Mon
12 Jun
2017
After the recent trip to the arctic islands in the north Atlantic, Lofoten-Bear Island-Spitsbergen, now follows another trip to an arctic island in the north Atlantic, namely Jan Mayen, this wild, little volcanic island northeast of Iceland. Jan Mayen has been a constant highlight of my arctic summer for several years now: wild, beautyful, remote, with lots of places to discover and endless hiking. But it is also a tough and demanding place.
Accommodation is not on a comfortable ship, but in a simple basecamp in tents on volcanic sand which is blown around by the wind. Tons of stones and driftwood logs have to be moved to anchor the tents safely in case of strong winds, which is not at all unusual on Jan Mayen.
I have made my little, high-quality Swedish tent extra storm-proof. Jan Mayen in a tent can be pretty uncomfortable; without a tent, it will not be better.
Gallery – Iceland – Jan Mayen – 12th June, 2017
Click on thumbnail to open an enlarged version of the specific photo.
The expedition to Jan Mayen begins with the trip to Isafjördur, the capital of Icelands’s beautiful fjords in the northwest. I use the sunshine and the remaining hours before departure for a little hike in the surroundings before everybody is getting ready on board SY Aurora.
It is nice to see familiar faces: Skipper Vidar was the Aurora’s mate last year, and glacierman Magnus „Maggi“ had also decided that one ascent of Beerenberg was not enough for him. Mate Sandrine makes the team complete. The whole group comes from Germany this time, all six of them.