03.27.2024
Follow Norrøna Adventure's "Crossing Svalbard from South to North" trip in 2024. Joining the trip are Olga, Jan Morten, Ole Tom, Håvard, Jordi, Ulf and Thea, with guide Torbjørn and intern Johanne, who together will cross Svalbard from south to north over the course of a month. We keep our fingers crossed for good weather and wish them good luck!
The trip will start with packing in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, on April 8th and 9th. Then, on April 10th, they will head into the wilderness, going south. They will likely get picked up around May 9th or 10th at Verlegenhuken in the North.
If you want to know more about this trip, you can check out the trip page for more information and see our 2025 dates online.
Link to "Crossing Svalbard, South to North" here.
Day 1 - April 8th:
The journey has begun! The team met in Longyearbyen at 3 PM today for a final review of the route and equipment, and they're starting to pack for the next 31 days. During the winter gathering at Finse, they went through some training on how to act on a trip like this and glacier rescue techniques, and they were given some homework. So they had a final review and dry run before they head out into the field
Day 2 - April 9th:
Most of the equipment was reviewed and packed yesterday, so today's agenda includes packing the food and depots. It's planned to have two depots along the route. The sleds are loaded with food for the first 14 days, then there are 8 days of supplies in depot 1 and the remaining 11 days in depot 2. The approximate weight of the sleds at the start is between 60 kg and 80 kg (depending on how many snacks and personal items they have chosen to bring).
Day 3 - April 10th:
Today's the day! Departure with the snowmobiles is at 9 AM from Longyearbyen. It will be about 4-5 hours of snowmobile driving down to the national park border in the south. Along the way, they stop to bury depot 1 near Sysselmesterbreen. At the national park border, they can't ride the snowmobiles any further, so now they'll strap on skis and sleds, and the journey is truly underway. From here, it's about 120 km to Sørneset, the southernmost point of the trip. Then it's just turning around and going back up the same way, but heading north. The plan is to ski for 4-5 hours before setting up the first camp of the trip today. A nice and calm start to a 31-day, approximately 650 km long journey.
Update:
The snowmobiles left Longyearbyen at 11 AM and arrived around 4 PM. They skied for about 3 hours in good weather before setting up camp.
Day 4 - April 11th:
Now they're finally underway for real. The first full day of the journey. The weather was brilliant, with -15°C, excellent conditions, and a happy group. They started at 9 o'clock and skied until around 5.
Day 5 - April 12th:
This day started like yesterday with great weather and good spirits. Again, they set off around 9 and pitched camp around 5-6 o'clock. Then the wind picked up, so it was important to secure the camp well.
Day 6 - April 13th:
Today the weather wasn't on the group's side, unfortunately. With strong winds and even worse forecasts for the direction they were supposed to go, it was decided that they would stay weatherbound for the day.
Day 7 - April 14th:
Håvard was unfortunately flown out this day due to a bad back.
The weather forecast for the next couple of days looks similar to today, so there will likely be a few more days of being weatherbound. Tuesday's weather looks better.
Despite the challenges, the group is doing well both physically and mentally.
Day 8 - April 15th:
The group set out in fantastic weather and was super motivated to finally move forward. They sped down towards the "polar bear highway" - Hornsund, but saw no bears. They did 24.6 km before setting up camp. It was a cold day, minus 27 degrees Celsius. Torbjørn had some bad freeze dried food that came back up, but he felt okay afterward. They camped on the Skyroabreen.
Day 9 - April 16th:
Beautiful day, blue skies. Still cold. The group is excited and ready to get past Isbukta. The walking is slow and heavy, but it's sunny and there is no wind at Skilfonna. Not much glide on the hard wind-transported snow. They had lunch just before stepping onto the ice. Lots of ice and no bears. They covered 26.5 km that day. Camped at the start of Sørkappfonna with a view of Haitanna from the toilet. Can't complain! Had dinner and hot chocolate in the evening
Day 10 - April 17th:
Woke up to snow and wind. They set off at 9 am, and the wind picked up more and more after that. Key words for the day: whiteout, sastrugi, and sled that fell over. Ulf broke his ski, so he walked half the day by foot, it worked out well in this terrain. Limited visibility, lots of wind, and plenty of snow in the air resulted in that they set up camp after 11 km. Bad weather forecast from Thursday afternoon, so a decision was made today. They will not go all the way to Sørneset, but will stop 10 km away and turn North. They can't afford to get stuck here considering their fuel and food supplies.
