A Saga of ice and snow: Svalbard in late Winter

[janzin]

2 hours ago, MPS said:

Hi Janet,

Thanks a lot for this truly fabulous report which I am sure will help us a lot when we will board MS Freya in three weeks from now. As we will be carrying the same camera, may I ask which of the many focus modes of the Z9 worked best for you for the polar bears? 

Congratulations on your Z9!  I was more or less experimenting/learning on this trip so I used a variety of modes. But mostly I used 3D and Wide-area Small, depending on situation--both with Animal detection on. When I was in the Zodiac I was using mostly Wide-area Large as they were fairly distant. (I have 3D set on the shutter and Wide-area S on Fn1.) For the Ptarmigans it was all 3D with Animal, which worked great. The trip was before the 2.0 firmware though (actually the firmware came out while I was in Oslo, but I didn't want to risk updating it on the road.)

 

Good luck and have a great trip...come back and write a report!

[janzin]

2 hours ago, Galana said:

It does not work like that with wildlife viewing. I find no savings. We just 'waste' it doing something else. Ellies, Tigers, Jaguars or Gorillas. Ain't no pockets in a Shroud.

So true! It's not saving money but choosing where you want to spend it. Problem is, there are so many choices!

 

[janzin]

I thought I'd add our final map of our route. As you can see, on the way back we did a lot of back and forth into just about every open fjord in search of bears.

 

The circles are more or less where we saw the bears, but disregard the numbers--I have no idea what they were supposed to represent but they are not the order in which we saw the bears

 

 

[Soukous]

18 hours ago, janzin said:

Yes you did go to Ladakh so what's the excuse?

 

Actually not that cold, dry and lots of room to move and plenty of activity. 

[Dave Williams]

Superb Bear shots and you saw a good list of birds I'd like to see too but I must admit I'm not sold on the trip myself but it's obvious that many are. Glad you enjoyed it, excellent report and for me that will do instead of going myself !

[Soukous]

Fabulous shots of the polar bear - so who needs zodiacs anyway?

[janzin]

1 hour ago, Soukous said:

 

Actually not that cold, dry and lots of room to move and plenty of activity. 

But on the ship at least you could go in from the cold at any time and in fact most of the time there was no need to be out in the cold. In Ladakh seems like you be out in the cold all day. But the other factor is the high altitude, I don't think my spouse could handle that.  So I'll have to live that one vicariously

 

[janzin]

A few comments about clothing and what we brought and did/didn't use.

 

I've already talked about the Muck boot fiasco and as you may have read, @vikramghanekar had a similar issue. So if going early in the season I would not bother with these type of boots, but later in the season--when the survival suits are NOT required-- they would be needed for landings.  I would really press your tour operator as to what boots they recommend for your particular trip and whether they realistically expect to be able to do landings.

 

Another bulky item I brought but only wore once were insulated snow pants. These were useless on the ship as they were too bulky to fit under the survival suit, and too warm to wear on the ship. However, they were perfect for our day's outing in Longyearbyen as they were warm and waterproof and I was able to sit/lay in the snow to photograph those Ptarmigans. If you are planning to do any activities in Longyearbyen, such as a sled dog ride or snowmobile ride, they would be great. I could see them being useful to wear on the ship if one was able to stand outside on deck, but we never could for any length of time, as it was too cold and icy. They would also work well in the zodiacs at a time of year when the survival suits are not required.

 

What I DID wear constantly on the ship were fleece (or flannel) lined jeans, the kind you can buy from LL Bean or Cabela's here in the USA.  I pretty much lived in those, with merino wool long-johns underneath.  This combo was warm enough to run outside in when necessary.

 

Merino wool undergarments are a must--we each brought two pairs of long-johns and two mid-weight merino base-layer tops. Some nights, if I thought we might be awakened for bears, I slept in them so as to be ready to run outside in a hurry.  We also had several pairs of merino socks.

 

I brought three medium-wear fleeces to wear over the base-layer tops; probably could have made do with two, no one cares if you are wearing the same clothes day after day (like on safari!)

 

@jmharack and I spent an inordinate amount of time pre-trip conferring on gloves and it seems none are perfect, but we both ended up with glove liners under waterproof fold-back mittens. A brand called RucPac were the best we found, especially for use in the zodiac. They are available at B&H Photo and Amazon. They were quite warm if a bit awkward to get on with the liners...but necessary.  https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1580037-REG/rucpac_ruetgs_extreme_tech_gloves_small.html

 

I also had some woolen fold-back mittens which I find easier to use with the camera, and kept those at hand on the ship, usually stuffed in my parka jacket.  I'd suggest bringing a variety of gloves as they may get wet.

