Belarusians told how they walked for 20 days through the Arctic wilderness. Now there are passes named after Vasil Bykaŭ and Uladzimir Karatkievič
Backpacks heavier than 40 kilograms, icy rivers, and 20 days almost without connection to the usual world — in such conditions, five Belarusian tourists embarked on a hiking trip across Spitsbergen. The archipelago is one of the northernmost inhabited territories on Earth. Nevertheless, it is usually explored during the winter period, when one can travel on skis. But our heroes did not try to find "easy" ways and walked 250 kilometers on foot. No one had undertaken a journey in this format here for almost 60 years, writes Onliner.
The Spitsbergen archipelago is located in the Arctic Ocean, approximately midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole. The territory belongs to Norway, but a number of countries have the right to conduct economic activities there.
About 60% of the archipelago's territory is occupied by protected reserves and national parks. In total, slightly less than 3,000 people live here. The climate is Arctic, but milder due to the Gulf Stream. In winter, the average temperature is about -20°C, and in summer — around +3…+6°C. However, due to constant stormy winds, it feels much colder. Very little precipitation falls. In winter, it's dry, biting snow, and in summer — prolonged drizzle and dense fogs.
On Spitsbergen, the polar day (in summer, the sun does not set for several months in a row) and polar night (in winter, darkness lasts from November to February) are clearly pronounced.
"Immediately after the start of the hike, we thought: 'Oh, so this is how it will be for 20 days straight?'"
In total, five participants embarked on that very hike in July. Onliner spoke with two of them: group leader Valery and one of the hike participants, Vadim.
The idea came to Valery almost 10 years ago when he met Minsk tourists who had skied across Spitsbergen.
"I don't specialize in ski tourism; my areas are mountain and hiking. So I wanted to accomplish something similar, but in summer. The team gathered for several years. There were attempts to go, but due to various circumstances, it didn't work out. The main reason was visas: not everyone managed to open them quickly."
Valery is a Master of Sports in sports tourism: hikes are not just a hobby for him, but also a job. Behind him are over a hundred categorized hikes (where complexity is officially classified). However, this one, according to him, turned out to be the longest and most difficult.
Other participants are amateurs. Vadim, for example, came to serious tourism much later. First, there were hikes in Belarus, then to Elbrus, Kilimanjaro, and now — Spitsbergen.
The five finally gathered about a year before the trip. The youngest participant was around 20 years old; Valery was over 60.
"The team was selected based on the level of technical, sports, and physical preparation. But, probably, 50% is psychological compatibility. In such a large 20-day expedition, the smallest conflict could have ruined everything planned. We tested each other: how well we fit, whether there would be disputes. And in this regard, everything went as it should."
Preparation consisted not only of endurance training. They practiced practical skills together.
"You need to know how to quickly set up a tent. Once we were hit by a blizzard: snow with rain, strong wind. Everyone must understand what to do in such circumstances, without unnecessary words or explanations. The same applies if a person falls into a crevasse: it is important that he knows how to act, and that others can pull him out. Especially since in real conditions, this is far from as comfortable as in training," explains Valery.
They got to Spitsbergen via Oslo. Vadim, along with another group member, arrived earlier than the rest. They stayed at a campsite near the airport and walked to Longyearbyen — the capital of the archipelago — which was about 6 kilometers. They found out where to buy gas for burners and were surprised: instead of a desolate end of the world, they were met by a bustling tourist town.
"There are many buildings, hotels. This is not surprising: there is indeed a huge number of tourists. Essentially, this is the most accessible Arctic. Flights are relatively inexpensive. All round-trip tickets from Belarus cost me $550 (about 1640 rubles). In the city itself, prices are, of course, Norwegian. But at the campsite, you can stay with your own tent and just pay for accommodation."
The cost of such a service is about 150 Norwegian kroner (48 rubles). They also found an unusual way to save: at the campsite, they were offered to swim in the Arctic water – the guys agreed. The reward was a token for a free hot shower.
Swimming in the ocean was just a light warm-up. The "real fun" began when the team gathered and first lifted their fully equipped backpacks.
"They turned out to be unexpectedly large. The weight of each was more than 40 kilograms. We put them on, holding our breath. It was unclear how our plan could even be implemented," says Vadim.
Valery speaks about the difficulties calmly, almost routinely, but Vadim intervenes at some point: let it not seem as if everything came easy.
"May I convey the impressions of the other participants? It was very difficult for us. Valery is an experienced person; he went through it in his own way, very resiliently. And in the first few days, we thought: 'Oh, so this is how it will be for 20 days straight? This is how it is, right?'"
