An Inadvertent Adventure in the Northern-most Arctic Tundra

This week (the Thanksgiving holiday week in 2024), we visited northern Norway and Svalbard to experience the Polar Nights (continuous nights with no sunrises or sunsets).

Our ice-caving hike early this week began as "yet another tour" on a list of Arctic experiences — snowmobiling, dog sledding, and exploring under the enchanting polar nights. Whale watching was out due to the season, and kayaking here wasn't an option (we ended up doing it in Tromsø), so ice-caving seemed like the perfect choice. We expected it to be a challenging but manageable adventure. However, it turned out to be a mini "Arctic expedition" in a box, far beyond what we had envisioned and signed up for!

[IMAGE: Map of Glaciers Close to Longyearbyen, Svalbard]

About 20 minutes in, we realized the difficulty level was far higher than expected. We were slower than the rest of the group. Although I knew and told her that she could manage the hike, Neeta made the difficult decision to leave, recognizing the need to maintain a group pace necessary to complete the route in time. Unfortunately, since no one could continue without the guide, and the two of us couldn't go back alone, the group (there were two more couples) had to return to the trailhead to regroup before starting again. Neeta urged me to go alone, and she headed back to the hotel.

Note: We were in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, the northernmost town in the world. Access beyond Longyearbyen comes with strict safety requirements. There is a distinctive white silhouette of a polar bear on a black triangular sign, serving as a "Laxman Rekha," indicating a real and present danger. Civilians cannot enter the wilderness without proper equipment like a rifle and flare gun to protect against polar bears. Like all residents of Svalbard, our guide carried these essentials, and the group had to stay together at all times for safety. This is why everyone had to return to the start of the trailhead to have Neeta picked up.

Back on the route again, the trail became a test of endurance, with temperatures at 7°F (-14°C), blowing Arctic winds, and drifting snow. The terrain shifted unpredictably — from slippery ice-covered moraine to stretches of calf-deep snow where our feet would suddenly sink. Given the dark polar nights in Svalbard, the darkness was an additional hazard compounding the weather woes.

This was no ordinary hike; it was a full-blown expedition through the unforgiving Arctic.

The full route, about 6+ miles (10 km) round trip, took us from the terminal moraine, through a tunnel formed by a water flow, across the lateral moraine, and finally to the ice cave in the Larsbreen Glacier, part of the Adventfjorden valley.

[IMAGE: Interesting shapes & textures inside the glacier]

Inside the glacier's icy belly, the shapes and landscape were mesmerizing — an alien world of shimmering ice frozen in time. The intricate formations, weird shapes, and textures were a stark contrast to the rugged journey through the stormy, windy snow in the world above. It genuinely gave the impression of being swallowed inside the icy intestines of a beast (the slithering glacier) — something you might conjure up in a Disney movie like Frozen.

There was a section with a ladder, reminding me of the journey to Everest Base Camp and the many perils of traversing the Khumbu glacier using ladders. Fortunately, this was not (fingers crossed) an unstable part of the most dangerous Ice Fall region of Khumbu!

[IMAGE: Crawling through a tight space with an icy ceiling]

The return trek, retracing our steps through the Arctic wilderness, was demanding but filled with a quiet sense of accomplishment. The total hike was less than 6 hours but reminded me of our Himalayan adventures that used to span multiple days and weeks.

[IMAGE: The iconic polar bear warning sign in Svalbard]

And an obligatory selfie at the Svalbard town border, at the iconic polar bear warning sign.

More photos can be found here.