Travel

Touch the Untouched Arctic Wilderness of Svalbard

The Svalbard archipelago is cold, rugged and beautiful. It is home to polar bears and an international community, and the welcome sign is always out.
- By Pamela Grant With the Arctic Ocean to the north, Norway’s Svalbard Archipelago is one of the most untouched spots on the planet since 60 percent of its land is protected area. Approximately 400 miles off the mainland of Europe and halfway between Norway and the North Pole, the remote islands offer visitors an opportunity to explore a true arctic wilderness that is not polluted, developed, groomed or arbitrarily forced to adapt to humans. This is a land where polar bears lounge, glaciers and fjords display cold beauty, and polar nights glow.

Not surprisingly, Svalbard is covered in snow most of the year. Winter is defined more by weather rather than the calendar, lasting from November to May. The people calling Svalbard home dare to call the climate mild, though people from Florida may consider an average winter temperature of 7 degrees Fahrenheit and an average summer temperature of 43 degrees Fahrenheit a bit chilly.

Dark and cold much of the year, the snow melts in the lowlands during the summer months of June to August when there is daylight around the clock.

Sunrises, Sunsets and a Polar Night
Most residents live in the city of Longyearbyen on the island of Spitsbergen. The remaining hardy souls are miners and scientists living in wilderness areas outside Longyearbyen or on other archipelago islands.

When it is winter, the sun sets by the end of October and is not seen again until February. As if to apologize for dark days, nature rewards those who live and visit here during this time of the year with treats like polar nights with its blue lights and the dancing Northern Lights. The Polar Night between Nov. 14 and Jan. 29 is true dark in which day and night are indistinguishable.

Environmentalists concerned about the protection of food plant life, should there be a global emergency, can thank the Norwegian government for developing and maintaining the Global Seed Vault, located underground in the permafrost. Crates of seeds are delivered here from around the world for safekeeping, and over 4,000 plant species are preserved as seeds. The Global Seed Vault is the responsibility of Norway’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food which works with the Nordic Gene Resource Centre, the Global Crop Diversity Trust and an international council. Cold weather and stored seeds comprise only a minute piece of the Svalbard story.

Svalbard Islands have seven national parks. The Nordvest-Spitsbergen National Park is a good example with its glorious mountain peaks and glaciers. Svalbard and Franz Joseph Land (Russian archipelago) are home to 3,000 impressive polar bears that wander freely. Visitors can catch sight of bears weighing 450 to 1,500+ pounds. Polar bears are struggling to survive due to global warming causing a loss of sea ice habitat. The largest carnivores on earth spend most of their life on drifting ice, and Svalbard is not immune from the consequences of global warming. Ice is melting in the Arctic at an alarming rate, taking with it the polar bear habitat.

Other Svalbard animals feeling the effects of the changing climate include polar foxes, walruses, seals and a variety of birds.

Embracing the Rugged Environmental Wealth
The cold and global warming do not deter visitors who want to experience the Arctic, and there are an amazing number of activities from which to choose. The people of Svalbard embrace their climate with hardiness and a desire to share their environmental wealth. The main requirement for enjoying a trip to Svalbard is a passion for the outdoors.

It is possible to take single or multi-day ski, snowmobile and dog sledge expeditions. A unique experience for most people involves skiing into the wilderness, pitching a tent on a glacier, and counting on husky dogs to stand guard against the polar bears while sleeping. If that sounds a bit too exciting for personal tastes, there are opportunities to take a snowcat safari across the tundra.

Bicyclists can even enjoy their favorite sport by renting a specially designed bike with 4.8-inch wide tires from FatBike Spitsbergen DA. Svalbard only has 24 miles of paved roads so the bikes are built to manage snow, mud, loose rocks and sand. Taking advantage of the short summer is high on residents’ priority lists and they enjoy helping visitors do the same. Go on an expedition, take a hike into the wilderness, enjoy an ATV safari or go fossil hunting, snowmobiling, kayaking, or horseback riding.

Everyone must sleep and relax when not evading polar bears and there are many interesting options for accommodations from which to choose. Guests can stay in a traditional hotel like the Radisson Blu Polar Hotel or try something different from the typical North American hotel. Rent sleeping space on the Basecamp Ship in the Ice, an ice-bound hotel ship; hang a hammock in a husky dog kennel and watch the stars; nab a bed in a hostel; or sleep in a coal miner’s cabin.

Wilderness Elegance
The Svalbard food experience is as varied as the accommodations selection.

The Barentz Pub & Spiseri, Svalbar, and Karlsberger Pub are great spots for meeting the locals. Though Svalbard is the arctic wilderness with a small population, the restaurants could easily compete with elegant mainland establishments. For example, the Funktionærmessen Restaurant serves French cuisine and champagne. The Huset is a restaurant that has Scandinavia’s largest wine cellar with over 20,000 bottles.

An interesting experience is eating local arctic dishes while taking a tour of Longyearbyen in a restaurant bus. People may rough it on their expeditions, but when it is time to enjoy a meal it is all about good food and a comfortable setting. Everyone in the archipelago is an outsider, and they have come from all over the world to work in the mines, do seasonal work, run a local business or to just experience life in the Arctic. There are Norwegians, Russians, Finnish, Danish, Swedish, Swiss, Thai, Japanese and many others. The community finds cohesiveness through traditions like singing the Svalbard national anthem. A resident is anyone who plans on staying for more than six months, but fortunately it does not take that long to experience the rugged Svalbard Archipelago.

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