"At +5°C, we walked for over a kilometer through streams and rivers in just our underwear"
The plan looked like this: about 300 kilometers, 18 hiking days, and two days for rest. In total, our heroes overcame 32 passes. At 27 points, they were pioneers. They usually planned to cover 10-15 kilometers — in practice, the weather could shorten a transition to 7-8, so they then had to compensate by doing 25 at a time. It should be noted right away: the initial plan was achieved by approximately 70%.
The temperature during the hike stayed approximately between +5 and +15°C — which is very warm for Spitsbergen. But strong winds regularly changed these sensations. The polar day, however, offered advantages: there was no need to quickly find a place for the night before sunset.
"Once we ascended a pass and decided to spend the night to descend in the morning. We woke up, and there were clouds beneath us. We couldn't see where to go, where the drop-off was. We waited until 3 PM, then spent an hour getting ready, and only arrived at the next campsite at midnight. It's bright around the clock — these are excellent opportunities for planning transitions," explains Valery.
They prepared for rain and stormy winds in advance. According to the leader's assessment, there was truly strong wind for about five days — and he considers this a real gift.
Vadim also expected worse:
"Valery always told us, without embellishment or concealment, what we would encounter. We prepared for more rain. Such heavy drizzly rain only happened one day, and then the weather allowed us to dry out. My first thought when we arrived was: 'It's so cold here. I probably should have brought another couple of sweaters.' But then the sun shone, and we realized it wasn't so bad after all."
As mentioned, about 3,000 people live on Spitsbergen. There are only a few settlements, so for a significant part of the journey, the tourists were in total isolation. For tens of kilometers around, there wasn't a single living soul.
Roughly the same number of polar bears as people (or even more by some estimates) live on Spitsbergen. So, it's impossible to go hiking without protection. Our group, for example, carried a 1940s carbine. Fortunately, they didn't have to use it.
Valery says he once noticed signs that a bear was nearby, but tried not to draw attention to it. In general, he planned the route to reach the coast as rarely as possible — that's where polar bears hunt for food.
Rivers caused much more trouble.
"You arrive where you planned to cross and realize: crossing is very dangerous, too high a risk of being swept away by the current. Then everyone has to dry off, God forbid someone gets sick..."
Some rivers turned out to be completely unlike those everyone was used to at home: instead of solid banks, there was ice. According to Valery, one of them was about 50 meters wide. There was practically nothing to cling to in case of a fall.
"I approached, poked with a stick — and already near the bank, I couldn't reach the bottom. Dangerous, of course, but interesting too. Rivers change all your plans: no matter how you plan the route, you have to look for fords or detours. No one drags a boat over a dozen passes."
Where crossing was possible, they simply entered the water.
"In one section, we walked for over a kilometer in just our underwear at a temperature of +5°C. I don't know how many streams we crossed. There were only three crossings where the width was more than 10 meters."
On the 14th day, a new obstacle blocked their way — a glacier torn by crevasses. From the pass, the destination was clearly visible. The distance was approximately 7 kilometers. But going straight across proved impossible.
"It literally looked like a labyrinth: 500 meters to the left, 2 kilometers to the right, and so on. We still tried to go there; we had to constantly belay each other. In a few hours, we covered less than a kilometer. So those 7 kilometers could have taken three days. That's why we had to abandon the initial plan."
For Valery, this turn was the most difficult moment. Not physically — psychologically: he had prepared the route in advance, marked the goals, but on site, he had to abandon part of the plan and find another way.
"We consulted, weighed all the pros and cons: either complete the entire route, putting the team at risk, — or reorient ourselves. The broken glacier moves. We could have set up a tent for the night, and in the morning, a crevasse could have been right beneath us. It was unpleasant for me to make such a decision. But the guys agreed, and we bypassed it."
The leader himself managed to fall into a crevasse once during the hike — up to his waist. He speaks about it as an insignificant trifle. But he did not increase the risks for the sake of a line on the map.
The story with the glacier did not let him go even after returning. Valery again opened satellite images: why didn't he notice the crevasses during preparation? According to his explanation, the images used were winter ones, and snow hid the crevasses. General photographs from a helicopter also did not provide the necessary details.
Vadim looks at what happened differently:
"But I actually liked it. When you find yourself in a situation of temporary uncertainty... Of course, Valery made the overall decisions. But I think it was cool that we faced a great difficulty and overcame it."
"We lived from rest day to rest day"
They clarified: what did the daily schedule generally look like? A hiking day could stretch for 10 hours, but there was no continuous march: 40-50 minutes of movement, then 10-15 minutes of rest. In the middle of the day — an hour-long stop for lunch. They stayed within sight of each other: help might be needed not only on the glacier but also in the tundra, where participants got stuck in the bog.
