The Top of the World

Warning: cute sled dog content ahead

It’s difficult to explain just how far north the next stop on our journey was. The port of Longyearbyen in Svalbard is the farthest-north community of 1,000+ people in the world and sits at 78°13′N. That’s significantly farther north than Alaska, Siberia or any other far-north cold place you might’ve heard of. To put it into perspective, we were only 814 miles from the North Pole. Pause for a moment and map Longyearbyen on your computer or phone. You might be shocked.

One of our first stops was to a sled dog kennel. This particular group was a mixed breed of Greenland dogs and Alaskan Malamutes.

They love the cold and were content to hang out around their doghouses, which were surrounded by beautiful mountains. And they definitely liked the attention from all the tourists.

While we were hanging out with the sled dogs, we were visited by some other local wildlife.

Reindeer

Reindeer

Some of the locals were excited to see a Svalbard rock ptarmigan, aka the flying snowball known to be a master of disguise. Can you find the bird in this photo?

On the left, a guide tells us all about the sled dogs. On the right, an armed guide escorts us to and from every building around the facility. More on that below.

When in Longyearbyen, or any part of Svalbard for that matter, anyone who plans to venture outside of the main city settlement is required to either be certified in gun handling or be accompanied by a guide with a firearm. Why? Because of the real threat of polar bears.

The sign says that the polar bear warning applies throughout all of Svalbard.

Although encounters with polar bears are rare, they usually don’t end well. Since 1971, six people have been killed by polar bears, most recently in 2020. Likewise, polar bears that aren’t deterred by warning gunfire or flare guns will likely end up shot to death. In 2022, a polar bear injured a camper and was killed.

We’ll leave you with a final picturesque shot from our morning.