Hiorthhamn - Dark Season: Hike to the Frozen Fjord
Details
© Martin Fiala, Håkon Daae Brensholm, Nanna Borgen
Difficulty level 2 out of 5
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Minimum 2, normally maksimum 8 participants in the group
- November to February
- 10:00am
- Approx. 5 hours
- Approx. 10-12 km in total
- No elevation - flat terrain.
- 12 years
This is an easy walk suitable for everyone as the landscape is flat. At the same time, you will experience ice, snow and high mountains in a majestic landscape. A great trip where nature meets culture.
Price includes:
- Transport round trip
- Headlamp in the dark
- Hot drink and biscuits
- Guide with necessary safety equipment
- Snowshoes/hiking poles if necessary
Recommend to bring:
- Good, warm and worn-in hiking boots*
- Warm clothes
- Cold drink (preferably in a thermos as liquid can freeze to ice)
- Camera
- Warm jumper/ down jacket for breaks
- Backpack
*If you do not have warm hiking boots, these can be rented for NOK 100,-
Extra clothing and equipment: Arctica
Description
Join us on an exciting trip out of the city into the dark polar night to experience the illuminated town from across the fjord and with the possibility of seeing nature's own northern lights in the sky. Just remember, that the Northern Lights is a natural phenomenon and there is no guarantee that we will see them. At the start of the new year, the sun slowly but surely returns and paints the surroundings in beautiful pastel colours.
It feels magical to walk in the Arctic on the tundra and see the light from Longyearbyen from a distance.
Depending on the weather and conditions of the tundra, we cross the frozen Advent River and head for Hiorthhamn, a former mining town on the opposite side of the fjord.
Hiorthamn is an exciting place of cultural history, surrounded by the majestic mountain Hiorthfjellet. The mining town was established in 1917 and the mine entrance is 582 meters above sea level. After 1921, there has only been intermittent mining and the last year of operation was in 1940.
In Hiorthamn there were barracks, forge, warehouse, kitchen, sawmill, hospital, housing, office, and a number of mining facilities and mining roads. On this trip, we visit the listed building masses, and are told what importance this place had for coal mining in Svalbard.
