Travel to Longyearbyen, Norway, A Virtual Journey by Jordan Cargill

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Travel to Longyearbyen, Norway for a virtual journey to the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard

On January 9th, 2015 former New Hampshire White Mountains native, Holderness School graduate and current Bates College geology student Jordan Cargill arrived in the world’s northernmost town of Longyearbyen, Svalbard. It has a small airport, a few miles of roads and a small university outpost of the Norwegian school system, the University Center in Svalbard (UNIS). Longyearbyen acts as the hub for Svalbard, an unincorporated glaciated Archipelago sitting on the 79th parallel administered by Norway. The islands have a small year-round population with numbers falling just shy of the Archipelago’s 3,000 Polar Bears. The presence of humans is owed to the industries of coal-mining, research, and tourism, and stands in stark contrast to the pristine and utterly wild arctic landscape.

Over a five and a half month period Jordan explored the islands through a suite of two field intensive geology courses taken through UNIS and as much personal adventuring as he could squeeze in the margins. His studies took him to the Russian outposts of Pyramiden and Barentsburg, the bottom of glaciers through ice-cave spelunking, and within throwing distance of calving glacier fronts. His time in Longyearbyen allowed him to experience polar night and polar day, a total solar eclipse, and spectacular displays of the aurora borealis. Aided by the adventurous spirit of the place, his own drive to explore, and a wonderful and very international community he was able to participate in countless skiing and hiking trips including an 8 day spring expedition to the northern Atomfjella Mountains.

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