Ice Caves , Lifeguards , Skiing and Skinny Dipping!

18/01/09 - I went skiing for the first time today, on cross country skis. After only being able to find shoes 6 sizes too small and putting on the skis I stated to wonder "how do you stop in these things?" as I quickly gained momentum skidding down the road. I found aiming for large banks of snow was the only way. Needless to say I returned covered in bruises.

21/01/09 - Dale's birthday. I missed one of my lectures today, I instead had to take a lifeguard test so I can lifeguard at swimming and kyacpolo. I am now officially certified as a Norwegian lifeguard! Suck on that Hasslehoff, there's a new kid in town!
For Dale's party we went to the caves, they were gorgeous! So crazy and pretty, just amasing. It was really good fun, we had taccos afterward.
The ceiling was covered in ice and rocks that looked like diomonds and the floor a large part was just ice and we slid around and got very dirty crawling through tiny gaps to get to breathtaking caverns.
I cant believe this is the least spectacular cave and its 5 mins walk from our Barrack.

21-23/01/09 - Nothing special, I have been working and revising, just to let those of you who worry about me not doing any work and revision, don't worry I have been doing some.

23/01/09- Had my first day off today, spent most of it revising. After doing all I could I joined the others at the uni and we went for a dip in the freezing fjord!!! Its a competition 1 points for going in and 1.5 for going in nude. Of course being competitive I went for full points. There are pictures of all 30 of us running ( only 6 of us starkers) into the water, crazy freezing fun. Before you ask, no, I haven't got any because I was taking part rather than being a photographer. We then spent a stupid amount on beer for the friday gathering, and it ran out again!! 8 crates my god!

Courses and Outings

11-16/01/09 The last week we have started our courses. They are really interesting but involve a lot of Electromagnetism, good revision, in my spare time I have mainly done revision.

I have also signed up for loads of student responsibilities. A large one is the Friday gathering which involves buying over £200 worth of alcohol, organizing and clearing up after a party at UNIS every Friday, a lot of work. My first day ended in us running out of beer, opps!

We had a great time at the party anyway and continued it later at the pub. That was crazy. It was like World War 3 and I was the oil, and no I'm not going to elaborate.

17/01/09- Waking up with a big hand over and grin on my face after just 3 hours sleep we started the morning by climbing, literally climbing almost vertically at some points up the glacier at the back of longyearbyen. It was knackering and went on forever. However the view at the top was awesome.

Safety Finale

Svalbard is awesome!!!!!
Yesterday was just amazing. It started the worst days weather so far with temperatures of -30 and gale force winds that cause frostbite in a second, almost blizzard conditions.

After hiking to the mouth of the glacier we started putting into practice all the skills we have learn over the last week. How to set up a base camp in horrendous conditions. We had to rescue and get warm an injured person. We did an avalanche simulation and had to find three dummies buried in a mountainside.

We also simulated rescuing people from a glacier creating our own pulley systems from ropes and rappelling down, I was the victim for that one.

It was a grueling 5 hours but really great fun too! At the end the emergency helicopter came and showed off its stuff with a guy rappelling out and lifting and flying off with one of the girls on the course!

The best thing on the way back was the weather greatly improved and with the full moon the view was absolutely breathtaking.

When we got back we had to do a short exam and after were given free beer and Pizza! We partied until 3 am. The most knackering and extreme day of my life, just awesome, this is why I came to Svalbard!!!

Oh yeah and James (the American on the right) got very drunk and danced very inappropriately with me, so if your his girlfriend in Alaska, watch out!

09/01/09 - I got new face mask today, makes me look like a mix between Saw and a ninja.
We also learnt to use the emergency camping equipment including trip wires for flairs to scare of Polar bears.

After we did Glacier rescue training in which we learn to tie knots and create winches to lift tapped people out. We tested it by repelling and lifting people off of a second story stairwell.

Tomorrow we try all the stuff out in real conditions on the glacier behind the accommodation for 5 hours! Apparently last year 10 people feinted from cold and exhaustion. Plus the rescue helicopter will come at the end. Very cool. Then we have to go straight down for an exam on the procedures. Ill probs tell you how its went with a really bad hangover on Sunday.

