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
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.
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.
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 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.
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
Friday, 3 October 2008
wow
Saturday, 27 September 2008
let it snow ...
I has been snowing quite a lot these past few days and nights... and this is what I woke up to this morning.
Here are a few other photos (one which you may have already seen from previous days)
Neat huh?
Wednesday, 24 September 2008
winter is coming ...
Funny cos' the temperature this week has plummeted below zero for the first time, and it looks like it will remain below zero from now on.
Last year they has one of the coldest winters ever with lots of snowfall. I looked at the statistics and the lowest temperature back in September 2007 was -3.9°C ... well we've already had -5°C with -8°C predicted for next week.
Monday, 22 September 2008
yay!
I did it ! I have finally completed Longyearbyen's 10-peak challenge ! On Saturday morning I set off by kayak across the Adventfjorden. Even though the weather has been rubbish for the past two weeks, it somehow wasn't raining and there was no wind at all. The last peak was really not obvious to find, but in the end we got there.
View of Longyearbyen
View from Sneheim
Later on that afternoon we kayaked back across the Fjord, where I then picked up my bike and cycled straight down to Bjorndalen, the student cabin found a few kilometres away (1 hour). I was already exhausted from the hike, but figured I had to make it to the cabin this weekend before it gets too dark in the season.
On Sunday morning I went for a walk with a few people, up Fuglefjellet which I had already been up a couple of weeks ago. It was fun nonetheless, and we were caught in a mini blizzard at the top. The way back down was very wet and we stopped at the student cabin for lunch. From inside the weather looked grim, but we had to return to town by bike. The river had swelled up, and in the end I just crossed with all my clothes on. I only got wet up to my knees though, but I was still very wet from the rain. The cycle back was ok since the wind was hitting us from behind.I arrived back at my barrack at 6.40PM, with aim of still attending Underwater Rugby at 7! I quickly threw everything out of my bag and ate chocolate and then cycled down to the pool where I was 1 minute early! Underwater rugby was as usual so difficult. I can't believe how rubbish I am, but I really want to get better.
This coming Thursday I'm attending a lifeguard course ... apparently we need to swim to the bottom of the pool a few times with our clothes on ... and we are not allowed any form of aid, and that includes goggles/glasses/contact lenses ... so I'm pretty screwed.
So yeah this weekend has been the most crazy one yet ... I really need to get my work done now :(
Sunday, 14 September 2008
crazy
On Friday I set off to climb one more of the remaining two peaks, as part of the 10 peak challenge I was talking about. My aim was to climb Adventoppen - but in order to get there you must first cross several streams and small rivers. The other way of course is by crossing the fjord by kayak.
So I went by foot, and the stream water was quite deep so I put on my rubber boots. But then it got even deeper so I just took them off. The water was freezing - like a million needles in your feet. I walked a little further in the water and then suddenly sunk to my waist. When I say waist, I properly mean it! My phone and camera got wet and I don't think my camera works anymore :( . And so long story cut short, I had to turn back. But then I just took my bike and continued riding down the valley and managed to climb a different peak (still part of the competition) instead. So now I only have one left !
Today there was the option to go play kayak polo again, which was followed by underwater rugby. Now normal people would only volunteer on one activity, but for some reason I chose both. I was in the water for nearly 4 hours. The kayak polo went ok, I mean I'm rubbish, but it was still quite fun. Then came the underwater rugby and oh my god - this must be the most difficult sport I have ever tried. You basically need to put a heavy ball into a net that is 3m deep. And the ball needs to stay submerged. I couldn't believe how agressive everybody was - people coming from every single direction trying to steal the ball from you. And you must hold your breathe for ages while doing strenuous activity.
Overall I'm feeling a bit tired as these past few days have been non stop.
