The expedition
In March 2027, Life Expeditions will attempt to cross Spitsbergen in full, from its southern tip to its northernmost point: nearly 600 kilometres to cover in 35 days.
Our team will move through glaciers, mountains and the wild expanses of the Arctic, carrying everything needed to live and travel unsupported. Cold, storms and the presence of polar bears will be among the realities we must prepare for every day.
The line taking shape before your eyes is the path we hope to follow. As it advances north, it will reveal an immense, shifting island, and the challenges that await us.
1. Leaving Longyearbyen
The team will leave Longyearbyen by snowmobile, heading south across Spitsbergen. This first leg will be logistics, the ski crossing will not have started yet.
2. Ski start
The snowmobiles will stop here. They will be unable to go further. We will still have 120 kilometres to cover to reach the southern tip of Spitsbergen.
It will be a strange feeling: our crossing is meant to take us north, yet it will begin by taking us farther away. Behind us, the snowmobiles will turn back, carrying with them our last link to the civilised world. Ahead, only the Arctic expanse will remain.
3. Southern tip
The southern tip will be reached. From there the unsupported ski traverse will turn north, roughly 600 km across one of the most isolated environments on Earth.
4. Central Spitsbergen
We will then enter central Spitsbergen, into the heart of the island. The terrain will close in around us: valleys will give way to mountains, glaciers and technical passages.
Here, every detour will be dictated by the land. Crevasses, slopes and weather will slow our progress and force us to stay constantly alert. But for the first time since the start of the expedition, every kilometre covered will truly bring us closer to the northern tip.
The south will then lie far behind us. Ahead, the island will still stretch on for hundreds of kilometres.
5. Northern tip
The ski crossing will be complete. From this coastal point, extraction will begin, and snowmobiles will bring the team home.
6. Extraction to Longyearbyen
A snowmobile extraction will run south again toward Longyearbyen, and close the loop of the expedition’s logistics.