07/01/09 - It happened again this morning, but this time I was prepared. It was so close and completely docile, even when my camera flash went off it didn't blink. What a cute reindeer. I could have touched it but we had been warned not to due to diseases.

Rifle training was awesome. But as a left hander I had to learn to shoot right handed. I was rubbish at first but greatly improved later. The bullets were massive. We are told they can travel more than 5km and still be deadly at this range, so we should be careful where we shoot!

It was very cold but with the moon up its been the brightest since we got here. So I took some pics of our surroundings.

We also did CPR and first aid survival rescue, it was good stuff to learn and thank god in the warmth.

Avalance rescue and Snow Rugby

06/01/09 - Sorry no pics today. Now it really was cold today -32. I had to do avalanche rescue training in the morning which involved being put into an ice cave and being prodded with 3 meter sticks from above. We also learnt how to use all the survival grear including survival beacons, walky-talkies and satellite phones. During the course of which I lost all feeling in my hands and feet due to the extreme cold and on the way back home my eyelids froze together- nice.

We then found out snow rugby was at on later, it was crazy but great fun, rugby in -30! The ice cave also got a bit bigger today, we fit 2 and half people in it today. Tomorrow I do rifle training, Im so excited. But its forecast to be -35! SO an extra layer all around is in order. Im exhausted and aching. What a weird day!

Start of Survival training

03/01/09- After recovering from a bout of dry mouth I went to try and purchase alcohol and more supplies from the Co-op. I found pout when there that I needed my boarding card as it is rationed and I had left it at the barracks! Oh well.

Later we decided to try and build a snow man. However the snow was so cold you cant do anything with it, its eighter ice or falls to pieces like dust, its crazy. So we decided to build an ice cave (see left) Its an ongoing project.

For all those guys out there who think Scandinavia is just full of beautiful blond athletic women...your damn right it is! ;-)

04/01/09- We found out Sunday was sports day. For some reason we were convinced that giving Polo Kyacing a go was a good idea. Thats right, playing waterpolo in kyacs in a swimming pool when its -22 outside, it was just bazaar! It was great fun.


05/01/09- Started out safety courses. It consisted of a set of really boring talks by people who could speak or spell English that well with some gruesome images of injuries from frost bite and polar bear attacks with "blod" and "svelling".
Two reindeer were just outside the uni, as it was snowing I almost walked into one, well I was few meters away, I thought it was a rock before it started pooing! It gave me a bit of a fright. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me. Tomorrow we start the training proper and over the week learn glacier rescue and rifle training, first aid, skidoo driving etc.

First Steps into the wilderness

31/12/08 - Ash and I fly to Oslo Airport fueled by the idea of a night out in Oslo. When we arrive the airport is dead and we are informed that Oslo is the 50 min taxi drive away. So defeated we instead have a quiet night in at the hotel.

It was so cool all the airplanes were covered in snow and ice as well as the runway!





01/01/09 - We fly off to Svalbard. As we travel across Norway the landscape was completely barren.
As the plane continues the light disappeared until we were surrounded in pitch blackness.

When we got to Svalbard "flyplatz" Ash and I got on the wrong bus but luckily realised this before we were dropped off 2 miles away from our houses and jumped onto the right bus.

Went for our first walk. It was fecking freezing!!! -18 degrees. We later found the local pub/restaurant and had a meal and a small beer costing £5. Jup alcohol is that expensive here!

02/01/09 - Ash and I poped to the Uni and CO-OP for some food. It was an hour's trek round trip. The Uni was very cool and swish inside. The co-op was just like a co-op back home except you couldn't read what the food was! It was a bitch to bring it all back, absolutely nackering with all the 4 layers of clothes as well, but we made it, not like poping across the street in Aber.

New people arrive!!! Also there is a friday party at UNIS where beer is cheap... and illegally sold. Dale and Colin arrived too.
Had an awesome time and met loads of new people. Ash and Colin got very tipsy.

p.s Don't worry I wont add this much for every day its just because its my first few days!