The mountain Platåberg ist situated directly west of Longyearbyen and it is what they call the “Hausberg” in German: the mountain next door that you naturally choose for a hike if you just want to go somewhere without putting to much thought into it. It is just natural to go there and many locals do it quite often, more or less year round. Also for tourists it is very popular. A hike up to the plateau usually starts at Skjæringa (the part of Longyearbyen between the church and the power plant). For trained mountain hikers, it is not a big deal to reach the plateau in an altitude of about 400 m. For the less experienced hiker, the rocky terrain and steep slope can actually be quite challenging. And it can be really challenging, if not impossible, when there is snow or the the rocks are covered with ice.
Depending on snow and weather, avalanches can be a hazard, and of course there could be a polar bear anywhere – in 1995, a young woman from Norway was killed by a polar bear on Platåberg, close to Longyearbyen.
For a little hike, people often just go to the cairn (or “varden” in Norwegian). At 300 m altitude, it is quickly reached and it provides a stunning view over Longyearbyen, Adventfjord and Adventdalen. Of course, the view is just getting better as you get further up! In the summer, you will be surprised about all the flowers that grow along the edge of the plateau towards Longyearbyen. The plateau itself is completely covered with frost-shattered rocks, many of them arranged into stone rings and other kinds of frost-patterned ground by the cold climate. It is common to see reindeer and ptarmigan on Platåberg.
my new book is in print and it can now be ordered 🙂 it is a photo book with the title “Norwegens arktischer Norden (3): Die Bäreninsel und Jan Mayen”, with German text Click here for further details!
BOOKS, CALENDAR, POSTCARDS AND MORE
This and other publishing products of the Spitsbergen publishing house in the Spitsbergen-Shop.
Norwegens arktischer Norden (1): Spitzbergen
Photobook: Norway's arctic islands. The text in this book is German. [shop url="https://shop.spitzbergen.de/en/polar-books/70-norwegens-arktischer-norden-1-aerial-arctic-9783937903262.html"] ← Back
Lofoten, Jan Mayen and Spitsbergen from the air - Photobook: Norway's arctic islands. The text in this book is German, but there is very little text, so I am sure that you will enjoy it regardless which languages you read (or not).
The companion book for the Svalbardhytter poster. The poster visualises the diversity of Spitsbergen‘s huts and their stories in a range of Arctic landscapes. The book tells the stories of the huts in three languages.
Comprehensive guidebook about Spitsbergen. Background (wildlife, plants, geology, history etc.), practical information including travelling seasons, how to travel, description of settlements, routes and regions.
Join an exciting journey with dog, skis and tent through the wintery wastes of East Greenland! We were five guys and a dog when we started in Ittoqqortoormiit, the northernmost one of two settlements on Greenland’s east coast.
12 postcards which come in a beautifully designed tray. Beautiful images from South Georgia across Antarctica from the Antarctic Peninsula to the Ross Sea and up to Macquarie Island and Campbell Island.
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.