Thursday 30 October 2008
yay more northern lights :)
While walking back home from UNIS, the northern lights came out to play ^^
I nearly lost my fingers while trying to take these pictures !!!!! so appreciate ;)
Wednesday 29 October 2008
goodbye sunshine :(
Sunday night officially marked the start of the polar night ... i.e. when the sun doesn't come over the theoretical horizon. Having said that, because of the surrounding mountains I haven't actually seen the sun in over 2 weeks now.
It gets light very slowly... and at 1PM it starts getting dark again, at 2PM it's twilight, and at 3 it's pitch black. And that's just the start - within the next couple of days and weeks it will become increasingly dark increasingly quickly :( I have had a lot of work lately, but I'm feeling so much more tired than I used to!
Longyearbyen at mid day, 28.10.08
Looking onto UNIS, mid day, 28.10.08
Monday 27 October 2008
out of date news but still ...
Everytime I write something, I seem to be out of sync by at least one week ... so maybe I should call this blog yann-in-the-arctic-live-updates-of-what-happened-one-week-ago.co.uk
Last week was the open-doors day here in Longyearbyen, where many institutions normally closed to the public open their doors. UNIS took part, displaying experiments and science-related stuff mainly to kids. There was lots of free hot chocolate and it was really nice seing all the locals for once. I was helping out with the helicopter rescue demonstration that would be taking place right outside of UNIS.
Flying over UNIS
We set up the tent, pegged it into the ground and covered the valences with snow. The aim was to get it as firmly fixed to the ground as possible, as in previous years the helicopter managed to collapse the tent with the wind generated. We threw a dummy into the tent (unfortunately it wasn't me) which would then later be rescued by the rescue team. They arrived at mid day precisely. (By the way, the tent did not blow away for once!)
It felt like Christmas ... lots of snow, kids running around, community spirit, happy families ... I then later visited the Kjell Henriksen Observatory found on top of a mountain, where the Aurora (northern lights!) is observed. It would quite cool having a tour around, and they had the best office view ever! Apparently this year is an all time low for the northern lights :( but I'm hoping it will be brighter here on Svalbard because of the latitude.
Whatever you call them, next to the Kjell Henriksen Observatory
So that was last week, but *this* week, or more like this past weekend was also quite cool. I helped out at the Dark Season Blues Festival on Saturday night ... basically counting people coming in and out and stamping their hand. Even though I wasn't paid, I still got a free T-shirt and managed to see half the show for free (tickets cost £40!).
Monday 20 October 2008
Yes, I do study sometimes ...
Every now and then I get people asking me what I'm actually doing on Svalbard ... it's true, all my facebook photos and blog posts relate to some crazy adventure in the snow ...
Well, I am currently studying two courses: Terrestrial Arctic Biology and Pollution in the Arctic. They are both really interesting, and because of our small numbers, lectures take place in a classroom and not a lecture theatre. The atmosphere is more relaxed than back home, and we take breaks all the time. It's funny because I have managed to remain awake in every single lecture ... whereas back in Edinburgh I struggle to pay attention. I dunno, it's just more personal. That said, a window takes up the entire right wall giving onto snowy mountains and it's easy to get distracted... This past week I have had an overdose of homework and have literally not stopped. Last night I was stuck in the computer lab until 1AM :(
Terrestrial Arctic Biology: lots of lab hours trying to identify I don't know what. The fieldwork back in August was by far the best bit. My coursework revolves around looking at goose poo under the microscope (just handed it in!).
Pollution in the Arctic: very interesting, but there is just too much information. I have no idea what I'll do for the exam. The course focuses on local as well as widespread pollution, different type of pollutants. There is maths and debating too.
Hmmmmm I'm not very good talking about work, but there you have the shortest overview. It's gonna be really hard going back to my home university - it seems so normal being treated as an individual and not a matriculation number.
Monday 13 October 2008
northern lights ^^
It's actually been a few weeks since people have seen the Northern Lights around here - but I hadn't ... until last night :D
Over student halls ^^
Saturday 11 October 2008
time goes by ... so quickly!
