At the top of the world, and gateway to the North Pole lies the Svalbard Islands. This is the capital of
Covered in snow and ice in the darkness of winter, the midnight-sun shines here from
Dogsledding while polar bear spotting – cool Norwegian adventure!
Come during late winter, put on your warmest clothes, harness your six mushing Husky dogs and go polar bear spotting. It will be an adventure you will never forget!
On a late winter’s day, the temperature can drop down to -35ºC (-31ºF). Throw a mug of boiling water into the air and it drifts away like snowflakes. The Husky dogs thrive in this cold weather and love racing across the thick snow, while photographers do what they have to do.
Dogsledding is arguably the most exciting winter fun activity that Svalbard offers. Booked at a tour company in town, you will be taken about 5 km (3 mi) out of town early in the early morning to where the kennels are located. There are many beautiful Husky dogs here, each living in its own small wooden doghouse with its name displayed above the entrance.
Your guide will help to pick six dogs and quickly train you on how to harness the dogs. This is tricky as the dogs are overly excited to get running. Hold your dogs firmly, one at a time, and place the harness around them and then clip the leash to the main rope. Once all six dogs are in place, you better quickly jump into your bucket-sled before the dogs leave without you.
Svalbard is an amazing sight during winter. Everything is white, covered in snow and ice.
With two people to a sled, one is sitting in the bucket while your sledding partner (the musher) stands on the back of the sled with the main purpose of controlling the speed by stepping on the snow-brakes. It is crucial to control the dogs as they go as fast as they can down the slopes. Without controlling the speed of the sled it is bound to travel faster than the dogs which will turn out to be catastrophic.
If, and when, the sled over-turns, the dogs won’t stop, so the two passengers must cling to the sled for life or be left without the dogs. You will then have to walk all the way back to the kennels where the dogs will be waiting. Fortunately, the sleds are equipped with a hand-break so when the bucket flips over, just throw the hand-brake into the snow so the sled and dogs will come to an abrupt standstill.
As temperatures go down to -40°C (-40°F) and much lower with the windchill, it is essential to dress very warmly. The adventure travel operators in Longyearbyen are fully equipped so whether you go on a snowmobile, dogsledding, or any other adventure, they have the right jackets and overall jumper suits to guard you against the extreme weather.
GETTING HERE:
From Norway’s capital, Oslo, the daily flight stops at Tromsø in northern Norway to pick up a few more adventure travellers.
.From Tromsø it is a 60 minute flight to the small airport outside the town of Longyearbyen on Spitsbergen Island, Svalbard. An airport bus will be waiting and drop you off at your hotel or guesthouse.
☛ Read more: Lapland – Arctic Norway, Sweden, Finland
Blog post and photos by Peter who has been travelling almost full-time since 2005 and has been to over 122 countries. He visited several countries, such as Japan, more than 20 times. Peter is Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of GlobeRovers Magazine, an independent travel magazine focused on intrepid destinations.