I actually visited Svalbard at the end of February 2025 - yes they have a tourism industry, and are pivoting towards it from coal (the last mine will be closed this year (1)). The first day there was a snowstorm, it was damn cold and around -20C. The next days there was a "heatwave" and the temperature was closer to 0C. So I was a little disappointed that it wasn't as bitterly cold as it "should" have been. But also relieved to not be chilled to the bones.
In my tour group, 2 people were arriving on the evening flight. But shortly before landing, the pilot noticed they have a problem, and if they landed, they might not be able to take-off again. The airline didn't want to have a plane be stuck in a freezing hangarless airport in the arctic, so they flew back to Tromso. Since Svalbard isn't in Schengen, the passengers of the full 737 needed to go through the International border checks. Sadly the Tromso passport control had closed for the evening, so... they put all those passengers in a different plane all the way back to Oslo to reenter Schengen, be put in a hotel, and to wake up early to fly back to Svalbard the next morning.
That evening, I was sitting in the hostel lobby. Some people showed up with suitcases. They were people who were expecting to leave the island with that plane that turned around. One girl was going to miss a flight back to Korea...
You can see this first hand in Ewan McGregor’s Long Way Home series on Apple TV. He and a childhood friend ride motorcycles through Northern Europe, and take a side trip to Svalbard. Their guide there said the glacier was 30m further north than it used to be.
jonstewart · 15h ago
I went on a cruise around Spitsbergen last summer, went up to the pack ice. The tour staff were hoping to zodiac us out onto the ice but it was too broken up for that.
It’s an amazing landscape, temperate enough in July, but you miss trees. Bråsvellbreen looks like The Wall in Game of Thrones, stretching further than you can see.
johnofthesea · 13h ago
> but you miss trees
I saw birch forest at Svalbard. Was about 2cm tall.
In my tour group, 2 people were arriving on the evening flight. But shortly before landing, the pilot noticed they have a problem, and if they landed, they might not be able to take-off again. The airline didn't want to have a plane be stuck in a freezing hangarless airport in the arctic, so they flew back to Tromso. Since Svalbard isn't in Schengen, the passengers of the full 737 needed to go through the International border checks. Sadly the Tromso passport control had closed for the evening, so... they put all those passengers in a different plane all the way back to Oslo to reenter Schengen, be put in a hotel, and to wake up early to fly back to Svalbard the next morning.
That evening, I was sitting in the hostel lobby. Some people showed up with suitcases. They were people who were expecting to leave the island with that plane that turned around. One girl was going to miss a flight back to Korea...
1) https://www.spitsbergen-svalbard.com/photos-panoramas-videos...
It’s an amazing landscape, temperate enough in July, but you miss trees. Bråsvellbreen looks like The Wall in Game of Thrones, stretching further than you can see.
I saw birch forest at Svalbard. Was about 2cm tall.
Go Billie, Go!