A Saga of ice and snow: Svalbard in late Winter

[Jil]

thanks for a great trip report and photos....

[Galana]

18 hours ago, Soukous said:

The question is, what will OH do while I'm freezing my butt off looking for owls?

Enjoying some peace and quiet I imagine.

[Alexander33]

Wonderful report, and what an exceptional bear encounter there at the end. Thanks for sharing. 
 

Have a great time in Kenya. We were there in January, and it was SO good to be back. I’ll be interested to hear your report on the Z9 — I’m betting it will be positive. I’m on the waiting list, but I was late to pull the trigger, so unless I get a call in the next 6 weeks or so, it’ll be the D500 and Z6ii going to Svalbard with me!

[Atravelynn]

Those 8 minutes of polar bear spectacular were worth the trip.  It shows the importance of being ready and getting out there.

 

 

"However, inspired by @Atravelynn's penguin socks from her Antarctica report, I decided I had to have Polar Bear slippers. "  Nice to know I am a fashion influencer.  Your slippers are very smart!

 

Super report!

[TonyQ]

Thank you for a great report. Beautiful photos of the wildlife but also of the spectacular landscapes and icescapes (if there is such a word)

You coped well with the difficulties, and you were inspired to wear your merino base layers in bed

[kittykat23uk]

On 6/14/2022 at 4:30 PM, Soukous said:

 

I'm sure you won't. With that much time in each camp you'll get second chances. 

 

BTW, one of the reasons I love your TR is because I'll never go to Svalbard myself - way too cold, too many clothes to put on and too much eating & sleeping.  although I am very tempted by Alaska.

 

It got up to a balmy 12c on my sailing 😂

[kittykat23uk]

Great report Janet, very envious of your multiple bear sightings, as i only got one sighting myself. Hopefully my trip will have some nice additions to the ones already posted here, just don't expect amazing bear pics from me! 

 

On my trip, muck boots were provided and i brought all my cold weather gear that i used in ladakh, although the down jacket was a bit snug now 😬. 

 

One thing people need to be aware of with regards to landings, there is a regulation that you should wear waterproof trousers on the zodiacs for landings.. There are sometimes inspections and on one landing the crew were nervous because of a patrol and insisted everyone wear waterproof, or at least pants that looked like waterproofs, ie not jeans.. 

 

Eta, also a lot of people had issues with luggage delays so worth bringing your coats etc as hand luggage! 

Edited June 30, 2022 by kittykat23uk

[iphonewifeNikonhusband]

On 6/5/2022 at 2:10 PM, Alexander33 said:

Glad you held out and (finally!) were able to make this trip. Great initial photo of the polar bear. We are slated to return in August (postponed from 2021), but I’m looking forward to hearing about your experience at a different time of year. 

We are circumnavigating Svalbard with polar quest in August. Love this trip report! @Alexander33 when are you going ?