Svalbard - Glaciers and mud (Throwback post)

Zodiac, Svalbard

We awoke on Monday to find that we were passing the huge icy face of Brasvellbreen. Brasvellbreen means sudden advance, named after the ice surged into the sea in the late 1930s.

This glacier joins with the even larger Austfonna (eastern ice cap), and together they create a wall of ice that stretches for 180km, the longest in the Northern hemisphere. Although that was two years ago, and with the ongoing effects of climate change, it may be a bit shorter now; still pretty long though!

BBQ on deck, Svalbard

After breakfast, we passed by Bjornsundet, or Bear Island, where we did see a number of bears, but only from quite a distance. We had planned to land on the island of Wilhelmoya, but there were too many bears around for that to be safe, so we landed on the Spitsbergen mainland instead, next to the Hochstetterbreen glacier. I can't now remember why, but we decided not to do this landing, and thereby managed to avoid getting very muddy. There was a lot of mud to get through, and a few of the group even managed to leave a boot behind. The expedition team did a great job in rescuing people and wellies.

In the evening, while we had a slightly chilly BBQ on deck, and we got someone to take a quick photo of us with our main travelling companions.

Merlin, Svalbard

On Tuesday morning we found we had an additional passenger. The Merlin was taking a rest on deck, probably after a long flight. They are only very seldom recorded in this area, so it prompted a lot of interest from the birding fraternity.

We passed through Freemansundet, the narrow gap between Barentsoya and Edgeoya, and on to a landing at Diskobukta. And no, there was no seventies music or glitterballs.

Kittiwakes, Diskobukta, Svalbard

What they did have was thousands of kittiwakes nesting on the cliffs here, and more arctic foxes looking for a meal. It was nice to see a few cubs out today, learning to hunt for themselves.

As well as the wildlife here, we had the chance to find out a bit about the geology of the area, look at a few skeletal remains, and see a few of the tiny flowers that manage to grow here.

Diskobukta, Svalbard

Diskobukta, Svalbard

Diskobukta, Svalbard

Arctic fox cub, Diskobukta, Svalbard

Arctic fox cub, Diskobukta, Svalbard

Sperm whale, Svalbard

We started Wednesday around the Fram Strait, following the drop off to deeper water. catching sight of fin whales, white beaked dolphins and a sperm whale.


In the afternoon we landed at Hornsund, and took a walk on a glacier called Hansbreen.

Hansbreen glacier, Hornsund, Svalbard

When you see a glacier from a distance, it looks like a pretty solid block of ice, but up close, you can see that in fact it has many huge ravines and crevasses carving through it.


We were only on the edge of this one, and it was relatively smooth and level, but even here you could see how beautiful - and dangerous - they can be.

Hansbreen glacier, Hornsund, Svalbard

Mind you, on this occasion, it wasn't the ice that was catching people out, it was the mud on the way to it. There was a relatively narrow section that we had to pass across, which was incredibly muddy and slippery, and there was a reasonably large and steep drop to one side if you were to fall, and of course as we all went across it, it got muddier and even more slippery.

Kevin and others from the expedition team did a really excellent job of helping us all cross safely over. There were a few slips and falls, but nothing disastrous, albeit Kevin in particular looked like he had been wallowing in the mud by the time he had got us all back.

Hansbreen glacier, Hornsund, Svalbard

Hansbreen glacier, Hornsund, Svalbard

Hansbreen glacier, Hornsund, Svalbard

Hansbreen glacier, Hornsund, Svalbard

Hansbreen glacier, Hornsund, Svalbard

Svalbard

Towel art, Svalbard