Day 11 - April 18th:
Delayed start due to the weather. It blew a lot during the night, but the tents stood with double poles. Now they're heading North again, and the group needs to find a sheltered place from the upcoming storm. They're anxious to see how far they can get today. The wind is expected to pick up around 2:00 PM.
Update: It feels odd to head North again, but they retraced their steps for 11 km back to the old camp. Everyone is happy despite the wind, and smiles can be seen under goggles, face masks, and hoods.
Day 12 - April 19th:
The group feared they might get stuck due to the weather again, but they ventured out into the wind. The weather turned out to be better than expected. They did 25 km, across isbukta and almost back to the camp they had on the way South on the Sykorabreen.
Day 13 - April 20th:
There was a lot of wind in the morning, so the group stayed in the tents until 1 PM. Then they set off, navigating by compass throughout the day. They traveled in roped teams across the crevasses on the Sykorabreen. It turned into a late evening, arriving at camp at 10:30 PM. After covering 24 km today, the group was very pleased as they crawled into their sleeping bags.
Day 14 - April 21th:
The day starts with no wind, and the jackets are quickly shed - absolutely beautiful! Johanne served cake accompanied by poetry during the third break. Then the wind picked up again, and it turns mild, reaching 4 degrees Celsius. The rest of the day is marked by whiteout conditions and navigation by compass, with sideways rain/sleet and super sticky terrain. "Arctic desert," people said, but there’s little here that reminds of a desert. Still, spirits are high. 24 km covered today. Soon, they will be back at the starting point.
Day 15 - April 22th:
Rough start with an uphill climb. 500 meters of elevation gain up Sysselmannsbreen. Reward at the top with a depot that was put here on the way South and a group full of cheers. Then 500 meters of elevation loss and the sun came out. What a day!
Day 16 - April 23th:
Finally better weather, even though it was windy and mild, but fortunately no precipitation as forecasted. Down Narthosbreen and through meltwater channels and moraines before camping in Stenstrupdalen. They covered 30 km. The weather forecast ahead looks promising.
Day 17 - April 24th:
Started the day with a 10 km crossing of Van Mienfjorden before we turned into Reindalen, which was bathed in sunlight. Met two nice officers from the Governor's office. The total distance today was 27 km. Unfortunately, Ole Tom had to be evacuated today after a long time with severe stomach pains. Thankfully, it was nothing serious, but it was not possible to continue an expedition with such pain.
Grandfather Jan Morten sends greetings to Aksel and Oscar.
Day 18 - April 25th:
Woke up to great weather and a bit of wind after a night of polar bear watch in Reindalen. "Unfortunately" no bear, just countless reindeer. There's little snow in Reindalen and the snow cover is hard, but we are glad we don’t have to plow through snow. Reindalen is looooong. From camp, it looks like a stone's throw up to the glacier we're headed for, but in reality, it's 18 km. We had lunch in the "sunwall" sheltered from the wind with an Easter atmosphere. At the end of Kokbreen, we also found an ice cave we visited. It's incredible how the meltwater can create channels like that, and a cave the size of two medium-sized Oslo apartments. Amazing snow crystals on the ceiling and blue hues from the ice. We could have stayed there a long time, but we needed to ascend, up Kokbreen and 750 meters above sea level ahead of us. The plan was to reach 500 meters above sea level today, and we managed that. Slowly but surely, we snaked our way up in the evening sun and fortunately on hard snow that supported both us and the sled. Camp was set up at 9 PM (-10°C) after 27 km. Some sore Achilles and tired bodies after the uphill, but otherwise all good.
Day 19 - April 26th:
Woke up to no wind and not a cloud in the sky. It’s time to slather on SPF 50 because today it's going to be hot. We did the last last 250 meters elevation and 4 km, before we can descend 9 km down Dønnbreen. It's incredible how much speed you can get on the packed snow, and there are countless tumbles and falls with the sleds, but no injuries. At the bottom, lunch awaits in the blazing sun and we took our time today. Almost the entire day has been spent in just base layers, and everyone has got some distinct tan lines from glasses and hats today. We deserve it after the weather we had in the south. Down on the flat, we are in the main area for snowmobiles in Adventdalen and we notice we are not far from civilization. We look over at Operafjellet and know Longyearbyen lies at its base, but no one wants to head there yet. We amble along, waving to the passing snowmobiles. Camp was set at 6 PM after 24 km in Eskerdalen. We didn’t want to go further since tomorrow we will receive our last supply drop from the team crossing Svalbard East to West, who will pass us as they head out to the east coast with their snowmobiles. Now, we’ve caught up to the planned depot stop, originally not due for another 4-5 days, but we're ready at the depot site now, so it’s nice to know we’ve made up for what we "lost" to bad weather in the south. Now, we truly look North and keep our fingers crossed that the weather, sea ice, and our bodies hold up.
