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Trip Reports

Featured TR: Chasing Snow to the Arctic Circle – Svalbard by Boat, May 2014

By November 2, 2014No Comments

Editor’s note: Once again the splitboard.com forums deliver yet another amazing splitboard adventure. This time it’s our friend IrishGav who takes us along on an epic adventure deep into the Arctic Circle on the remote Norwegian island of Svalbard. Check out as they rip some epic lines, encounter polar bears, walruses and partake in naked paddle boarding:

– Words and Photos by IrishGav:
– Interested in taking a trip to Svalbard? Check out Ice Axe Expeditions

I distinctly remember waking up on the flight from Tromso to Longyearbyen with a lot of commotion. I thought for a minute there was some sort of emergency onboard, but it was the few skiers who were jumping about trying to snap as many pictures of possible of an endless alpine mountain range interwoven with huge flat glaciers. Now I was really getting excited.

Svalbard to me and many others was made famous by Jeremy Jones in the movie Further. Having already been to Antarctica, Haines, Japan and of course Chamonix where I recently moved to, I seem to continue my journey of following the great man around the planet being constantly inspired by his energy. Although, this time unlike Jones,  I took a boat trip with Ice Axe Expeditions to explore the fjords looking for good skiing. Doug Stoup started this trip 4 years ago and they run 2 itineraries every year end of May and beginning of June.

Click through the gallery to see the rest of the journey. 

Our home for 8 days, The Artica 2
Within an hour of sailing out of the capital Lonyearbyen we were greeted with views like this
Our first few days where socked in and snowy, it was still deep winter up here. We had no set agenda but to explore the fjords on the look out for Polar Bears and good Skiing.
Flare Guns and Rifles are mandatory safety equipment in these parts ,Johan Jonsson was Polar Bear ready
Up we go
As we sailed for better anchorage the light cleared a little to reveal a few tracks at the bottom
Walrus spotted but still on the look out for Polar Bears…
Another stormy day, another set of Couloirs
Walk the beach over a scooch anyday

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Alex Showerman

Alex Showerman

Since I could walk, sliding around on some form of frozen water has been my passion, starting with skiing and hockey, then switching to snowboarding in middle school and never looking back. After moving back to my home state of Vermont, I found that resort riding just wasn't cutting it for me. So I skipped buying a season pass, and bought a splitboard. That first tour was the same ah-ha moment I had when I first strapped on a snowboard in middle school. When not splitboarding, I work in digital media, mountain bike, play hockey and enjoy all of the amazing beers the Green Mountain State has to offer. Look for me to write about gear, trip reports, tips and tricks and other miscellanea such as climate change, often with an east coast bent.