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Trip Report: Svalbard: Ultimate Arctic Expedition - August 2023
Trip Report: Svalbard: Ultimate Arctic Expedition - August 2023
by Grant Ordelheide
In the months leading to this trip, I had many people ask me where my next big trip was. When I answered that I would be going to Svalbard, the inevitable response came back: “Where?” I would pull out a map and launch into my much-practiced spiel: “It’s north… like way north, we’ll fly into the northernmost city in the world, board a ship and go out looking for landscapes and wildlife.” I would always finish by saying our main goal would be to photograph polar bears. I could always see their eyes widen as I explained just how close to the top of the earth we would be going. Little did I know just how wild and incredible Svalbard would be.
I joined fellow guide Matt Meisenheimer and twelve guests as we ascended to Longyearbyen for Backcountry Journeys’ inaugural arctic adventure. It was late August, yet due to our northern latitude, the sun was only just beginning to set after a summer of 24 hours of daylight. Our home for the next ten days would be aboard the MS Virgo. Most ships around Svalbard are quite large and limited in how they can move and interact with wildlife. Our experienced crew and naturalist guides only work with photographers, so they understand what it takes to get the shot giving us a huge advantage. This small but capable ship would provide to be the perfect vessel for exploring the islands and fjords of Svalbard.
We began our journey from Longyearbyen toward the northwest fjords. We left in heavy fog and low visibility. After sailing all night, we were pleasantly surprised to awake to clear skies and epic mountain views. The northwest corner of Svalbard is covered in rugged peaks and steep fjords. Tidewater glaciers are around every turn. The mountains here alone are worth the journey. We toured several fjords and took our first zodiac cruise. The zodiacs allow us to get on water level and make landings. They also can get us into places that the ship cannot go. The process of loading and unloading the small boats and getting suited up for the arctic temperatures would soon become routine for us. We photographed some puffins and a tidewater glacier (making sure to grab some authentic glacier ice for the evening’s cocktails).
We woke the next morning in a new location, taking zodiac cruises to a Sabins Gull nest. We hadn’t seen a polar bear yet, but the bearded seal skeletons on the beach let us know that we were in the right place. We cruised near some icebergs that got larger and larger as we approached. It was beginning to dawn on me that I had no real concept of scale out here. The mountains, glaciers, and icebergs are so big that they always seem closer than they were.
As we boarded the ship to our next location, we joked that when you are searching for bears, every rock and log starts looking like a bear. After a much-needed hot soup lunch, we again braved the misty conditions to tour another glacier face. As we were motoring around looking at a particularly interesting piece of ice, Peggy had her binoculars trained on a pair of “white rocks”. Sure enough, they started moving. Way up on the hill were our first polar bears. They were beautiful, albeit a little far away for a great shot. It didn’t matter, we were pretty excited!
Despite making contact with the bears, we were eager to keep heading north to the edge of the sea ice. The ice is critical for the bears to hunt seals from and we were hopeful we would have a chance at spotting a bear or two up there. We sailed all through the night and morning. When I stepped out on the bow, there was no land in sight. For the first time, it really felt like we were way, way out there. Gradually we could see some white on the horizon. This was the edge of the ice. If we wanted to go further to the North Pole, we would need to walk. Our guides had cautioned that we may need to spend some serious time looking around the ice for bears and we had realistic expectations that it might be hard to find them.
Turns out, luck was on our side because right as we came up to the ice we saw a bear off of the front of the boat. We all scurried outside to get some shots. As we inched closer, we realized there was another bear a few hundred yards away! Both bears were big males who had been through some battles. We photographed them both for some time before they decided to swim away. We continued on down the edge of the ice only to spot a third bear shortly after. This one was different. This female bear looked like it was drawn by Disney animators, a beautiful specimen that didn’t have a hair out of place. We dubbed her “Miss Norway.” Thankfully she was curious and came closer to the ship giving off her best runway looks for us in the process. It was an amazing encounter.
We were on cloud nine, but the day wasn’t over. We had spent the afternoon going to the bears, but for the evening the captain parked the boat in the ice to see if any bears would come to us. Everyone went to bed with the understanding that they may get a bear knock on their door. A couple of us were staying up late, looking out over the foggy ice from the bow of the ship. I was taking a few landscape photos of the chunks of ice when I remarked to Matt that these photos would be a lot better with a bear in them. Two minutes later, Matt pointed: “Bear!” I could barely make it out, but sure enough, a white figure was moving through the fog. We quickly roused everyone to grab their cameras and get outside. This bear had likely never seen a ship before and was very curious though a little nervous. As everyone rushed outside, the bear circled the ship, coming quite close for a nearby look at all the snapping cameras. Eventually, she lost interest and wandered back into the fog. We couldn’t believe how close she had come and the photographs we were able to make.
As we came off the literal and metaphorical high of our time in the sea ice, we sailed south back into the islands. We passed the second longest glacier front in the world, amazed at the meltwater falls pouring off the ice cap right into the sea. We spent a day anchored near a minke whale carcass that had been providing a summer-long buffet for all bears in the area. We photographed a pair of siblings that came to snack on the rotting whale. When the biggest bear I have ever seen came wobbling down the beach, the two smaller bears ran off to give way to the big fella. Lucky for us, instead of leaving, the two siblings went for a swim in the shallow water near us playing and diving for kelp. We were able to photograph these playful bears for over an hour! Our expedition leader told us he had never seen that behavior at close range for that long before.