Day 20 - April 27th:
The group arrives at depot number 2 and they break out in happy cheering. However, the joy somewhat diminishes as they consider how heavy the sleds will become and that they actually don’t need this food for another 5 days. Today, they traveled from Eskerdalen to Sassendalen and passed by Villa Fretheim, where they were fortunate to be invited inside for warmth and carrot cake by some friendly folks from Longyearbyen. Today they covered 23 km. The weather was overcast and mild. Camp at Cape Schoultz.
Day 21 - April 28th:
Another night with polar bear watch, this time on the beautiful Tempelfjorden. No bears in sight, but plenty of foxes. By the glacier edge at Tunabreen, the group found a fantastic ice cave before they roped together to cross a meltwater channel/crevasse. They climbed 550 meters in elevation up Bogebreen on their way to the glacier plateau. The plan is to follow this plateau all the way north. 22 km today. Sticky snow conditions, overcast, and a bit of snow.
Day 22 - April 29th:
The day started with strong momentum in a whiteout, the third day in a row. At lunch, Torbjørn announced that we need to reroute due to challenges with little snow in Adventdalen, which is necessary for driving out of Longyearbyen to pick up the group. The group has therefore headed west down the magnificent Harkerbreen towards Widjefjorden. The plan now is to make a loop and end in Pyramiden for extraction by boat on the sea ice. It won’t be Verlegerhuken all the way North, but the mood is still good. Regards from the guys Ulf, Jordi, and Jan Morten.
Day 23 - April 30th:
Whiteout, 24 km, and a landscape reminiscent of Greenland up here on the Lomonosovfonna. Moist air and frost crystals. Last night, the trip flare was set off due to the frost, so we at least got to check that it worked. Everyone woke up, and fortunately, there was no bear.
Day 25 - May 2nd:
Down from Harketbreen and Stubendorbreen, a fantastic valley with mountains reminiscent of Chamonix and the Alps. It was difficult to descend due to little snow and a lot of blue ice. After some carrying of pulks, we managed to get down from the moraine and onto Austfjorden. We went to the old trapping cabin, Austbotnhytta. Three slept in the cabin, one on the roof, two in a tent, and one under the blue sky. Many bear tracks, but no bear.
Day 26 - May 3rd:
Woke up to another beautiful weather day, the sun already warming from the morning and a slightly delayed start now that we have more time. 12 km across the ice to Overgangshytta. Lunch in the sunny wall. Camp was made on the beach not far from Mittaglefflerbreen. Here we are enjoying a fire and driftwood with a view towards the glacier front. :)
Day 27 - May 4th:
Woke up to a cool north wind on the beach after a night under the open sky. Went up Mittag-Leffler Glacier. Camp right by Terantellen. Did 19 km today.
Day 28 - May 5th:
Started with a 1.5 km uphill to Ragnarbreen. Then down to Petuniabukta and settled in at Eddahytta. An old trapping cabin from 1928. Here, three slept inside and the rest outside in tents. Fun to check out old trapping cabins and the history around them. Tomorrow, we aim to head over to Pyramiden.
Day 29 - May 6th:
10 km past Petuniabukta and into Pyramiden. What a place! So exciting to peek into old buildings and imagine life here back in the day. Camp at the old football field.
Day 30 - May 7th:
Today we left the sleds behind and went for a hike to a waterfall about 10 km outside of Pyramiden. Nice to stride along without a sled.
Day 31 - May 8th:
Today we packed up the camp and set course towards the ice edge. Last full day on the trip. Imagine that. The trip's last camp was on a headland where we have a view of the ice edge where we hope to be picked up tomorrow. Now we are sitting here by the fire, enjoying our last evening together on the trip. The weather and the view are impeccable, Svalbard and Billefjorden are showing their best side tonight.
Day 32 - May 9th
The group was picked up after nervously waiting at the ice edge for 3 hours while watching MS Billefjorden struggle through the pack ice for dear life. It eventually worked out, and they were met by a boat full of people who were fascinated by the 7 individuals who had been wandering around Svalbard for 30 days. Food was served to cheers all around - finally something other than freeze dried food! Even after a fair amount of coffee, everyone managed a nap before they returned to civilization around 6:30 PM. Then it was straight to the shower to try and wash off 30 days of sweat and sunscreen before a nice dinner and a farewell gathering at Kroa awaited. With tan lines and big smiles, the group thanks everyone for the trip and the adventure they shared together.