8-day Svalbard Ski Expedition: Crossing Spitsbergen from East to West

© August T. Gautun

Difficulty level 5 out of 5

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*Minimum 4 (out of 12) participants above 18 years old: 

• Available dates:

20.04.2025 - 28.04.2025

Other dates on request
 

•  1 + 8 days
   
•  16 year*
   

Each individual participant pulls their own sled, weight approx. 30 – 40 kg.

The trip is moderately demanding and participants should have experience from longer skiing trips.

No previous glacier experience is required, as our guide will provide training / guidance along the way.

Accommodation 2 and 2 per tent.

Price includes:

• Transport round trip
• Transport by snowmobile/snow cat to Agardh, and by boat from Grønfjorden
• Personal sled, harness, and equipment
• Warm meals, snacks, and warm beverages
• Tent, sleeping mat, stove and cooking kit
• Experienced guide with necessary safety equipment
• SAR insurance 

Recommended to bring:

• Solid, warm, and worn-in ski boots
• Ski equipment (skis, boots and poles)
• Shovel
• Warm layers of clothing
• Cold beverage (preferably in a thermos as liquids can freeze)
• Camera
• Sunglasses
• Sleeping bag*

*NOK 600 sleeping bag rental 

Upon booking confirmation, you will receive our recommended equipment list for this expedition.

NOTE: Guests must bring their own ski equipment. If buying new equipment, it is important to try this well in advance to avoid chafing, blisters etc.

All meals are provided by Svalbard Wildlife Expeditions.

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Larger luggage can be stored in our facilities in Longyearbyen or in the accommodation's luggage room.

Extra equipment and clothing: Arctica

Crossing Spitsbergen from East to West is the perfect trip to experience the real expedition life in the Arctic wilderness. You will encounter vast valleys, snow-capped mountains, glaciers, and wildlife that few places in the world can match. If weather and snow conditions allow, the journey begins from Agardhbukta in the East to Grønfjorden in the West.

Together, we will ski and sled across the main island of Svalbard, Spitsbergen.

Every evening, we establish a new campsite where you share tents two and two.

Every night, we will have polar bear watch where everyone contributes. This is a great experience to enjoy the silence in the midnight sun and it is also one of the highlights for many during the entire trip. After a week of skiing and expedition life, we will reach Grønfjorden in the West and a boat will be taking us back to civilization.

Day 1: Arrival Longyearbyen, briefing and preparations.

In the afternoon of the first day, you will be picked up by the guide at your accommodation. It is therefore important to arrive no later than the day before your scheduled trip begins – to account for any possible delays or luggage problems*

The group will now be able to meet and get better acquainted, your equipment will be checkedby the guide, and you will be able to ask any last-minute questions before departure the following day.

Those who have a need to supplement their equipment will have time to do so before the sports shop closes. Personal belongings not needed for the trip will be safely stored during the expedition.

*Upon booking this tour, terms and conditions apply.

Day 2: Transport to Agardh – our starting point.

In the morning of departure day, the guide will pick you up at your accommodation along with the rest of the group and gather everyone at our storage facilities for a final briefing – then we are ready to set off into the East to Agardh, either by sled or snowmobile.

This journey takes a few hours, allowing you to sit back and enjoy the landscape we will be crossing during the coming days.

Upon arrival at Agardhbukta, it is time to prepare our equipment and launch this expedition!

If weather permits, we will start with covering a shorter distance, while as for the rest of the days we are aiming to cover between 15-25 km on skis each day.

Most of our time during the day will be spent skiing at a slow and steady pace, with plenty of stops along the way to refuel on snacks and simply take in the incredible scenery around us.

The route will be determined by weather and snow conditions and the aim is to follow the most natural path as the journey itself can be demanding enough. As evening approaches, we set up camp as a team and enjoy a well-earned hot meal and a night of rest in our warm, sleeping bags.

Days 3-4: Kjeldstrømdalen and Reindalen

After our first night, we have some breakfast and warm drinks in the tent before heading back outside and continue the journey. Today, we will aim to ski up our first glacier on this trip. You will cover several altitude meters and the guide make do constant safety assessments of the glacier crossing. We spend the day skiing, stopping for plenty of breaks as well as enjoying a warm expedition lunch along the way.

Our goal for the day is to cover some ground into the valley of Kjeldstrømdalen before setting up our next camp for the night.

The next morning, we continue, now turning into Reindalen. This is one of the long, vast, and typical valleys we see many of in Svalbard offering little to no human activity for us to properly experience the arctic silence.

Having reached Day 4 of our Spitsbergen Crossing, the routines of the expedition life, including taking breaks and setting up camp is settling in. These routines make up a big part of the everyday life on a trip like this and can often be what makes people want to experience more.

Days 5-7: Semmeldalen to Grønfjorden

Each morning begins with a warm meal and drinks to provide proper fuel for the day’s skiing and pulling of sleds.  For the next few days, the journey continues toward the West – from passing through the greater Reindalen, to following the branches of valleys along Semmeldalen and further to Grøndalen and our final destination, Grønfjorden.

As we continue to set up camp in a new location every evening, our well-established, everyday routines of this expedition life are becoming second nature.

Day 8:

The final leg of the journey continues West-bound, through Grøndalen towards Grønfjorden. As we get closer to the West Coast, it is also the beginning of the end, as it were. We have one final night in camp surrounded by the silent, magnificent wilderness of the Arctic, and perhaps a bit of pride starts to seep in as you have soon completed the Crossing of Spitsbergen from East to West on skis.

Day 9: The ski trip finale

We have now been on this expedition for more than one week’s time and prepare to re-enter the world of human activity with the final stretch taking us where our boat is waiting.

From there, the boat returns to Longyearbyen where we will disembark, debrief and unpack at the storage and we drive you back to your accommodation so you can have a well-deserved, nice and warm shower.

The program may be changed along the way due to weather conditions and the size of the group. In Svalbard, the weather gods decide. Polar bears in camp will also bring about changes as we are obliged to protect them.