Into the Arctic with Alan Chambers

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.