Over the past 3 weeks the weather has been fantastic up here! I've almost been out skiing every day hence why you haven't heard from me for a while. Anyway, around 2 weeks ago it was Longyearbyen's turn to go play sport in Barentsburg in the second leg of the competition. Mathias (my partner in crime up here) and I left a day early on some scooters to hunt down a cabin and do some skiing before the competition. We left around 10am and drove towards Barentsburg for around two hours. After locating the well hidden cabin at the foot of Tungebreen in Grondalen we dumped our gear. It was a great little cabin and was stocked with food, wood and coal. Soon we were off uphill on the skis traversing and icy ridge with large drops on either side. We ski'd down and explored the other side of the valley. Conditions weren't ideal so we had an early dinner and spent the evening in the cosy cabin.
Woke up to bluebird conditions so toured up a nearby mountain. The view from the top was incredible, but contrast quickly dropped and the light was really flat. Mathias ski'd down the face of the mountain, dropping 600m in about a minute. I took the easier route but the restricted visibility and hard packed snow made it so hard. Bailed off by traversing over a big gully which was a little scary. Having seen several groups on their way to Barentsburg from the mountain we packed up and caught up with the party. Driving into to Barentsburg was amazing through all the abandoned buildings and mining equipment. Once in the famous sports centre I was on court for basketball almost immediately - which we won by a mile. Straight after I was crushed in table tennis then ran upstairs for football. Came on and scored a goal then subbed myself off as I was super tired! Volleyball was last on the agenda which we won in the last set with four smaller than net height girls who played amazingly! So, thats it all over - a clear victory for Longyearbyen!
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| Me getting a lesson in table tennis |
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| The basketball team on route to victory |
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| Volleyball team victory |
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| Everyone hurrying to get ready as the Atlantic storms picks up |
Unfortunately we were all unable to stay like last time as a big storm was hitting and would likely trap us in Barentsburg for the next 3 days if we didn't get going. We set off in two teams of 15-20 scooters and headed for Longyearbyen in the whiteout and strong winds. It was pretty crazy driving - luckily we had an experienced guide leading the way. On the last steep section my little scooter looked and sounded like it wasn't going to make it. However to my joy it found some extra gas and climbed up the last section to Longyearbreen above the town. After a few stops, refuels and mishaps everyone was home and having a few victory beers. As it happened there was a large party in UNIS that evening which most of us joined and had a great time!
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