Newtontoppen Ski Tour

Exiting trip during the 'Living On Frozen Water' expedition.
A 22-days trip with a 18 days ski-tour, April 18th - May 9th 2011

A 18-days Ski Tour to Spitsbergen highest mountain: Newtontoppen, 1715 meters above sea level.
This trip start and end at sea level. During this trip you will see many different landscapes of Spitsbergen. We will follow another way back to see as much as possible.
You can go from Longyearbyen on a snowscooter and go up and down Newtontoppen in one long day. But doing this on ski's and start and end at the fjord is more a challenge and you will see much more then if you go on snowscooter.
    * Click here to see a map of this trip.


View from the top of Newtontoppen!

Newtontoppen is a relative easy mountain when the weather is nice. Newtontoppen is an impossible mountain when the weather is bad. Time is the main issue, if you have enough time, your changes to get to that top are rising. To get to Newtontoppen you are skiing almost every day over glaciers on a altitude above 1000 meters a.s.l. with no protection at all. The wind can make or break your day or force you to wait for better circumstances to travel further. Traveling above 1000 meters a.s.l. is quite high for a trip on Spitsbergen. On the other hand, skiing here with less wind and sunshine feels like being in paradise.


First eye contact with Newtontoppen, the mountain on the right.

This trip starts with a snowscooter drive to the fjord at Ebbadalen. We will ski up this beautiful valley and we will see the nature and the surrounding changing when we ski higher up the glacier. After some days we will reach the top of the Lomonosov glacier plateau. From here we ski in Northern direction towards the upper part of the Kvitbreen. If we catch some good weather here we can ski around Newtontoppen and go up and down Newtontoppen from its North-east side (this is the only day that we ski without a pulk(sledge) behind us.
We continue going around Newtontoppen by skiing down the Jermakbreen, crossing the big Kvitglacier, going up the first part of the Keplerbreen to the col with Russebreen. Skiing down Russebreen, crossing the Gruzdevglacier and ski up the Millingbreen. From the top of the Millingglacier we will follow a (for us) new part of the Lomonosov glacier in Southern direction towards the Nordenskiold glacier. When we ski down the Nordenskiold glacier to Gipsdalen.
This route isn't the most fastest way of going, but this big round trip will give some very special views every day. The total ski distance is about 140 km.


The Nordenskiold Glacierfront: the snow scooters will drive here to bring the participants to Ebbadalen.

Here a brief description of the programme for the Newtontoppen Ski Tour (programme structure might change):
  • 1. First day: April 18th, Arrival with plane at Longyearbyen.
  • 2. Packing the equipment in Longyearbyen.
  • 3. Going with a long snowscootertrip* to the start of this trip in Ebbadalen, skiing up Ebbadalen.
  • 4-8. Skiing, with the pulk (sledge) behind us, over the Ebba-, Lomonosov-, Kvit-glacier and going
                around Newtontoppen to reach the base of the mountain after 5 days, on day 8.
  • 9. From our 5th camp we are going for a daytrip (without the pulk) to the top of Newtontoppen
            and enjoy the wide 360° view.
  • 10-15. Skiing back over the Jermak-, Kvit-, Kepler-, Russe-, Gruzdev-, Milling-, Lomonosov- and
                    Nordenskiold-glacier to the fjord.
  • 16-19. Spare days**
  • 20. Snowscooter pickup in Gipsendalen, transport to Longyearbyen.
  • 21. Sightseeing Longyearbyen.
  • 22. Last day: March 4th, Departure with the plane from Longyearbyen.

    * The snowscootertrip from Longyearbyen to the start in Ebbadalen is long, it might happen that due to bad weather the snowscooters can not go on day 3. The participants will then have the sightseeing day in Longyearbyen which was planned on day 21.

    **Spare days: These days are mostly used as bad weather day. Due to bad weather it might happen that we have to wait 1 or more days inside our tents. If we have still spare days left at the end of this trip, we will ski further towards Tempelfjorden in the direction of Longyearbyen.
    The whole programme is very flexible and the ski distance every day is not long.

    Visit also these pages: Winter- & Summertrips from Fjelltours on Spitsbergen ; here you will find much more important background information about these trips.

    Take also a look at this page: Walking & skiing with a pulk (sledge) over the Spitsbergen glaciers.


    Footprints of a Polarbear!!

      Startingdate 2011:
  •   April 18th

    The price of this 22-days Newtontoppen Ski Tour is € 2247,- p.p.
    Travelcode: SB11NEW

      In this tour price is included:
    1. 4 overnights in Longyearbyen in chambers with more people (2 overnights at the start and 2 overnights at the end),
    2. 17 overnights in 2-3 persons wintertents/igloo's.
    3. A travel insurance which also covers all the cost of an emergency rescue if necessary,
      during our 18-days fieldtrip on Spitsbergen.
      This insurance is an obligation when you go out on a long fieldtrip in Spitsbergen.
    4. The use of a 2-3 persons wintertent with an isolated foil for under the inner tent.
    5. The use of a sledge with pullingframe and harnass.
    6. The use of cooking equipment to make hot water, a petrol stove with all the fuel.
    7. The use of a snowshovel.
    8. Professional guide, the guide will take care that the programme (as mentioned here above) will be done safe. The guide carry all the necessarry and obligated equipment, which is needed to make a multi day backcountry glacier trip on Spitsbergen.
    9. Transport with a snowscooter to the start and the pick up with a snowscooter at the end of the trip.
    10. The participants will receive information and instructions about the necessary clothes (detailed packing list),
      about camping on Spitsbergen and about the safety aspects on Spitsbergen (Polarbear protection).
      Not included:
    1. Meals: It is possible to cook and have meals together durings the overnights in Longyearbyen. The participants will receive information which food (and how much) is handy to use during camping on Spitsbergen.
    2. Cross country ski's for back country skiing (no randonnee ski's), the skins.
      It is possible to hire these equipment by Fjell Tours (only if booking is made before September 1st 2010). The participants will receive information about this.
    3. The flight to and from Spitsbergen.
    4. Transport from/towards the airport to/from our overnight stay in Longyearbyen.(about € 5,- one way)


        The amount of Participants: min. 4, max. 8


    • Another view from the top of Newtontoppen!

    The participants can hire specific equipment/clothes (like ski's, downjacket, extra sleepingbag, extra matrass, crampons etc.) by Fjell Tours, (only if booking is made before September 1st 2010), see for this:
    Winter- & Summertrips from Fjelltours on Spitsbergen

    To join this trip the participant must have:
    1. Good cross country ski touring experience (not randonnee).
    2. Winter camping experience
    3. a Good condition, although the daily skiing distance is not long, this is a long trip with many fielddays (18 days)!!
    4. Patience, participants must be aware that it might happen that we have to wait 1 or more days inside the tents
      due to bad weather or other circumstances.
    5. Flexibility, The plan for the day can change rapidly, or the daily schedule is changing.
      It might happen that we ski during the night.
      This makes no difference on Spitsbergen, There is no darkness in this time of the year.

    The guide knows how and where to ski save on these glaciers. Sometimes we can ski easy over the glacier, sometimes it takes extra time if we have to avoid difficult places on the glacier.

    To join this trip and to sign in, please send an email to: info@FjellTours.nl
    Also for further questions about this trip, please send an email


        * Back to Wintertrips 2011.



    Last update on June 12th 2010































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