3½ hour dog sled
tour We will pick you up at
your hotel and the trip first goes to our changing-room where you,
depending on the weather, receive a scooter dress, high boots,
balaclava, wool socks and goggles. Thereafter we set out to the dog
yard, which is located right next to closed coalmine number 6. We
drive alongside the majestic Adventsvalley and pass a traffic sign
which declares that from here and on rifle should at all time be
carried. Caution Polar Bears! Our guides naturally bring rifle and
signal pistol with them, and they have proper training in using them
in an emergency situation.
We will pass the "Ice Pond" which supplies all of Longyearbyen with
fresh water. Further out in the valley are the old
airport and Nordlysstasjonen. Relatively big airplanes landed on the
frozen tundra in Adventsvalley until 1975. In the end of the "landing
run" a car with the front lights on worked as landing lights. No
planes could land in the summer because Adventsvalley turned into a
river delta. Behind the old airport rises the Oprafjeld, most famous
for the tragical aircraft crash, which claimed 142 lives. It was a
Russian Aeroflot plane that crashed in 1996.
When we finally arrive at the dog yard we will take some time to say
hello to our four legged friends. The dog yard houses approximately 40
Alaskan Huskies. Every now and then have we little puppies that desire
a little more attention. Lots of contact with people in an early age
is excellent social training for them.
The guide explains and shows how to harness the dogs and attach it to
the sled. You will then be paired up two and two and get one sled and
6 dogs, which you will harness yourself.
We are now ready to set off out in the wilderness and the beautiful
nature of Svalbard. When leaving the dog yard the dog will stop
barking and you will be notice the contrast of the silence of the
artic wilderness.
The tour goes to Boltervalley, which is a smaller deviation from the
greater Adventsvalley. From March 1:th Boltervalley is a scooter free
area so we will have peace and quiet here. We will have a lot of stops
so we can change drivers and have a little rest. The photo
opportunities on the way will be plentiful.
Well back in the dog yard the dogs will be unharnessed and given a
snack as a thank you for a good trip. You will then be returned to
your hotel.
