After our sojourn through the pack ice up to 82 degrees 15 minutes north latitude last night, we had a long way to go back towards the coast of the island of Spitsbergen. By morning we had left the vast white plain of Arctic pack ice behind and soon saw the snow-covered mountains of Svalbard. We were treated to several presentations by expedition staff, and as the morning progressed, the coasts of Nordaustlandet and Spitsbergen rose up ahead. By midday we were in the sheltered waters of Wijdefjorden. Following a major geologic fault line, this wide fjord nearly splits Spitsbergen in two, with 400-million-year-old mountains on either side.
We stopped in front of Nordbreen, the North Glacier, draining the Asgard ice field. Careful scouting by the expedition team found no evidence of polar bears, which meant we were clear for hikes along the beach, moraine, and ridge above the glacier. There were reindeer grazing on the foreshore and ten walruses hauled out on the point. Everyone could choose a hike suited to their desired level of effort, and all had great views of wildlife, the glacier, and its surrounding mountains.
