When it comes
tobeing alone,
the trapper – a
traditional hunter
who spendsmonths
at a time aloneon
the ice– is king.
Here are threeof
themost famous...
1⁄
RussianPomor
trappersdominated
huntingonSvalbard
between 1700
and 1850, and the
best-knownwas Ivan
Starostin,who spent
39wintersalonehere.
2⁄
TheNorwegians
tookover in the
secondhalf of the
19thcentury, later
pioneering spring
guns thatwould lure
polar bearswithbait.
HenryRudi was the
most famousbear
hunter, killing 713 in
the 1930s and ’40s,
including 115 in a
single year.
3⁄
Themost
longstanding trapper
isHilmarNøis,who
spent 38winterson
Svalbarduntil 1973.
Youcan still visit
hismain stationat
Fredheim, anoutpost
whereheonce left
hiswife to givebirth
alone, anexperience
that is said tohave
drivenher insane.
Theremotecabin
NORDENSKIÖLD LODGE
OnSvalbard, solitude isabadgeofhonour.This
isaplace that reveres trappers, thehunterswho
spendmonthsalone in the iceandsnow.For total
cut-off, albeit incomfort,NordenskiöldLodge
isSpitsbergen’snorthernmostcabinavailable to
visitors.There’snophonereception,heatcomes
fromburningwoodand the icy freshwatercomes
from thenearbyglacier.Yet it’sagorgeousScandi-
chiccabin– thinkblondewood, sharpdesignanda
traditionalFinnishsauna,whichyoucanalternate
withexhilaratingdips in the frigid lakebeside it.
Wewent inAugustwith touroperatorsBasecamp
Explorer. It’s twohoursor sobyboat from
Longyearbyen, andwewere followedacross the
cobalt seabycuriouspuffinsandseals. It tooksome
gettingused to themidnight sunand thenear-
total silence, punctuatedonlyby theNordenskiöld
glacier rumblingaway.
Activities includedglacier-hiking, kayaking (
see
right forboth
) anda trip toPyramiden, theRussian
mining town thatwasabandoned inasingleday in
1998 (
seeoverleaf
).But really, itwasabout turning
everythingoff, staring into thedeepblueof the
glacier–and justbeingquiet.
Readmoreatnorwegian.com/magazine
basecampspitsbergen.com
Kayaking
Glaciers
By the time youhear tonnes of icecrash into
the sea, you’ve alreadymissed the action–
all you’ll see is awave. Such is kayakingon
Svalbard,wheredodging ice is a constant
preoccupation.Wewent inAugust, spotting
languid seals overlookedby themighty
Nordenskiöld glacier, but youcan goon trips
from Longyearbyen to the abandonedmining
settlement atHiorthhamn (yes, there are a
fewof these). You’reunlikely to seepolar
bears onmost kayak trips,which is probably
for thebest – they canbe very curious, and
swim at a fairly impressive 10kph.
basecampspitsbergen.com,
spitsbergentravel.com
Around60per cent of Svalbard’s
landmass is coveredby glaciers,
andmost locals know theirmoraines
from their drumlins (us neither). If
youwant toclimbone, aswedid, it’s
worth knowing that those little rivulets
you see from adistancecanbedeep
ravines. Climbing theNordenskiöld
glacierwith ice axes andcrampons,
tied toeachother (and guideMagnus
Lauge), was anexhilaratingbut at
times terrifying experience - not least
because theever-shifting topography
means guides can’t learnexact routes.
basecampspitsbergen.com,
spitsbergentravel.com
Call that
isolation?
n
—Svalbard
⁄
To do
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