Of course, there is so much more wildlife to Svalbard than just polar bears. We were keen to photograph as many animals as we could, and we lucked out with good encounters across the board. Curious seals, birds, reindeer, and even arctic foxes, there were opportunities every day.
One species that always had us excited was the walrus. These charismatic and curious animals would be our companions throughout the trip. At times, we had curious groups coming right up to our zodiacs, close enough to have me wondering how durable the rubber tubes of our boat would be should they come into contact with an errant tusk. Thankfully our expedition guides assured us it wouldn’t have been a problem, and we were able to photograph these guys with wide-angle lenses!
As amazing as our wildlife encounters had been, the landscapes of Svalbard were just as incredible. It felt like every glacier we came across was bigger than the previous one. During one of our evening zodiac cruises, we explored the glacier front of a very active glacier in Kongsfjorden. As we photographed gulls and icebergs, suddenly a tower at the far end of the glacier calved off. It was pretty cool, but we had seen lots of calving at this point. What was different about this one was what was about to come. Apparently, that tower was very structurally important because, over the next five minutes, we watched as the entire side of the glacier front fell off into the fjord. It was the largest calving any of us had ever seen and truly put into perspective the forces of ice.
As our days wound down, there were few animals left on our bucket list. We had seen so much that we felt like anything else would just be icing on the cake. Turned out, we had a lot of icing left. On our final zodiac cruise of the trip, we left the ship with plans to explore a nearby glacier front and maybe try to find a few beluga whales that had been spotted nearby. As we got closer to where the whales were, we could see hundreds of birds in the air. Our naturalist, excitedly explained there was some feeding going on. We arrived to Beluga chaos. Hundreds of individuals from several pods were converging and feeding on bait balls beneath the surface. We kept our heads on a swivel as belugas came and went all around our zodiac. It was a truly amazing wildlife encounter and an experience none of us will soon forget.
We pulled into port later that night, docked and ready to catch our early morning flights back home. This trip had been everything we could have hoped for and more. From the wildlife to the ship and its crew, to our wonderful guests, this trip was excellent on all levels. I feel can speak for everyone when I say that Svalbard is one of the world’s special places and it left an imprint on all of us. It is fragile and beautiful, wild and remote, desolate and yet full of life. It is one of those places that makes me happy just knowing it exists. I am grateful for the experience and counting down the days until next time.
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AUTHOR
AUTHOR
Grant Ordelheide is a Montana-based outdoor and adventure photographer. Growing up in the Colorado Rockies, in a family that explored and played in the outdoors at every opportunity, instilled in him a profound reverence for the landscape. Grant’s love of nature and wild places preceded his love of photography, which emerged as a natural extension and by-product of his adventures in the mountains as an avid backpacker, climber, and snowboarder.
Following his passion, Grant earned a Bachelor’s degree in photography with an emphasis in business from Pacific Union College in California’s Napa Valley. In 2016, Grant was a recipient of the Art Wolfe Next Generation Photographer Grant organized by Luminous Landscape. His work has won numerous awards, including one of the top honors in the U.S. Landscape Photographer of the Year contest. His photos have been published in National Geographic Traveler, Backpacker, Outside, Climbing, The New York Times, The Yosemite Journal, and many other print and online publications. Grant’s fine art prints hang in gallery, corporate, and private collections across the country.
For several years, Grant has shared his eye, expertise, and contagious passion for photographing the outdoors, teaching photography workshops throughout the country. Grant currently resides in Columbia Falls, Montana with his wife Alexis. His work can be viewed at grantordelheide.com
Following his passion, Grant earned a Bachelor’s degree in photography with an emphasis in business from Pacific Union College in California’s Napa Valley. In 2016, Grant was a recipient of the Art Wolfe Next Generation Photographer Grant organized by Luminous Landscape. His work has won numerous awards, including one of the top honors in the U.S. Landscape Photographer of the Year contest. His photos have been published in National Geographic Traveler, Backpacker, Outside, Climbing, The New York Times, The Yosemite Journal, and many other print and online publications. Grant’s fine art prints hang in gallery, corporate, and private collections across the country.
For several years, Grant has shared his eye, expertise, and contagious passion for photographing the outdoors, teaching photography workshops throughout the country. Grant currently resides in Columbia Falls, Montana with his wife Alexis. His work can be viewed at grantordelheide.com
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"Backcountry Journeys offers guests the unique opportunity to explore our natural world from behind their own lens. We run a selection of hand-crafted Photo Tours, Workshops & Safaris connecting passionate people to exceptional experiences. Locations worldwide.
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BACKCOUNTRY JOURNEYS
"Backcountry Journeys offers guests the unique opportunity to explore our natural world from behind their own lens. We run a selection of hand-crafted Photo Tours, Workshops & Safaris connecting passionate people to exceptional experiences. Locations worldwide.
All Images & Content are property of Backcountry Journeys Photography Tours, Workshops & Safaris LLC - Copyright 2024
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Download our Trip Catalog for detailed information on our many destinations for photography tours, workshops, and safaris.