Skiing on Svalbard

Skiing on Svalbard

Hello everyone, it's Felix here – with a few words about my favourite leisure activity on Svalbard: skiing. No not the sort of skiing you'd do in a resort like Glencoe, Aviemore or Chamonix – the sheer absence of skiing lifts would make this difficult. Here on Spitzbergen, muscles replace the cable car and we have to hike up the mountains using sophisticated bindings and mohair skins on the skis. This definitely makes for a good work-out, not least because my skis, bindings and boots add about 7-10kg (15-22lb) to the standard hiking gear.

While the ascents can be long and exhausting, the first reward is the summit – even though temperatures of -25° and beyond kept us from hanging out very long despite the beautiful view. THere is always enough time for a cup of tea and a photo, though.

The best part about the additional weight of skis, however, is the ride down — occasionally even in powder snow. The winds on Svalbard (tomorrow we are expecting a full storm) unfortunately blow away and compact the snow most of the time. Therefore, the skiing conditions is sometimes remarkable similar to snowcat-groomed pistes of the Alps. Below, there is a short movie clip of Mathias skiing down a ravine near Nybyen – thanks to Sam for the footage and sorry about the quality, the internet seams to compress the movie massively.