Ice cave overnight adventure

This overnight trip from Longyearbyen takes guests on foot up towards a glacier to sleep in an ice cave and return the next morning. The group is collected at their accommodation, driven to the operator's base for a short briefing and equipment preparation, then driven on to the starting point. There the gear goes into pulks, and each participant pulls one. Depending on conditions, people walk with or without snowshoes.

The route climbs about 400 vertical metres towards the glacier, usually in 2 to 3 hours. In the Polar Night the walk is lit only by headlamps. The cave has small chambers and narrow passages with thick ice around them, and some crawling is involved. The group makes a simple warm dinner, sleeps in sleeping bags, then has breakfast inside and walks down. The round trip is 6 to 8 km and the programme lasts 17 hours. Pickup is at 17:00, and the return is at 10:00, by 11:00 at the latest. Groups have 2 to 4 participants.

The guide, safety equipment, meals, hot drinks, helmet, headlamp, crampons, sleeping pad and pulk are provided, plus snowshoes and trekking poles when needed. Guests bring warm waterproof boots above the ankle, wool base layers, a windproof jacket, hiking trousers, extra warm layers, hat, neck warmer, windproof mittens or gloves, a backpack of 20 to 35 litres, a water bottle and a sleeping bag. Boots and sleeping bags can be rented.

The minimum age is 16. Difficulty is 4 out of 5: good physical condition is required for rough mountain terrain with steep sections. Guests carry their own gear, such as the sleeping bag, to the cave, and the guide helps with packing. It is not suited to people with back problems or claustrophobia. Participants must speak English.