Dr. P went to Svalbard in the high Arctic above Norway in April of 2022 to search for polar bears and other Arctic wildlife. As opposed to using a boat to cruise the open fjords, he used a snowmobile on the frozen fjords to get around. The stark beauty of the Arctic in the spring when it is still snow-covered, with frozen fjords and with 24 hours of daylight, was reward enough. Being out in the elements, around polar bears and other Arctic wildlife, on specialized Arctic snowmobiles made in Finland, with like-minded people, added to the adventure.
The pristine beauty of the Arctic with nobody else around was worth the price of admission
We encountered polar bears up close like this collared female. Before Dr. P shows more polar bear pictures we need to go over a few more details on how he got this close to a polar bear that was 30 yards away.
Alright, if you insist, here is one more wildlife photo, an Arctic fox that was more curious about us than we were about him
Location
Our trip was in a location called Svalbard, part of Norway, and only 600 miles south of the North Pole.
Most people go to the Arctic in the summer for obvious reasons. Not this time, as you can visualize from the completely snow-covered ground as we land in the city of Longyearbyen, Svalbard.
You can see Longyearbyen, the city we started from on our journey, in the center
Our route on snowmobiles, starting at the city of Longyearbyen
The red circle on the bottom is Longyearbyen
The next red circle to the right is where we stopped to visit ice caves under a glacier
Continuing up and to the left is the abandoned Russian mine at Pyramiden where we stayed
The far left circle is where the Arctic fox investigated us as we observed polar bears in the distance
You can learn more about what it is like to go to Svalbard from Dr. P’s summer 2012 Arctic trip. Dr. P also went to Svalbard in the summer of 2024. And if that is not enough polar bear exposure, he went Canada near Hudson Bay in the fall of 2024 as the bears migrated North. Those trips will posted soon, her are a few teasers.
From the summer 2024 Svalbard trip
From the fall 2024 Canada trip
Group
We went with Roie Galitz of Phototeva, along with the excellent guides of the Polar X company based in Svalbard. Roie and the guides were very professional (and fun), and were a big part of making this trip a success.
Our group with Roie on the left, then Dr. P, Dr. C, and Mike (the Aussie guy)
Our Outstanding Guides
Aaran was our head guide
Jonathan, our equally qualified assistant guide, hanging out and observing for Arctic wildlife
Lets surprise them and put the camera in their faces and make them tell us a bit more about themselves
Our guides scanned for polar bears constantly with their binoculars
Aaron and Jonathan had “eagle eyes”, and could spot the white polar bears on the white ice from long distances away
Polar Clothing
Many layers of clothing are needed in the freezing temperatures and the wind chill when riding a snowmobile. We were given a list of polar head-gear, gloves, and socks to purchase for the trip, and we were glad we did because they worked. In spite of this, the cold-weather clothes we brought were not enough. As part of the trip we were given special (meaning heavy) one piece overalls that kept us warm from the wind chill of a moving snowmobile. By the time we were done dressing we were wearing 6 layers!
Our labeled one-piece suits were waiting for us upon arrival
All suited up and ready to get our snowmobiles
The Snowmobiles
We used special polar snowmobiles made in Finland called Lynx. They were quite powerful, and after several hours of riding over fjords and snow-covered mountains we were beat at the end of the day. Where is my Tylenol?
All packed up with camera gear and ready to ride
Once we were able to show Jonathan that we could drive these powerful Arctic snowmobiles without tipping over, we drove them for 15 minutes and then did an equipment check. This was to make sure there was no exposed skin that could become frostbitten.
During this stop Aaron gave us a heads-up on our ride for the next 5 hours.
We drove across frozen fjords that have open water in the summer. That is a glacier in the background.
Before we went across a frozen fjord Aaron would check to make sure the ice was thick enough. That is the same glacier in the background.
In the next post we will look at more details on our route that first day to get to our hotel at Pyramiden.