Snowmobiling in Svalbard
My trip to Svalbard would not have been complete without trying some of the Arctic's popular outdoor activities.
During my recent journey to Svalbard and Longyearbyen, our expedition group scheduled some time for snowmobiling. Everyone in Svalbard drives snowmobiles. When the Arctic landscape is covered by snow, riding snowmobiles becomes a way of life, and a wonderful opportunity to see the majestic nature and amazing sights.
Here are more photos from our trip.
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- Because of our travel schedule, we headed out early in the morning to ride snowmobiles. Here I am waving in frigid cold temperatures.
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- One of the photographers on our trip, Michael Poliza, went up on a hill to capture this photo of our group. The ground in Svalbard is permafrost, which means the soil is permanently frozen year round. In Longyearbyen the permafrost can reach about 130-feet deep. (Photo by Michael Poliza)
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- I drove this snowmobile and had a blast. There are no roads outside of the settlements of Longyearbyen, Barentsburg and Ny-Ålesund and the roads do not connect the settlements with each other. Snowmobiles, called snow scooters in Svalbard, are crucial for transportation during the long winter months. (Photo by Michael Poliza)
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- We had so much fun snowmobiling on the open landscape. I am the one in the middle. Behind us, you can see just a glimmer of light coming through the mountains. (Photo by Michael Poliza)
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- And here we are – look, one hand! The weather was pretty typical here for a winter’s day; however, while we were snowmobiling there was a blizzard. (Photo by Michael Poliza)
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- Here we are on one of the Arctic Svalbard glaciers. In front of us is a hole – the entrance to an ice cave. Svalbard’s glaciers contain countless passages formed by the melted waters leading to these fascinating ice caves. Normally you can walk around the cave but there was so much snow on this day we didn’t dare climb down. (Photo by Michael Poliza)
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- Here is a closer look at the hole to the cave. (Photo by Michael Poliza)
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- Here is our group as we left the glacier and headed back to Longyearbyen. The entire adventure took about two hours. We were able to see some daylight on our way back. There’s a saying that Svalbard has five seasons: spring, summer, autumn and then two winters, the dark and the light. The dark winter, or polar night, when the sun doesn’t rise above the horizon at all, is followed by a period of twilight in February and early March. (Photo by Michael Poliza)
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- The land is mostly level, so it was easy to drive the snowy terrain and take in the beautiful sights. (Photo by Michael Poliza)
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- Snow typically covers the area from November to March. The warmest temperature ever recorded in Longyearbyen was 70-degrees Fahrenheit in July 1979 and the coldest was negative-51 degrees Fahrenheit in March 1986. (Photo by Michael Poliza)
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- Snowmobiles are a popular and important mode of transportation and there are more snowmobiles than residents in Longyearbyen.
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- Here I am posing for another quick photo after our snowmobile ride. (Photo by Michael Poliza)
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- And here I am with Heather – we both had a wonderful time. I have driven snowmobiles many times before, but this was Heather’s first time – but probably not her last. (Photo by Michael Poliza)
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- Another common and important mode of transportation in remote Svalbard is dogsledding. We visited some of the huskies at Green Dog Svalbard. They were all very friendly and beautiful and extremely happy to greet all the visitors. (Photo by Michael Poliza)
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- These dogs are Alaskan Huskies – a mixed breed based on the North American Indian dog. They are robust, extremely social and friendly with an extreme desire to work. (Photo by Michael Poliza)
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- Here is one of the dogs with Terre. These dogs have beautiful, warm, double coats and a tough mentality. And they are not bothered by the cold, often preferring to stay outdoors where they also have individual shelters. (Photo by Michael Poliza)
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- Here is another member of our expedition group, Vanessa Avery – a producer and filmmaker from San Francisco. She loved visiting with the dogs.
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- Some of us gathered for another group photo. Here I am joined by Eric Chang, owner of Green Dog, Karina Bernlow, two of our guides, Terre, Heather, and Didem Foss. (Photo by Michael Poliza)
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- Here is Joe behind a sled – ready to mush.
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- Here are Ina Marie Bagne, Michele Burns, Aleksandra Orbeck Nilssen, Olivia Ericson, and Emilie Stordalen, the daughter of Petter Stordalen, who owns The Thief Hotel in Oslo.
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- These sleds hold up to two people for a team of dogs and we did not venture far. All the dogs are extremely strong and are always ready to work. And don’t worry – they are stopped several times to rest. Longyearbyen is a very dog-friendly and animal friendly area. In fact, they don’t allow cats in Longyearbyen, so there is no threat to the area’s natural bird population.
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- Clinton Misamore, another group member, helped lead the organization of the trip.
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- Longyearbyen is the administrative centre of Svalbard, Norway with a population of about two-thousand residents. Known as Longyear City until 1926, the town was established by and named after American John Munro Longyear, whose Arctic Coal Company started coal mining operations in 1906. (Photo by Michael Poliza)
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- The streets of Longyearbyen do not have names – they simply go by numbers. It is a very small town.
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- Longyearbyen is divided into several neighborhoods. On the west side of the river, along the bay, lies the port and affiliated utility and industrial services. The western part of this area is called Bykaia and the eastern part Sjøområdet. Above lies Skjæringa, the site of the Governor’s offices. And slightly up the valley on the west side lies Gamle Longyearbyen or “Old Longyearbyen” and the church. (Photo by Michael Poliza)
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- Here is Aleksandra doing some outdoor yoga. Aleksandra is a Norwegian conservationist living in Nambia. Doing a little yoga was a nice way to end a busy and activity filled morning in Svalbard.
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