We leave as strangers and come back as friends.
That’s the part of these trips I love most.
When we leave the harbour in Longyearbyen and sail out into Isfjorden, everyone is settling in and getting used to life on board. People come from different places, with different backgrounds and their own reasons for joining the trip.
During those first hours, we’re still getting to know each other. Nobody really knows yet what the next week will bring.
Svalbard is home now
I’m Andreas, an expedition guide and Operations Manager at Backyard Svalbard. I’m originally from Austria and worked as a glaciologist before moving north. Svalbard is home now, and much of my life here revolves around mountains, glaciers, wildlife and taking people out to explore them.
Together with Saeftinghe, we do that through hiking and Ski & Sail trips. The ship is our home for the journey, and every trip develops its own rhythm.
The Arctic always has a say
We leave with a rough route in mind. There are places we’d like to visit, mountains we hope to climb, faces we’d like to ski and anchorages where we’d love to spend the night. We prepare carefully, but I don’t think I’ve ever had a trip here go exactly according to the original plan.
Wind, visibility, sea ice conditions and snow always have a say. Having a few good alternatives ready is simply part of the job.
Finding the rhythm on board
The rhythm on board soon becomes familiar. We sail, find a good place to anchor and gather for dinner. Then we look at the map and the forecast and talk about the next day.
On a Ski & Sail trip, that might mean discussing a mountain we could ski from the shore and what the snow conditions might be like. On a hiking trip, we might be looking at a ridge above the fjord or a valley we’d like to explore.
Preparing to go ashore
About an hour before everyone else wakes up, I usually take my coffee outside and scan the horizon with my binoculars for polar bears. If one appears, we don’t go ashore.
Some mornings, the mountains rise sharply against the sky and everything looks promising. On others, the wind has shifted overnight, and before breakfast is finished I’m already having another conversation with the captain.
Before heading ashore, we assess the landing, check our equipment and brief the group. On ski days, the snow and avalanche conditions also determine which route we choose. We keep reassessing as we go and adapt to the conditions and the people we’re with.
Then comes the part we’ve all been waiting for: getting out there together.
Exploring Svalbard on skis and on foot
On skis, we find a steady rhythm on the ascent, with Saeftinghe gradually getting smaller below us. We stop to take off a layer, have a drink and look back across the water. There’s time to talk on the way up, and usually a quiet moment when everyone takes in the view before we prepare for the descent.
On foot, there is more time to notice the smaller things: tracks in the ground, Arctic plants between the rocks or the marks a glacier has left across a valley. My background in glaciology usually finds its way into the conversation. Ask me about the ice and our next break might last a little longer than expected.
I enjoy sharing what I know, but I also like seeing what other people notice. Returning to a place with someone who is experiencing it for the first time often makes me appreciate it all over again.
A ship to come home to
And at the end of the day, we have a ship to come home to.
We bring our gear aboard, hang up our jackets and settle in for the evening. Someone looks through the photographs. Someone else is still talking about a good stretch of skiing or something we spotted along the way. Around the dinner table, we hear the same day from everyone’s perspective.
Between outings, we share life aboard Saeftinghe. There are sails to help with, things to learn from the crew and long stretches of coastline to watch from the deck. Gradually, we get to know each other.
People start helping one another without being asked. Conversations get longer. A joke from the first day is still going several days later. We’ve shared the effort of an ascent, the pleasure of a good descent, meals, changing weather and a lot of time around the same table.
From strangers to friends
After a week or ten days of sailing, hiking and skiing together, the group feels completely different from the one that first stepped aboard. There are shared stories now, familiar jokes and memories that belong only to us.
By the time we sail back towards Longyearbyen, there is a different feeling on board. We’ve seen incredible places, changed plans, worked together and shared the small everyday moments of life at sea.
We leave as strangers and come back as friends.
And usually, it doesn’t end when we step off the ship. Many groups stay in touch afterwards. WhatsApp groups continue, people meet again and sometimes friendships that started on Saeftinghe last for years.
That’s what makes these trips with Backyard Svalbard and Saeftinghe so special to me. The mountains, the skiing, the hiking, the glaciers and the wildlife are incredible, of course. But seeing a group of people come together and become friends in just a few days is the part that always makes me smile.
I feel very lucky to be part of that.
Andreas Gswchentner , Expedition Guide and Operations Manager ,
Pictures from Alexandre Magnan.
Our trips on Svalbard during the 2027 season: