Svalbard Ski & Sail Adventure

What Makes This Trip Special?

The perfect combination and playground for sailing and skiing.

Possibilities to be bagging first descents in some remote untouched Arctic wilderness.

Taking in nature’s majestic beauty from onboard our comfortable vessel.

For those adventurous at heart, ready to explore Spitsbergen Archipelago by boat and skis.

Itinerary

DAY 1

Fly to Longyearbyen, Svalbard from Oslo. Arrival early afternoon (usually one overnight required in Oslo).

DAY 2 - 3

Ski touring day trips close to town of Longyearbyen. Alternative a snowmobile tour to the town of Barensburg, as small Russian mining town.

DAY 4

Potentially another shorter ski touring trip from town or a visit to an ice cave. Arrival day for those participants who chose to participate in the boat trip only. Board and settle into our sail boat before setting off late afternoon. We will sail into Isfjord and anchor for the night.

DAY 5 - 10

We will spend 6 full days exploring the terrain of the West Coast of Spitzbergen. With our sail boat, we have endless of opportunities to move and anchor our boat at desired ski location, and with the use of a zodiac taking us to shore. The sun will be with us for 24 hours which leaves a lot of flexibility for our departures. After each day of skiing we return from the shoreline by zodiak back to our yacht, where we’ll enjoy the comforts of our yacht, finishing our days on the deck enjoying the contrast of the sea and mountains with the everlasting sun above the horizon. We will return to the harbour of Longyearbyen and spend our last evening with a farewell dinner on the boat.

DAY 11

We bid farewell to our yacht and crew in the morning after a final breakfast onboard and head back to the airport. We will fly to Oslo from where we can catch our international connections.

The Skiing

We’ll be skiing on the West coast of Spitzbergen; which is the largest island in the archipelago of Svalbard. It is located half way between Norway and the North Pole, at a latitude of 78º; it is about as far north as its possible to ski in the world. About 70% of Svalbard is covered by glaciers and it is also a wildlife haven, home to a large population of polar bears, reindeer, arctic fox and whales. The coastline of Spitzbergen where this journey is taking us is protected by a long, thin island called Prins Karls Vorland and allows straightforward sea access to dozens of fjords with countless peaks rising 700 to 1200m out of the sea. The only way to reach these glaciated peaks is by boat. 

The spring is the best time of year for skiing in Svalbard. The days are long, and the snowpack is generally well settled. The terrain is amazing, and well suited to all skiers abilities. The conditions can be highly variable and we can be skiing powder, corn snow and everything in between but with a variety of different aspects and terrain to use we can almost always find some great skiing. Given the long days in the spring, there will be no rush with the sun above the horizon 24 hours a day. Due to the presence of polar bears your guides will be carrying bear deterrents and fire arms during our time on land.

Ski Abilities 

Fitness and ski ability should be advanced with some previous ski touring experience. Touring days will be of moderate duration, climbing up to 1500m per day, and between 5 to 9 hours in length. We will have 3 guides on this trip to allow for splitting the group into appropriate levels and cater to everyones needs and desires. Terrain is moderately steep and glaciated with mixed conditions. Ski mountaineering objectives are possible under the right conditions. Most essential is an adventurous spirit with a keen desire to explore the mountains of Svalbard!

The Yacht

We’ll be staying on a 150ft steel hulled Schooner -the Noorderlicht. This is the perfect vessel to support a ski expedition in Svalbard. It’s steel hull allows us to enter ice filled bays and fjords.

It has capacity of 20 guests and 5 crew, equipped  with 10 guest cabins with 2 single bunk bed style births in each room and four shared guest bathrooms each with a hot water shower. It has a small bar, library and 2 salons/ dining rooms. It has a massive deck space which provides lots of space to take in the beauty of the landscape surrounding us. 

The Nooderlicht which means Northern light in deutch, was launched in 1910, and lived several lives before refitted for tourism purposes. A captain, second mate, third mate, cook and expedition coordinator are staffed for this trip to ensure a successful and safe voyage. As a platform to run ski trips she’s perfect, there’s lots of space to organize equipment and pe