 

Of course, a variety of warm hats as well. On the Zodiac I wore a wool had with a fleece balaclava over it. Sometimes earmuffs as well. I actually purchased a Svalbard motif hat in Longyearbyen which was awesomely warm and wore it in place of the merino hat I'd brought along.  Everyone seems to have these hats and they are sold all over town (Judith, Alan, and Ardith each bought one at the end of the trip) and now I see you can get them online!

 

Here is Jeanette, Svein's girlfriend, wearing one. Mine is purple  

 

 

Highly recommended as a souvenir!  https://www.arcticedge.no/en/collections/svalbard

 

A warm, waterproof parka is a must and as we didn't own any that seemed appropriate, and we didn't want to spend hundreds of dollars, several of us---Tom, Wendy, Alan and I--purchased a crazy cheap one from Amazon that was absolutely perfect, surprisingly warm and with tons of features. Believe it or not, this $70 parka served as all well. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08LDM1FPL

 

One very important item that most people don't think of is a warm pair of slippers with a non-slip bottom! You will wear these on the ship ALL the time, going for dinner, up in the bridge, even to run out on deck if something is seen.  I had actually seen this suggested on a post by a photographer and it was spot on. https://wild-eye.com/one-svalbard-item-to-pack/

 

However, inspired by @Atravelynn's penguin socks from her Antarctica report, I decided I had to have Polar Bear slippers. 

 

 

 

These were actually incredibly warm, non-slip, and greatly admired by all the guests and crew!  And completely practical, I was able to wear them on deck and I practically lived in them the entire trip. Available on Amazon

 

Finally, packing all this warm gear is a challenge but I found it possible by using compression bags...the kind that needs no vacuum. https://amazon.com/gp/product/B06WW4QNSS/   These worked great and I was able to get everything, including the parka and snow pants, into one bag.

 

Well that's about it, in the end we had a fabulous time even with all the hitches, and I would love to return in a later season when we could see more birds, whales, and get out on the land.

 

Bye-bye beautiful bear!

 

 

Bye-bye gorgeous Arctic!

 

 

Thanks for following along! 

[pomkiwi]

Great report and interesting to see the similarities and differences between our trips. Thank-you and enjoy Kenya 😀

[Atdahl]

Thanks for a great report @janzin

 

Loved all the outstanding photos and the details you included are very helpful for anyone thinking of going.

 

Have a great time in Kenya!

 

Alan

[jmharack]

Hey - photo credit to me for the slippers picture and of Jeannette (I figure in a thread full of amazing, beautiful photos by @janzin, it's a honor to have my iphone pix of slippers and people included  ).  My approach to clothes on the boat was a bit different, partly because I live in a cold place and already had a lot of the clothes that you really need on a trip like this.  I wore more layers of things; fleece pants that could go over merino layers (I brought two levels of merino layers to choose from), and under shell pants (I have a great pair from Outdoor Research that I think I wore every day, with different numbers of layers depending on temperature and activities)... The fleece pants were also really good under the zodiac suits, and made getting in and out of them a bit easier, I think.  Same approach to tops; layering is the key. Great merino tops with zippers for regulating temperature, and flannel shirts.

 

Those Svalbard hats that Jeannette is wearing really are warm, and I am pretty sure they were less expensive in Longyearbyen than on the website. I will wear mine often in Wisconsin, going forward.  I brought a few different merino hats, some to layer under the hood of my parka, etc, and the key thing not to forget is balaclava neck warmer things -- I had a thin one and a thicker one, and wore both on zodiac rides.  You really need stuff to pull up over your face in the cold winds.  And liners!  I had silk knit and merino liners for socks, and for gloves, and they make a huge difference and don't take up much packing space.

 

I have a really warm down parka from Eddie Bauer and am so glad that I brought it. It's longer, supercozy and really warm.  But again, I live in a cold place and wear all this stuff for many months of the year!  I wouldn't buy too much of this stuff just for a week in Svalbard, but the merino layers are really important if you go at a time like we did.  It was very cold.  If you've got a trip booked far in the future, look for sales, because the merino layers are quite expensive.

 

And slippers -- I lived in mine, not nearly as cute as  @janzin's polar bear slippers, but functional and warm scuff type from Sorel, with great soles.  I think I wore them all the time; easy on if racing out for a bear, easy off when stepping into Zodiac suit, and good on slippery decks. Make sure you bring slippers that will go over thick socks...

