Svalbard and Spitsbergen, names that smell of adventure! This is the wilderness where great men like Nansen, Amundsen, Nobile and Andreé spent time and effort in their quest for being the first to reach the North Pole. The archipelago was discovered at the end of the 16^th century by Dutch navigator and explorer Wilhelm Barentsz. He named it Spitzbergen on account of the pointy peaks on the west coast of the island. The name Svalbard comes from the Icelandic saga´s and means Cold coasts. Today Svalbard is the name used for the entire high arctic archipelago, whereas Spitsbergen refers to the main island of the archipeago.

There is no other way of putting it: This is a full-on skiing expedition! In terms of nature and wilderness it is almost an all inclusive tour.

The program starts in Longyearbyen where final preparations are made before we leave. Our first stage of the expedition is to get from Longyearbyen across Isfjorden by boat. They will take us as far as they can, at which point they will leave us on the sea ice and our expedition really begins. From there on we are alone. We ski across the rest of the fjord on the sea ice or start on shore. After we reach land we start skiing up one of the many glaciers in the area. During the following days we will be skiing among glaciers and mountain tops that can be seen protruding out of the glaciers. Maybe we will even summit one of the mountain tops. Camps will be chosen based on weather, progress, or certain wishes from the expedition members. Our focus will be on making this a stress free adventure with comfortable camps and good “expedition food”. Your highly experienced guide will make sure safety is a priorotiy at all times.

We will be cross-country skiing the whole way and we will transport everything we need in pulks (sleds) and backpacks. If possible we will bring a dog on the trip. The dog will help us pull some of the equipment. These happy, social and hardworking Alaska Huskies give the trip an added social dimension. Your guide will show you how to handle the dog in the best way possible. Our daily skiing distance is between 10 and 20 kilometers. Total distance is approx. 100 km.

The terrain is wide, flat and easy to ski across. The weather is normally good with cold nights and "mild" sunny days. The Arctic environment, however, can sometimes present some challenges. But do not worry. Your guide(s) are highly professional and have years of experience in this environment, he/she will make sure you are well taken care of in any situation.

The departure date is set late in spring, this means that we will have full midnight sun on the entire trip. This means that we can leave our timepieces at home, and hike, eat and sleep when we feel like it. This is real freedom. The late spring departure also ensures we will have fairly mild temperatures and more stable weather conditions compared to an earlier spring departure. Temperatures are often around -5°c in the daytime and a bit lower at night, but high on the plateau we can also experience -20°c. We are always careful about putting up camp because even at this time of the year, Svalbard weather can change very fast. One day can be windy and overcast and the next can be calm with a full sun beating down on us. As a guest on this trip (as with all Turgleder trips) you are considered a member of an expedition and you will be asked to help out when it comes to putting up a good and comfortable winter campsite. Your guides will, of course, teach you everything you need to know, from the basics to their very own “secret” tricks-of-the-trade.

Day 1        Arrival in Longyearbyen, supper and briefing. Lodging at guesthouse/hotel.
Day 2       Packing the equipment. Last minute shopping. Lodging at guesthouse/hotel.
Day 3-11  Boat trip out and start on our skiing expedition. Sleeping in tents. 
Day 12     Ski off the glaciers and to the boat pick up, trip back to Longyearbyen. Dinner and lodging at guesthouse/hotel.
Day 13     Breakfast and journey home.

Day 1
Arrival in Longyearbyen. Your guide will meet you at a local guesthouse, where you will stay the first two nights. You will meet the rest of the group and be served dinner. Your guide will go through the program for the trip and the skiing route.

Your guide will also go through your personal outdoor equipment with you to make sure you have everything you need for the trip and that the equipment meets the standards that the Arctic environment requires.

Day 2
After breakfast we will do the last preparations and pack all our equipment for the trip. You will be teamed up with 1 or 2 other expedition members with whom you will work together and share a tent on the trip. You will also be shown how to put up your tent and how to use some of the equipment that you will be using on the trip. There will also be time to make your final personal preparations and adjustments before the journey starts. Your guide will also go through safety routines, skiing routines and how to handle the dogs in the best way possible(if we can bring one!)

There will be time for some last minute shopping and some time to look around in Longyearbyen.

Day 3
After breakfast the trip starts. We will be transported by boat across the Isfjorden. This scenic fjord on the northern side of the great Isfjorden is our gateway into the real Arctic wilderness. When we arrive the other side, the boatman will put us safely onto the fast ice in front of the glacier. From here we will work our way towards land and up onto the glacier. This evening will be the first night in tents.

Day 4
When we wake up, it will be to the stunning view from the glacier and the surrounding mountains. Most of this day will be in an easy up hill, until we reach the plateau at about 500 meters above sea level.

