Mohnbukta - The East coast

200 Kilometers

3 days

4 people in a cabin that fits 2 people.

Our ultimate test to see if we have what it takes to live next door to the North Pole.

The light in the evening was just magical.

On our way there. We took turns driving. This is while going through a moraine to get on to the "Rabbot Glacier".

Finally up on to the glacier, we had a wonderful 360' view.

The cabin and our trusty polar bear guard; Geisha.

Jessica enjoying some morning tea in the cabin.

This picture was taken from Fredheim on our way back. In the distance the Von Post glacier can be seen. Usually there is sea ice to drive on all the way to the glacier. But not this year.

Espen comparing the size of he's hand the a polar bears track.

Glacier front, 30 meters tall.

A male polarbear we ran into on our way back to the cabin one afternoon.

Jessica's first time seeing a polarbear. A mother and her 2 cubs.

Cubs.

It might seem weird, when you live far enough away already, that you would want to pack up the snowmobile, a sled and head even further into the wilderness. But boy did it pay off !

We had perfect conditions, a few minus degrees, bluebird skies, 20 centimetres of fresh powder and no wind.

Loaded with rifles, red wine, a glow in the dark bottle filled with Jagermeister and loads of good food we set off with our friends Espen and Julie, and their dog Geisha. We headed out saturday morning, not really knowing if we were sure what we were about to experience.

Our destination was Mohnbukta, well known for it's many polar bears this time of the year. The excitement and the expectations were big, but already the first day, after hours on the snowmobile did Jessica get to see her first polar bear. Not just a bear, but a mother with two cubs, beautifully relaxing in front of a glacier out on the sea ice. On our way back to the cabin we came across another one (that was actually headed in the direction of our cabin), this time a huge male. We spent some time just admiring this fantastic animal before we went back to our cozy, hobbit - like shelter. The cabin was small enough that I (Oskar) could reach with my hands across the cabin from wall to wall and touch both the ceiling and the floor at the same time.

Tiny!

We had great food, good drinks and a nice sleep. Jessica was sleeping in the top bunk, sweating in 25 degrees, while I was freezing, sleeping on the floor in minus degrees.

We took another way home monday morning, and got to see even more of this beautiful land up here. Glaciers and huge valleys. Nature so beautiful you don't even bother to try and take a picture of it.

So, as always, some drama was bound to happen too...

Safely back in Longyearbyen, just about to eat dinner after being home for a couple of hours, a friend of ours called from he's satellite phone. He was sick and needed to be picked up and brought back to town. No problem i thought, and set off just before eleven. trouble with the route, lack of sea ice to drive on and not eager to go up a hill that can only be described as a frozen Niagara Falls with 2 centimetres of snow on it, and with a sick buddy on the back we had to take a 100+ kilometre detour over glaciers none of us had ever been on before.

Around five in the morning, I was happy to come home and go to sleep next to a snoring canadian dreaming about her next adventures, totally unaware i had been gone 5 hours longer than expected in the middle of the night...

Until next adventure!

Jessica and Oskar

Thank you Espen for letting us use some of your pictures...