Al Jazeera sent a team to Svalbard, high in the Arctic circle to film a special series on the growing global interest in this northern territory [Maria Hadjiconstanti]
Published On 12 May 200912 May 2009
They travelled from Longyearbyen, the world's most northerly town, run by Norway, down to the Russian settlement of Barentsburg, 65km away [Maria Hadjiconstanti]
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The only way to get there was by a three-hour snowmobile ride. The team thought they were prepared, but the biting cold and deep snow was still a shock [Maria Hadjiconstanti]
The Al Jazeera team needed a large sledge attached to a snowmobile to carry all their TV equipment on the 65km journey [Maria Hadjiconstanti]
Braving temperatures below zero, icy winds and snow flurries, the crew fought their way through the harsh conditions. But the locals told them it was much warmer than the week before, when it was 20 degrees colder [Maria Hadjiconstanti]
Unlike the Antarctic which is mostly flat, the Arctic is mountainous and bumpy. There were steep hills, a strong sun and an icy wind, making filming a bit of a challenge [Maria Hadjiconstanti]
But Alan Fisher, our correspondent, had no problems getting mobile phone reception or sending Twitter updates
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The journey, although bumpy and cold, was a beautiful one, passing Arctic reindeer trying to find this year's first patches of grass to feed on [Maria Hadjiconstanti]
After hours on the snowmobiles, the team finally set their sights on civilisation again [Maria Hadjiconstanti]
Barentsburg, a Russian coal-mining community, is the second largest settlement on Svalbard [Maria Hadjiconstanti]
Hungry after the long, cold expedition, the team tucked into some welcome warm food at the only eatery in Barentsburg [Maria Hadjiconstanti]
After a tiring day travelling across Spitsbergen island, the team turn around for the final leg of their long journey, back to Longyearbyen [Maria Hadjiconstanti]