Day 5 to 11
Full days on the glacier plateau.
We will make our way across this vast and flat glacier landscape. Up here, the winter is still going strong, we can get hard winds and low temperatures, or we can get fabulous mild and sunny days. No matter what kind of weather, this great landscape will give us a real taste of how big and impressive Arctic nature can be. We are planning to stay at one or maybe two of our campsites for two nights, this makes for fantastic daytrip possibilities. Without the pulk´s we can travel further and easier and we can reach places that is not with the pulk´s. We might be getting high onto a mountain top or swooping down into a fjord to explore the sea ice and the wildlife associated with it. Day 11 we start on the way down from the glacier. We will once again get the spectacular view over Isfjorden and we can even spot the mountains around Longyearbyen 50km away. We make our last camp above the glacier front.

Day 12      
Last day on the ice. We pack up our camp as usual and start our way down the glacier front, through the moraine landscapes and onto the sea ice. Around lunch time the boat will be back to pick us up and we travel back to Longyearbyen. After arriving at the port we will all be transported back to the guest house for a hot shower and a good dinner.

Day 13
Breakfast and journey home. 

The weather can vary during the day, and with respect to the safety of our guests, we reserve the right to make any necessary changes to our trip. We always recommend to accommodate for weather delays when booking flights. 

- Items marked with * can be provided by Turgleder on request for free or at an additional cost. Any additional cost is given in parenthesis. Information about equipment you need must be conveyed to Turgleder minimum 1 month before the trip.

- Please note that this is the minimum required clothing and equipment for this holiday. You are of course welcome to bring other clothes and equipment in addition to this.

- You should pack your clothing in waterproof bags to avoid equipment from becoming wet during the tour.

- If you choose to bring your own sleeping bag, this needs to be a warm winter sleeping bag with minimum comfort temperature >/=-20Celsius.

- If you choose to bring your own sleeping mat, it must be suitable for camping on snow. A foam mat (roll mat) should be thick /insulated enough for use on snow (≈14mm). If you also have a inflatable mat you can bring that and combine it with the roll mat, that you can hire from us (this combination ensures extra comfort).

- You are of course welcome to bring your own skis on this trip. The skis must, however, be mountain/expedition skis (back country skis) or touring skis. Racing skis or other narrow and/or short skis will not do the job. The skis are vital on this trip and anything other than mountain/expedition skis or touring skis are not considered safe to use on this trip.

- Turgleder can provide a modern expedition ski package;
The package contains modern light weight expedition skis (Åsnes Amundsen) and poles (Åsnes Horgi/Vidda), skins and boots (Alfa Polar A/P/S or Alfa Quest A/P/S). The price for hiring the ski package is NOK 2700 for the whole trip.

-Please do not forget your camera with extra batteries and memory card(s)

Turgleder will provide:
- Tents
- Stoves, cutlery and cooking equipment
- Pulks (sledges for equipment transport)
- Other equipment necessary for this trip
- Safety equipment as weapons, flare gun, emergency beacon, first aid kit etc.

Equipment that you do not need on the expedition can be stored in Longyearbyen.

Dates for 2025

• 29th April - 11th May (guaranteed departure)
• 13th May - 25th May
  
  Min. 4 and max 10 guests + guides
  Private trips are available on request from 1st May to mid June.

The price includes:
Guide, all meals from dinner on day 1 to breakfast on day 10 (except lunch and dinner day 2), some equipment (specified in equipment list), lodging in Longyearbyen, search and rescue insurance.

Lodging:
Single rooms are available for an additional NOK 900 per day, total NOK 2700 for 3 nights.
The nights in tents, teams of 2 to 3 persons will share one tent.

The price does not include:
· Travel to/from Longyearbyen
· Extra activities in Longyearbyen
· Lunch and dinner day 2
· Personal equipment (please check the equipment list)
· Snacks to eat between the meals (we recommend sweets, dried fruit, nuts, chocolate etc)
· Travel insurance
· Any unforeseen expenses due to delays due to weather or safety considerations.

We would like to encourage you to stay a few extra days in Longyearbyen to explore the town and the surroundings. We recommend that you stay one or more days after the trip also as a security for weather related delay coming back to Longyearbyen from the skiing trip.

If you need more information about this adventure before you make your reservation/booking, please feel free to contact us via mail@turgleder.com or call us on +47 90855556 (Liv).

When you are ready to book, please go to “booking” under the «general information» tab and fill in and submit the booking/registration form. When we receive your booking/registration form we will reserve a place for you and send you a booking confirmation also including some questions if necessary and a waiver/disclaimer of responsability. When all details regarding your participation are in place, we will send you an invoice. Your reservation is valid for 7 days after the invoice is sent. The waiver/discalimer of responsability must be signed to be accepted as a member on this expedition.
For more information, please see our booking terms and condition under the “general information” tab.

Note: If you do not receive a reply right away, please be patient with us. We might be out on other adventures without any internet connections. However, if you have not received a response within 3 days, let us know.