 

Stuff I brought and didn't use was all for landings we didn't do.  And I wore some of that for our time on land in Longyearbyen.  @janzin's advice to talk to your operator ahead of time is spot on.  Packing for this type of trip is a real challenge and there will be stuff you don't need depending on time of year, conditions, and plans for landings, etc.

 

And to echo @janzin, despite the cold and the boot and Zodiac problems, we had a great trip to a breathtakingly beautiful place with great people.

 

 

 

 

[vikramghanekar]

Fantastic TR! 

Buying warm clothes was really a difficult choice for me as I live in a climate where lowest temp is 10C.

I had bought a pair of fleece pants for a Snow Leopard expedition in Ladakh which served me well. I don't have a Parka which I made up with by wearing warm long johns, T-shirts, fleece followed by a rainproof jacket which I bought on sale for $30 in New York back in 2002!! It's amazing how that jacket has lasted for 20 years.

I missed buying those slippers. As I result I was always wearing shoes even on the ship.

I wonder if one can just rent warm stuff in Longyearbyen like a suit or a thick parka and Snow boots,  return it at the end of the trip. That would be great for a person like me. I should have asked the company I went dog sledding with.

 

 

[janzin]

9 minutes ago, vikramghanekar said:

Fantastic TR! 

 

I wonder if one can just rent warm stuff in Longyearbyen like a suit or a thick parka and Snow boots,  return it at the end of the trip. That would be great for a person like me. I should have asked the company I went dog sledding with.

 

 

I’d actually checked into that as we also have little use for that heavy winter gear, but apparently no place in Longyearbyen does rentals. Seems like it would be a great  business!

Edited June 16, 2022 by janzin

[janzin]

@jmharacki apologize for not giving you credit for those photos!  I’ve been rushing a bit to get this done and just grabbed them. 
 

but good advice on the clothes. At least you can make good use of them at home and in Antarctica, but we rarely do any really cold weather activities. Maybe we’ll do more now that we have the outfits!

[Kitsafari]

thank you for taking the time to do the report and with such useful details as well. Enjoy Kenya!! send our love to Rosh and James. 

 

[jmharack]

5 minutes ago, janzin said:

@jmharacki apologize for not giving you credit for those photos!  I’ve been rushing a bit to get this done and just grabbed them. 
 

but good advice on the clothes. At least you can make good use of them at home and in Antarctica, but we rarely do any really cold weather activities. Maybe we’ll do more now that we have the outfits!

I was kidding!!  It was just funny, after all those gorgeous photos you posted!  Your scenery shots really made me appreciate the trip even more in retrospect...

 

[Soukous]

7 hours ago, jmharack said:

we rarely do any really cold weather activities. Maybe we’ll do more now that we have the outfits!

 

I bet it will be a while before those outfits come out of the cupboard again 

[kilopascal]

Thank you for the wonderful report. So much valuable information for those of us headed to Svalbard in the future. 

[janzin]

5 hours ago, Soukous said:

 

I bet it will be a while before those outfits come out of the cupboard again 

Indeed. There is one winter birding spot I'd like to go here in the USA...Sax-Zim Bog in northern Minnesota. Great Grey Owls and other boreal birds. In fact @jmharackwent last year and said it was even colder than Svalbard! 

[Athene]

Thanks for sharing your fantastic trip report @janzinand @jmharack

I can hardly wait to start our Svalbard trip in July

[Soukous]

42 minutes ago, janzin said:

Great Grey Owls

 

my absolute favourite bird and one I would brace the cold for

[jmharack]

8 minutes ago, Soukous said:

 

my absolute favourite bird and one I would brace the cold for

Sax Zim can be really, really cold, and really worth it!  If only for great gray owl, but there are other boreal species you have a chance at (northern hawk-owl, boreal owl), and the grosbeaks are amazing. And there are cool mammals too...  

[Soukous]

26 minutes ago, jmharack said:

Sax Zim can be really, really cold, and really worth it!  If only for great gray owl, but there are other boreal species you have a chance at (northern hawk-owl, boreal owl), and the grosbeaks are amazing. And there are cool mammals too...  

 

checking out flights and accommodation right now. Oh crap, I don't have time this year, it will have to be next. The question is, what will OH do while I'm freezing my butt off looking for owls?

[Zubbie15]

Well, it kind of killed me reading this but glad you had a great trip. I would not have been happy with the zodiac issues though! Thanks for sharing both, and have a great trip to Kenya Janet! 

[Jil]

what fabulous bear shots....thanks for sharing