I have once again neglected my blog, but I really have not had the chance or the courage to spend 5 minutes to write anything. I guess my problem is that I'm trying to squeeze too many things at once... especially since they there will be no more daylight in 2 weeks time! We have already passed the halfway mark of this semester, and I just haven't yet had the time to reflect on how lucky I am to be here.
It's still surreal. I mean, last night I was walking back home, looking at the stars and mountains ... and Svalbard is actually a pretty big island (62 000 km2 - similar to Ireland) ... there is so much to explore, thousands of polar bears, places people have rarely explored ... and yet here I am walking back from university in a microscopic town. I can't wait for more snow to arrive and for the scooter season to arrive.
Two weeks ago, I went for a walk back up to Trollsteinen since I had heavily snowed a few days before.
Snow :)
Going up the Lars Hiertafjellet ridge
On top of Trollsteinen, this time covered in snow
I couldn't believe how much the landscape had changed in such a short space of time. My face got frozen at the top as the wind was blowing quite hard.
Fast forward one week, and the Icebreaker Party was soon approaching (last Saturday). This is the biggest party of the semester, and all students take part in organizing it. I really didn't want a party to take up my entire weekend, and so I thought it would be a good idea going camping on Friday night, going up a mountain on Saturday morning, and then running back to Longyearbyen on time for the Icebreaker Party... and that's exactly what I did. Only one crazy person came along aka Maria.
On Friday afternoon (3rd) - right after lectures - we headed out with our heavy bags into Adventdalen. We also had to carried several liters of water with us, since there isn't enough snow in Adventdalen to melt, and the water streams are frozen. Our aim was to hitchhike down the road which would save us a few hours ... and luckily we found someone willing to give us a ride :). We crossed Adventdalen with ease (over frozen streams) and set up our campsite at the base of the Operafjellet range.
Walking through Adventdalen, looking into Endalen
Pretty in pink ... (Hiorthfjellet)
Camp site for the night, near Operafjellet
The aim was to go up Tenoren, this pointy mountain that I can always see from UNIS. It didn't look that bad on the map .... but how wrong was I ...
The mountain of doom (Tenoren)
Going up the ridge at sunrise
The first part of the ascent was really easy. As it got steeper we put crampons on. The snow was really bad though - just really really light and fluffy, covering annoying stones and rocks. It's difficult to explain, but we got to the first rocky bit of Tenoren (see above photo - it's much bigger than it looks on the photo) and walked along the ridge a bit ... but then came a point of no return. It wasn't that easy going along the ridge, nor was it very difficult, but turning back wasn't really an option (since it's easier going up than down - at least in this case). The problem was, the further we went the loser the rock became. We therefore decide the simply contour aroung the peak (and not get to the top) and simply get onto the other side. As we tried walking along, parts of the slope would simply crumble down the mountain. And there weren't just small rocks, but big ones too.
We looked at the map again and decided it would be best to just go up the mountain (literally) as once at the top there would be an easy ridge to come down. Afterall, the summit was only 30m above us ... but the most horrible 30m ever. Each step felt uncomfortable, but we eventually made it to the top. From then on it was ok, but neither of us enjoyed it.
At the top, Tenoren
Maria, on the col between Tenoren and Operafjellet
We really didn't anticipate it, but I guess the conclusion is to always be careful. Once back down, we ran back to the road, called a taxi and headed back to Nybyen, and then went straight back down to UNIS on time for the Icebreaker Party (this semester's theme was High School).
Icebreaker Party - Gangsta High School Rap
Fast forward one more week i.e. Friday night (10th). Basically a Norwegian Navy Battleship came to town, and a few students and staff got invited to come onboard. I couldn't believe how lucky we were. There were loads of free drinks and free food (parma ham and melon!). They showed us around the boat, and we had a really good laugh with the crew. We then headed off into town where we all went out.
Friday 3 October 2008
wow
My lovely university
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