Svalbard
2018
Longyearbyen
Longyearbyen is the largest settlement on Svalbard and the world’s northernmost town with over 1000 residents. It sits in a valley and looks out over Adventfjorden.
It is 800 miles from the North Pole.
It is very remote and very cold.
It is also very beautiful.
Light works differently at 78º North.
From April to August, the sun doesn’t set.
From October to February, the sun doesn’t rise.
In September the sun stays close to the horizon all day. When it does set, it seems to last forever.
I climbed to Trollsteinen, a mountain that looks out over Longyearbyen.
Our guide was required to bring a gun; a precaution against polar bear attacks.
Longyearbyen was established as a mining town over 100 years ago. There are reminders everywhere.
Today Longyearbyen is focussed on scientific research and tourism.
Hiorthfjellet looms over Longyearbyen from the other side of Adventfjorden. It looked completely different every time I saw it. I wrote a piece about that.
I found sitting at the edge of Adventfjorden in the evening relaxing, watching the sun set as waves lapped gently against the bay.
One evening I recorded the sound of the water.
When I arrived in Longyearbyen the valley was obscured by mist.
One day I looked up and saw snow and glaciers.
Ny-Ålesund
The world’s northernmost civilian settlement, populated only by scientists.
We took a four hour boat ride from Longyearbyen to reach it.
Though originally a mining settlement like Longyearbyen, an explosion in 1962 killed 21 men and kickstarted a political scandal - the Kings Bay Affair. All mining operations ceased and Ny-Ålesund became a station for polar scientists.
Just about everything in Ny-Ålesund is the northernmost of its kind, like this post office…
…and this train.
Finding moments of stillness and tranquility can be difficult in our everyday lives - there always seems to be something else to do, another deadline rushing to meet us, some outside noise breaking our concentration. Standing on the shore at Ny-Ålesund, for a brief moment, I was free from all distractions. In this tiny community, so isolated from the rest of the world, time stopped.
The Three Kings - mountains in the distance. Ny-Ålesund was so quiet we could hear the glacier calving.
I visited Svalbard after completing my undergraduate degree.
For four years I had explored a huge range of music, tried out countless ideas, and finally hit a brick wall. My Piano Concerto had been the culmination of my experiments thus far and I was left with a blank manuscript pad and no clear direction.
When the airport shuttle dropped me off in the middle of Longyearbyen I was met with rain and fog. These didn’t last, however. As I wandered the weather improved, and as I observed my surroundings I found myself paying attention to details I never would have considered otherwise.
“Whatever you give your attention to, you discover that it’s worthy of receiving the attention”
In Svalbard I learned to appreciate nature. I learned to slow down. I learned to find beauty in sunlight. I learned to wait patiently to see mountains and glaciers appear. I learned that silence broadens horizons. I learned that wherever you are, if you look carefully you’ll find something interesting.
I have written several pieces about my experiences on Svalbard.
You can listen to them here.