Today we are going to climb the highest mountain at the end of town!
When we got up this morning we saw that the sky was cloudy and it looked cold outside! We are dressing even warmer today! Even though it looks like it could rain or snow anytime Svalbard actually gets very little rain or snow. It is considered a polar desert!
We are hiking with three other expedition staff that we will be working with onboard our expedition ship. One our our staff members is taking a rifle with us because of the danger from polar bears outside of town.
As we hike to the end of town we see an old abandoned coal mine way up of the side of a ridge. We decide to make to a detour to explore this interesting place. It is a very steep climb up the side of the ridge to reach the old buildings that were part of the coal mine. Inside the buildings we find the rails for the mining cars that lead to three blockaded mining tunnels. The mining equipment is gone now but we have a nice view of Longyearbyen from up here.
Dowm from the mine we reach the end of town where a trail winds its way up the barren slopes of a mountain that looms over the town. On either side of the mountain are two large glaciers that look like rivers of ice! Our hike to the top of the mountain runs along near where the glacier carves into the mountainside. There are no plants or trees on the mountain slopes, just bare, loose, broken rock.
As the trail turns up to the top of the mountain we can see that the two glaciers we saw on either side of the mountain are actually one huge glacier that split in two when it ran into the mountain!
When we finally reach the top we are treated to a birds-eye view of Longyearbyen. Unfortunately we can not see all the mountain peaks around us because of the low-lying clouds that are covering the island today. At the very top we find a big pile of rocks with a box on it. Inside the box is a book where we can sign in to prove that we climbed to the top!
We decide to hike down on the opposite side of the mountain. This trail proved to be more difficult than we expected! This trail did not run along near the side of the other glacier...It stopped at the glacier's edge! The only way we could get down was by hiking on the glacier! Ever try to walk on a sidewalk covered in ice?! That was exactly what the glacier was like to walk across! We slipped and slid (and fell down a few times!) until we finally got to the end of the glacier at the bottom of the valley! We made it down in one piece without breaking anything and never saw a polar bear!
After getting down from the mountain it was time for us to board our ship, MS Expedition! The ship was now docked near the edge of town and we needed to board before it left later that afternoon.
From our hotel we got a taxi to take us to our ship. On the way to the ship we stop to see something sticking out of the side of a hill on the edge of town. It is a big wedge of concrete with big double steel doors in front! Is it the entrance to some underground fortress? A sign on the side says: "Svalbard Global Seed Vault". This is the world's largest seed storage bank! Countries all over the world send seeds here where they are stored for safety. This is in case of a disaster where crops on destroyed and there are no seeds left to start new crops. Countries can come get to reclaim the seeds they stored here to grow new crops. Because it is so cold and dry here the seeds will last for centuries! (Click on this link to learn more about the Svalbard Global Seed Vault.)
We arrive at the dock and MS Expedition is there waiting for us! This small ship will be our home for the next three months! It has a special ice-hardened hull so this ship can cut and crack the ice floes that we we encounter as we voyage north in the Arctic Ocean toward the North Pole on our search for polar bears! (Click on this link to learn more about the MS Expedition.)
Day 2 AM 
