And then a little more from the arctic

It seems the polarbears love to cuddle too... At least the bears in Manitoba, Canada.


More from the wild and hostile north here.

Dogs yet again

About four months ago, in early February, Nuna in the dogyard down the road had 6 puppies, a mixture of Alaskan husky and Greenland dog (Grønskies).


Nearly new-born, kept indoors for the first weeks.


By the end of February, a little bigger - big enough to cuddle -


... while mummy Nuna anxiously watches.


In March, even bigger - but Thomas and cousin Sunniva can still lift them.


The other day, we went to see them again, and now they´re almost grown - but still playful and happy and good natured.


Some of us could still lift them.


Another 6 months or so, they´ll be strong enough to pull sleds - not a bad life for a dog:)

The eiders next door

Not only gulls and geese, but also lots of Ærfugl (or Common Eider) have returned to Svalbard lately, after having spent the winter on the mainland and Iceland. It´s reckoned that as many as 20000 birds return to Svalbard in April, and leave in October.


Now that there are large patches of land without snow, they´ve started breeding. These pictures are from our neighbourhood, where an eider-colony has settled close to a dogyard. On this patch, they know that they´re safe from foxes and bears, who are their greatest enemies. The foxes and bears keep their distance from the noisy (and smelly) dog enclosure.


A sign next to the colony defines the area.


Somehow the birds know that the dogs can only look wistfully from their cages. Of course, if a dog was turned loose, there would be a massacre.


The white ones are the drakes - a lot more visible than the brown females. How many birds on the the photo underneath?

More on dogs and Bolterdalen

Another dog-sled trip in Bolterdalen, this time in glorious sunlight. And almost as magic as last time.






Only Emma and I went this time, with our visitors Elisa and Magny.

Here´s Emma cuddling a 3 week old puppy ...


and strapping the big, howling ones in front of the sled.



And Emma steering the sled. My view of her from sitting in the sled. She had full control.


My view forward.


And Elisa´s view of Emma and I.


Other views. Passing sleds.



Mine 7 .


Cabins in Adventdalen.


Eiscat.


And now I want to go again!

Some more we did last week

Peter, William and I skiing to the top of mount Lusitania, 926 meter altitude.


Peter and William at the summit - Tempelfjorden in the background.


William and I.


Sing Star competition!


Emma and cousin Ask proudly posing after having tried out the snowmobiles.



Dinner at Huset.


Visiting the puppies at the nearest dog yard, Thomas and Sunniva.


Emma.

Hege, Peter and their kids went on an organised trip with dog sleds, and they were thrilled about it. Here´s a couple of pictures that Peter took.


Sunniva with Gandalf (the white one) and some other huskies.



This has been the longest really cold period all winter, cold steam has risen from the sea for several days. Freezing but gorgeous.



Peter and the family left yesterday, after a very eventful holiday. We enjoyed having them, and I think they all felt that spending easter in Longyearbyen was a success.

And now, it´s turned rather quiet ...

Dogs and magic light in Bolterdalen

Yesterday morning, the Frozen Family ventured out into the wild again, this time with the help of 12 happy huskies.

Underneath: from the dog yard in Bolterdalen, belonging to Basecamp Explorer.



Most of them just loved to be hugged by humans - and Thomas happily complied.


Peter wrapped up in the sled. It wasn´t very cold - around -16C - and almost no wind. But cold enough if you were sitting still.


This is how light it got - the best light we´ve had since November.


But still not the best light for photography. These are a couple that turned out OK.


Travelling by dog sled is so different than driving the snowmobile, it´s amazing. The silence and darkness comes nearer somehow - and even if you can´t travel as far as with a snowmobile, just being around the friendly and eager dogs makes up for that threefold. There´s no question as to what I prefer.

Nearly full moon in one direction, and a blue glow in the south gave us light from two sides - and no need for head-torches.


Back at the dog yard - we had a cup of hot tea and some quality time with the puppies Danse ...


... and Viagra. Don´t ask.



This is my first time on a dog sled, but it´s certainly not my last. But maybe my last in that kind of light. It was ... perfect.