The glacier Elfenbeinbreen (“Ivory glacier”) was crossed for the first time by Martin Conway as part of his route to the east coast in 1896. Not much is left of what Conway gave the proud name „Ivory gate“: large areas where Conway hiked over snow and ice have now turned into immense moraine landscapes. The first two panoramas illustrate the moraine on the west side.
The Elfenbeinbreen moraine on the west side of the glacier (2).
The lower part of Elfenbeinbreen is by now cut off from the main glacier by a large meltwater river and accordingly dead: without connection to the glacier that delivers the ice, it will slowly melt and turn into a muddy moraine landscape.
The moraine landscape on the east side of Elfenbeinbreen is huge and it is growing and growing while the glacier is shrinking due to climate change. From its hills you have great views into Agardhdalen and towards the east coast in Agardhbukta. In clear weather, you can even see Edgeøya in the distance
Huts are places of longing, dreams and adventure in Spitsbergen’s beautiful landscape. Even if the modern visitor’s eye may mostly be directed towards nature, most will have an open ear every now and then for exciting survival stories about explorers and expeditions, adventurers and trappers.
These huts are silent witnesses and and every one of them tells a little part of the whole story. The little book “Svalbardhytter” and the poster that is part of the same project make these fascinating places accessible for everyone.
From remote ruins, just traces in a few cases, to “famous” trapper huts such as Fredheim in Tempelfjord and Bjørneborg on Halvmåneøya, the war weather station Haudegen, the former scientific base Würzburger Hütte on Barentsøya and Hammerfesthuset, Svalbard’s oldest building.