Day 1: Arrive Longyearbyen – Briefing and town visit
Arrive Longyearbyen, where your driver and transfer car will meet you at the airport for the short drive to the Spitsbergen Guesthouse, on the edge of town. Check-in, rest and have lunch (to your own account) before setting off on an afternoon bus and walking tour of Longyearbyen.
The tour is a chance to gain a greater understanding of life in this most remote northern outpost. You’ll visit the town museum and learn about the history and climate of the archipelago. You’ll be indoors for much of the tour and the sightseeing around town is by bus, so you needn’t get out the polar gear just yet!
In the evening, there will be a short briefing about the dog sled expedition scheduled for the next morning. Dinner is to your own account in town.
Day 2: Longyear Glacier, Ice Cave & Dog Sledding
After breakfast, you will be collected from the Spitsbergen Guesthouse and driven to the dog kennels (12km from Longyearbyen). Once there, you’ll be fitted for outer thermal clothing before setting off. Each sled will take two guests, allowing you to try riding passenger and mushing.
Late morning, you stop at a beautiful ice cave hidden within a glacier—take an hour to explore the cave whilst the dogs rest. During the summer, the ice cave becomes a bubbling meltwater river, while in the winter it is completely frozen over, revealing beautiful ice formations.
After exploring the cave, enjoy a light lunch. Depending on the weather, lunch may be served inside a heated tent until the dogs are ready to move again. By the time you’re finished, they will be well-rested and eager to head back down to the dog yard – and so too, we hope, will you! The return journey is mostly downhill, but you will keep to a steady pace, with time to enjoy the Arctic scenery.
Return to the guesthouse. In the evening, there will be a clothing and kit check with Alan Chambers in preparation for the next day's expedition. Dinner to your own account in town.
Day 3: Polar Expedition with Alan Chambers
Conveniently located near the guesthouse is Alan’s polar store. Before you set off on your two-day expedition onto the ice, you’ll need to load and provision the sleds for the adventure ahead. Snacks and dehydrated meals will be provided.
Alan will help you fit your harness and explain the skills of sledge hauling over the ice. Your skis will be lined with skins so that you can travel safely over any slopes. Don’t be alarmed by the quantity of provisions that you’re expected to carry—with the right equipment, you will be amazed at the load that one person can pull.
Once all of the equipment is loaded, you'll leave town in a jeep and drive east towards Camp Barentz. From there you will ski and sledge haul into the remote Janssondalen, where you set up your Arctic camp under Alan’s guidance. For the next two days and one night you will sledge-haul and camp out on the glacier, in the process experiencing the sort of conditions that are to be encountered on our North Pole expeditions.
At the end of the day’s trek you’ll have a lesson in putting up tents on ice, building snow walls and securing the snow vallances. Then it’s time to prepare the evening meal—Alan will show you how to manage the stoves safely and to heat up the rations for your Polar supper! Whern you’re ready, it’s time for bed—the provided sleeping bags are heavy duty so as to keep you warm even at -50c!
Day 4: Polar Expedition; Return Longyearbyen
After a night on the ice, wake to an early breakfast and set off for the return journey to Longyearbyen.
The exact time you arrive back at the Spitsbergen Guesthouse will depend on the conditions on the glacier and also on the fitness levels of the group, but expect to arrive late afternoon after a full day on the ice. This evening, a celebratory drink and dinner in town.
Day 5: Snowmobile Expedition, Elveneset; Flight Home
After an early breakfast, meet with the group and then transfer to the start-point for your snowmobile expedition. Prior to starting there will be a short introduction to snowmobile driving from your chief snowmobile guide.
This a fantastic adventure, suitable for those with no previous snowmobile experience. During the expedition you will cover approx. 70km of Arctic terrain all the while enjoying phenomenal views of Tempelfjord and the mighty Tempel Mountain. The tour takes you through varied terrain, but isn't technically demanding. Svalbard's impressive landscapes will be on display throughout, and at the turning point, Elveneset, the guides will offer warm drinks and interesting local stories before you head back towards Longyearbyen. The tour lasts approx. 4 hours in total.
NB. to drive you should have a valid car or motorcycle driver’s licence, and this must be kept on you during the trip. Two persons to each snowmobile.
On your return to Longyearbyen, collect your luggage and continue to the airport to connect with the afternoon flight home via Oslo, arriving London the same evening.
Into the Arctic with Alan Chambers
Explore remote Spitsbergen in the company of leading Polar explorer Alan Chambers MBE. This mixed activity holiday includes a two-day expedition onto the Polar ice.
Into the Arctic with Alan Chambers
Journey into the Arctic with leading explorer Alan Chambers MBE on this 5-day Polar expedition. Taking place on the island of Spitsbergen, in the Svalbard Archipelago, you'll experience real expedition conditions as you explore the remote northern outpost of Longyearbyen, camp on a glacier, learn to haul a ice-sled on skis, and go dog sledding and snowmobiling in Templefjorden.
Outline Itinerary
Price guide
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Mt Kenya via the Burguret Route
The local crew and the guide were fantastic; a great group of lads.
