Glacier Hike
Trip Start
Jun 30, 2008
1
9
21
Trip End
Jul 21, 2008
Longyearbyen,
Svalbard and Jan Mayen,
Norway
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
The tour guide came around 9:30. Her name was Martine, I think. Two other people were on the trip. Both were staying in Guesthouse 102: Naipa (from Thailand) and Martin (from the Netherlands). If you leave Longyearbyen, you are required by law to carry at least one rifle in the group. This is for protection against polar bears. Our guide carried a .306. The guide service also provided gaiters to the participants. These are handy when crossing streams and sloshing through wet snow. I had on longjohns, a fleece, my Theta jacket, my new eVent pants, wool socks, waterproof hiking boots, heavy gloves, and a wool hat. This proved to be way too much and I ended up taking off my Theta jacket, hat, and putting on lighter gloves.
Our little group started walking to the glacier straight from Guesthouse 102. The rubble in front of the glacier was loose rock and gravel, cut by runoff streams. We were soon walking up the slope along a stream. At one point we were going to attempt to cross the stream and were told to pick up rocks to use as stepping stones. So, we each hauled a rather heavy rock over to the stream. The water proved to be running too fast and deep, so we ditched the rocks and continued up on the same side.
Soon we were in wet and heavy snow. We worked our way up a ravine and up onto the Larsbreen. Along the way we saw the entrance to an ice cave. In the summer, tours inside the cave are given, but in summer the cave is not stable. That ice cave is the only ice cave in the world where public tours are given. The Larsbreen and the Longyearbreen are frozen to the ground and it is so cold year around that the glaciers remain stable.
We walked on top of the Larsbreen for a while. We did not need crampons, probes, ropes, or other glacial equipment because we were walking on snow and the glaciers do not move. Along the side of the glacier was lots of loose rock and steep slopes. We eventually veered off to the right and up on to the slope. It was a bit tricky picking our way over the loose rock.
Eventually, we got far enough up the glacier that we made an ascent on the mountain that divides the Larsbreen and the Longyearbreen. The mountain slope was really steep - it was close to 45 or 50 degrees. It was covered in loose rock with a few patches of lichen-covered ground. It was slow going and we couldn't make a direct line up the slope. We zig-zagged our way up to try to mitigate some of the angle. We took a few breaks, but eventually made it to the top.
At the top there is a small stone cairn with a metal box on it. In the metal box there is a logbook containing the names of everyone who has made it that far. We signed our names and then broke out lunch. The guide service provided hot water, juice concentrate, dried coffee, cookies, and candy bars. I had also made a sandwich at breakfast, which I promptly ate. I took the opportunity to take out my D80 and get a few shots. On the way up I had my small Canon SD800 with me and didn't bother with the big camera.
While we were resting, the guide told us a little about the geography and some stories. The mountains in the area, including the one we were one, are flat. This is because they are relatively new and haven't been eroded yet. Contrast that with some of the mountains further north that are more eroded and have a spiky appearance. The name "Spitsbergen" means something like "spike mountain".
The guide also told us the reason for the law about carrying a rifle outside of the settlement. In 1996, two women were hiking up on the mountain just to our north. They encountered a polar bear up there. One of the women jumped off a cliff and was injured, but survived. The other women tried to run, but the polar bear attacked her and killed her. Even though polar bears are rare around Longyearbyen, since that attack people have been required to carry a rifle outside of the city.
After we had rested, we packed up our stuff and started heading down the other side of the mountain. The slope was too steep to do a direct descent, so we headed southwest a bit more on top of the mountain until we hit Longyearbreen. Then we angled back around and headed down the glacier and toward town.
The route was very snowy. A couple of points along the way the guide told us we could slide down on our butts. This was a perfect opportunity to see how my new eVent pants worked so down I went. It was pretty steep on some pitches and I picked up a supprising amount of speed. My butt and legs stayed perfectly dry.
Eventually we started to hit some moraines. We poked around in the rocks and looked for fossils of plants. We found a few leaves that were pretty neat. It is allowed to take a small rock, so I picked up one with some fossilized material in it. Soon we were off of Longyearbreen. We continued on and worked our way down to a runoff stream, which we jumped over.
On the way back to Guesthouse 102, we came across the old "dog yard". Dogs are not allowed in Longyearbyen because they are too noisy. So, they are kept in a kennel or "dog yard" on the outskirts. We also came across an old mining facility that is nothing more than a slab of cement with a bunch of debris surrounding it. The debris cannot be picked up because there is a law forbidding anyone to disturb anything man-made that was there before 1946. They want to preserve the culture of the area. But now people do not know what is "cultural" trash and what is just regular rubbish so a lot of garbage is just left out. An interesting situation where a law that does good and is needed ends up creating a lot of problems. There is quite a bit of trash laying around and in the runoff streams in particular in the area.
We made it back to Guesthouse 102. I got out of my hiking clothes and grabbed my laptop. I headed down to Longyearbyen and wandered around through some of the souvenir shops. I picked up a few things and then went to the library to take care of some online business.