"Everyone accumulated fatigue differently. We had two rest days: we stayed put, rested, could wash something, sew something — both physically and psychologically. We lived from rest day to rest day. We eagerly awaited these days," says Vadim. "Of course, general fatigue set in, and we already wanted to go home. But there wasn't a peak point where you'd think: well, that's it, goodbye."
They carried their own food. The main ration was about 600 grams per person per day. They chose light products: cereals, dried meat instead of canned stew. There was cheese, sausage, and everyone added their favorite snacks themselves.
"Sometimes Valery would delight us with chocolate. We felt like schoolchildren — so happy," smiles Vadim.
For most of the journey, there was no regular communication. They sent messages to loved ones via satellite phone at certain intervals. So, no one was glued to social media in the evenings. After the transition, they had to set up camp, cook food, wash dishes, and tidy their belongings. There wasn't even much time left for conversations.
"In the evenings, we romantically lay in our tents, talked, shared secrets. Someone wrote a diary," says Vadim.
Now, a bit about daily life. What about hygiene procedures? They washed when conditions allowed: wet wipes helped, and in sunny weather, they could quickly freshen up by a body of water. The domestic comfort situation was clear in advance. With beauty, it was the opposite: Vadim expected less from Spitsbergen.
"When the plane flew, everything seemed quite monotonous from above. I was afraid it would be gray, unattractive, and absolutely uniform. But when we started moving on foot, the landscape regularly changed: somewhere piles of stones, somewhere beautiful marshy greenery, somewhere a glacial river. Everything looked stunning. Even the eyes of the reindeer were somehow incredible."
The enormous dome-shaped glacier was particularly memorable. To Vadim, it resembled the surface of a planet seen from the side.
"It felt like looking at Earth, only all white. And the glacier that broke our plans made a huge impression: ravaged, enormous, majestic. It's pleasant to observe such nature from a height — and also with the feeling that only a few people, or perhaps no one at all, have seen it alive."
For Valery, who had already been to the Arctic Circle, the contrasts were the main impression.
"I've been to the Polar Urals, to the Khibiny mountains. But Spitsbergen is a combination of tundra and glaciers. The altitudes seem very small: we didn't even climb a thousand meters. But what views! You've just been in the green tundra — and right there you're ascending a glacier. This contrast and relative accessibility are very impressive."
The hike had a very specific research goal: to describe the path, collect coordinates and photographs, to make it easier for subsequent groups to prepare. According to Valery, the last official summer hike on Spitsbergen that lasted more than two weeks was conducted in 1969. So, in many locations, literally no human foot had trod.
Taking advantage of the situation, the participants decided to give Belarusian names to some passes. One was named Minsk: it was there that they spent two nights and built a strong wall against the wind. They also dedicated names to Belarusian cultural figures — for example, Yanka Kupala, Yakub Kolas, Francysk Skaryna, Vasil Bykaŭ, Uladzimir Karatkievič, and Maksim Bahdanovič. A total of 32 passes were named. These names will be included in the tourist report and will then be used by other tourists.
"The goal was to scout the area. Perhaps I myself will go next year, only I will make the hike shorter. It's scary there, of course, but not so much that one shouldn't go. Anything is possible," believes the leader.
By the finish, the backpacks had lightened to approximately 25–27 kilograms. The last days, despite the fatigue, seemed easier to everyone: distances that initially took a whole day now were covered noticeably faster.
By the way, not only the backpacks lost weight, but the participants of the hike themselves did too. For example, both Vadim and Valery each left 7 kilograms among the glaciers.
"Even when it was tough, we tried to joke. This greatly defused the atmosphere. Everyone was non-confrontational; that was felt. If tension arose somewhere, it quickly dissipated, not thanks to individual participants, but thanks to everyone," explains Vadim.
However, behind the democratic discussions lay a clearly defined rule: the final word belonged to the leader.
"During the hike, many ideas arise: wanting to climb there, try this, go somewhere else. But Valery's decision was law; we always understood that. We could suggest, but the final decision was his."
After the hike, everyone started dreaming not of new expeditions, but of the simplest relaxation. One of the participants almost immediately went to the sea with his children and, for the first time in his life, agreed to a relaxing all-inclusive.
"He then sincerely rejoiced about it in the chat. Maybe we won't see him on hikes anymore," jokes Vadim. "I also thought about a warm place and recently went there. But hikes shouldn't be perceived as a vacation. They have a different purpose: we all believed in ourselves. Not next month, of course, but a little later, we will definitely do something cool again."
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