Velkomstpynten – 4th July 2016

Sat
4 Jul
2015

How often do you have the chance to go ashore on the north coast of Spitsbergen? Not in a well sheltered bay or fjord, but on a shore which is neighbouring the North Pole? Not too often. And when you have the opportunity, you have to use it.

The whalers did so already, looking out for whales and ice from these hills. Broken pieces of clay pipes near an old, large cairn may well date back into the 17th century. The land is still largely snow-covered. Big snowfields, wet, heavy snow. Best to make some detours to walk around them. So the kilometres are adding up quickly.

Photo Velkomstpynten – 4th July 2016

The coastal rocks separating small bays, the hills, the whole country – everything is red. Desert sand, more than 350 million years old. Eroded debris of a mountain range washed into the sea ages ago.