Hiking in Spitsbergen in the Arctic

The trip begins in the Norwegian town designated as the capital of Svalbard. You’ll find all the conveniences of a modern town, located in a fantastic Arctic landscape.

The history of Longyearbyen is that of a mining town and the heritage of the first mine can be observed.

Boarding the ship anchored in port. Equipment towards the northwest, this area is dotted with islands, fjords and beaches with a long history of exploration.

When Willhelm Barentz discovered Svalbard in 1956, it was the land he noticed first. The name he gave to this new land was Spitzberg, reflecting the steep, imposing mountains of the region. Anchorage in the Bay of Tryghamna.

Ascent of Knuvlen (333 m), dome among the ice. Our first hiking sets the mood of this colorful country. Here abound reindeer and polar foxes dens, where the cubs don’t hesitate to come see hikers. Anchorage in Bloomstrand.

In the morning, landing in the north of the island of Blomstrand.

Ascent of the Irgensfjellet summit at 387 meters, splendid view of the 3 crowns, then crossing on the south shore where Polaris will pick up the group.

Discovery of the old marble mine dated from the beginning of the century, and observation of the skuas which nest there. We can observe polygonal soils. Sailing to the bay of the king and anchorage in Ossian Sarsfjellet.

Landing on the beach of Ossian Sars Fjellet island, a bird reserve.

Easy hike to the colony of kittiwakes and guillemots; you can get very close. The hike continues towards the Kongsbreen glacier, in the middle of a colorful tundra. We admire the glacial lakes and the Kongsbreen (Kings Glacier) with its three nunataks (peaks rising through the ice) Nora, Dana and Svea – in reference to the three Scandinavian countries.

It is in the south of Raudvika that we will find the zodiacs.

Anchorage in Magdelaine bay, the whalers holy patroness.

From there, we start looking for the bears before approaching them by sea. Landing in zodiac  to observe a walrus colony basking on a sandy beach with a great view of Gullibreen glacier. A walk along the beach and on the moraine offer a view of the Calving glacier.

Back aboard the Polaris and sail towards the northwest islands Indre Norskoya. It’s difficult to imagine a more inhospitable coast. Almost everywhere the mountains descend steeply to the sea.

Amongst the 7 glaciers, only the largest reach the sea by their ice front and following their generalized withdrawal, more bands of moraine are formed among these strips of ice and ocean. Anchorage in Sallyhamna.

Ascent of the Indre island peak, at 257 meters, dominated by cairns built by whalers in the XVII century. In this part of the trip, we are located at 79 ° 52 ‘north latitude.

We will approach a puffin colony that nests in cliffs near the summit plateau. Many common eiders and barnacle geese on the shore. Then we move beyond the 80.2 north latitude, we anchor the Polaris using ice screws (if conditions allow) and in an  emotional sequence “we walk on the ice” and climb a hummock! Anchorage in Hamilton bay.

This is where we are most likely to meet polar bears. And every year, one of them spends time with us looking for food. We might observe polar bears before landing on the Alicehamna beach.

Long hike on the  Solanderfjellet summits, at 333 meters and descent along the ridge.

The summit viewpoint offers a vast panorama of the mountains of Spitsbergen and their wonderful world of ice.

Aboard the polaris we head south to enter the Krossfjorden and anchorage in Lillehoofjorden at Signehamna Bay.

After climbing over the bay, this time, it is aboard the Polaris that we will cover the front of the Lillehook glacier and its giant seracs on several kilometers.

Anchorage in July 14th bay (Fjortende Julibukta) and walk on the  July 14th glacier will allow us to see seals sunbathing on an iced deckchair.

Reppingen  ascent at 612 meters, a great day, an unforgettable arctic experience. Anchorage in Prince Karls.

Great crossing of the island from west to east: this multi colored tundra landscape is very different from the last days. The field is often soft and spongy and brings an even wilder atmosphere to these magical lands. And return to Longyearbyen on our last night on the archipelago.