Logistics
What does it take to spend a month in the wild?
The logistics of this expedition is divided into two parts: the drop off/pick up, and the ski expedition itself.
1. Drop-off and Pick-up:
There are two ways to cover big distances quickly in the Arctic Spring: if there is no sea ice, boats work very well. The second option is to use snowmobiles that travel on land. In order to get to the correct starting point we'll need to use one or the other. As our expedition is carbon neutral, we will offset these emissions. Read more our page "Carbon Offsetting".
2. The Ski Expedition
We will attempt to cover 450 km on skis, pulling a pulka with all our gear. This gives us a minimum weekly distance of 113 km. This is manageable, but remember that we have quite a bit of science to do at the same time! So some days will be more "ski" heavy, and some days will be more "science" heavy.
Camping:
We will be carrying tents and all necessary camping equipment with us. We don't intend to rely on cabins for accommodation.
Food:
When it comes to food, we can organise depots in Pyramiden and in Svea. As opposed to more "normal" expeditions, our pulkas will not keep getting lighter along the way because you eat the food you're carrying, we will actually keep adding snow samples in the pulkas. So food depots would allow us not to carry too much food in the first place.
Polar Bears:
Svalbard is home to about 3000 polar bears. In the field, we will have to be armed just in case, and always be on our guard. We are planning to take two polar dogs with us. There are your best ally in these regions, and can smell a bear a long way away.
