards Longyearbyen without a pilot. As before, the incident was reported to the Sysselmannen and this time the captain had to pay a fine of 50.000 Kroner.
The Sysselmannen and the Norwegian Kystverk regret that it was just Greenpeace who violated a regulation which actually is supported by the organization. In the same spirit Greenpeace expressed their regret. Greenpeace appreciates the establishment of pilotage regulations on Spitsbergen and, environmental protection in mind, generally supports regulations that contribute to safety in the maritime traffic. In the incidents in the end of July Greenpeace was not aware of the fact that their ship was already affected by the new regulations, especially as they had an own ice-navigator aboard supporting the captain. In the recent incident in August the captain had, as he said, waited 1.5 hours for the pilot who was delayed. After that he decided to sail towards Longyearbyen without a pilot.
Compulsory pilotage gets step-by-step established on Spitsbergen since the 1st of July 2012 (see also Spitsbergen-Svalbard.com news from July 2012). Currently, for the season 2014, it affects vessels with a length of 70 meters or more and passenger vessels with a length of 24 meters or more, except expedition cruise vessels. In the season 2015 there will no longer be such exceptions and the regulations will be the same as on the Norwegian mainland.
The ‘Esperanza’, currently sailing in the waters around Spitsbergen.
Not just in winter the glaciers and mountains surrounding Longyearbyen (some known for their crevasses) pose danger. Also in summer it is very important to pay close attention; for example, to the partly steep and rocky subsurface tunneled by melt water.
Just recently when descenting (from) the Sarkofagen (which is situated at the westside of the Larsbreen/Lars-Glacier), a 21 year old norwegian guide broke her leg. Because there was no cellphone service available at the site of the accident, members of the group had to hike back up the mountain to call for help by informing the Sysselman. The hurt tour guide and her entire group of tourist from various nations were then flown out to Longyearbyen, where she got a cast at the local hospital and was later transported to Tromsø.
Sakrofagen (on the left hand side) view from Lars-Glacier
As last year explosives of he Word War II have been found arround Longyearbyen this time on the mountain Platåberget. Due to the finding traffic in the area is banned. The grenade could been deactivated.
Last night we sailed down Forlandsund, heading for Prins Karls Forland, but the wind was so strong that the anchor didn’t really hold, so we decided to go for Eidembukta instead, hoping for better shelter there. Which worked well. After all these miles and maneouvres, I went to sleep after 5 am. It may have to do with that if I am a bit tired now. Almost a bit sad, or melancholic. West Coast Blues. The trip is coming to an end, there is no way around it. Everybody has grown into a tight group now, knowing each other, the routines are all working well, we could so easily continue for another week or two. But zivilisation is not far anymore. Dates, flights, business, family … are all demanding their rights.
But we are not there yet. First, we spend a precious couple of hours on the west coast tundra again. After all the ice and cold of the far north, the rocky landscapes of the northwest and the mighty glaciers of Krossfjord, you might almost feel at home here. This landscape is not so harsh, not so inhospitable, almost inviting. Well, in comparison.
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I have been in Eidembukta just a few weeks ago, in early June. It feels like ages ago! Back then, we had snow down to sea level. Almost the whole, wide-open coastal tundra plain was white, where autumn colours are stretching now between the sea and the mountains and glaciers. No trace of snow anymore today. Back then, almost every snow-free tundra patch was occupied by geese, now there is just a group of female common eiders paddling in the bay, the stress of the breeding season is already history for them. The world has changed incredibly quickly, within less than 7 weeks! The arctic summer is coming and going so quickly.
I don’t mind repeating this again: A day taken directly from an arctic fairy tale. The sun remained with us, and with this kind of weather, Krossfjord is unbeatably beautiful. Bluegreen water, mighty glaciers, dark, wild mountains, green slopes. I know, I have already written similar sentences similar elsewhere. I can’t help it, I am simply not a great writer, I have never pretended anything different. But nature can everything up here, and it’s that what counts.
The glacier hike today has best chances to be very high on the list of the greatest hikes this summer. The photos will tell it all, I hope, as soon as they are online in a couple of days from now.
To add icing on the cake, we were welcomed with a BBQ on the beach. How good can life be!
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We could happily have called it a great day, but there is always something exciting going on here as long as you can keep your eyes open. Another fjord another glacier, another world. Perfect mirror images on the water. A polar bear on the shore, with the sun from behind, surrounded by pieces of glacier ice shining like diamonds. An arctic wonderland.
A day taken directly from an arctic fairy tale. Well, it was about time to get to see the sun again, and we got a lot of it today. Who would then mind the endless rocks over which we stumbled while hiking across Danskøya, when you can enjoy this amazing view over the mountains and glaciers of northwestern Spitsbergen at the same time? The drama stories from past times from Danskøya can’t diminish our pleasure, they just add some flavour.
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Almost hard to grasp on such a day that the whalers had such a respect for that wild coast which the called „The Seven Icebergs“, referring to seven large glaciers, of course. The coast is still just as wild, but the weather is simply lovely today and it seems to be a pure pleasure place, an arctic Riviera. Amazing colours, dark green slopes near bird cliffs between shining white glaciers with blue crevasses, and all this under a blue sky. Pure pleasure, without any hardships. Extremely enjoyable.