Page 19 - An-introduction-to-Svalbard

FAMOUS EXPLORERS ON SVALBARD
- HEADING FOR THE NORTH POLE

Svalbard soon became a natural starting point for several more or
less successful attempts to reach the North Pole. Ice-free waters
cannot be found this far north anywhere else on Earth.

1827: PARRY

In 1827 British explorer William Parry was the first to attempt to reach the North Pole. He
chose to use dog sleds as his mode of transport. Unfortunately, Parry did not succeed and
had to turn back at 82° 45' North.

1872: NORDENSKIÖLD

Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld was born in Finland but eventually became a member of the Royal
Academy of Sciences in Sweden. Nordenskiöld made several scientific expeditions to Svalbard
during the years 1858 -1868 before he became world famous as the first to transit the Northeast
Passage. Together with other stakeholders, he started a company to extract phosphorite in the
area around Cape Thordsen in Isfjord on Spitsbergen. After studies on the deposit's size and qua-
lity, the company gave up the idea of mining operations, but the "Swedish House" at Cape Thord-
sen still stands as the oldest building on Svalbard (except for the hunters' huts). The place is also
known for a grim tale of a group of Norwegian whalers who died here of scurvy in the 1870s.
Nordenskiöld decided to spend the winter of 1872-73 in Svalbard. His goal was to reach the
North Pole across the ice with the help of reindeer, as soon as the daylight started to come back
in February. However, the reindeer ran away and forced him to give up his dream of reaching the
North Pole. Nordenskiöld was the first polar researcher who spent the winter in Svalbard and
the first who explored much of Nordaustlandet. Remains of his winter house Polhem, located
in Mossel Bay on northern Spitsbergen, are still there.

Upper left: Explorer Nordenskiöld reclining to the far right.
Lower left: Nordenskiöld’s winter houHsäerPfåorlhmemaninplMatossmseeldBnaåy.gon fin liten bildtext om man har lust med det....

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