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Ol n' Ben around the world
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Location Date Europe 
1492297200 Africa 1492297200 Asia 1462662000 North America 1126393200 -
Location Date France 1492297200 Portugal 1492297200 Russia 1439506800 Norway 1409180400 Germany 1409180400 Svalbard And Jan Mayen
1408921200 Netherlands 1368399600 Iceland 1345330800 UK 1273100400 Italy 1029798000 -
Location Date Nordeskjoldbreen 1408921200 Pyramiden 1408834800 Lykteneset
1408748400 Skansbukta 1408662000 Kapp Wijk 1408575600 Coraholmen Island 1408489200 Sefstrombreen 1408402800 Ekmanfjord 1408316400 Svea 1408230000 Wahlenberg 1408057200 Boheman 1407970800 Bore 1407884400 Nansen 1407798000 Ymerbukta 1407711600 Longyearbyen 1407538800
Wake up at 10 am. Weather is still very windy and it is expected to last until the beginning of the afternoon. So we have breakfast quietly and then we decide to go and visit the old mine.
"In a lush and beautiful landscape, under the mountain Skansen, there are many different remains of earlier human activity. The area is a perfect example of how cultural remains and landscape are closely tied together. In Skansbukta you can easily get an impression of how humans interacted with, and left traces in, the landscape.
The beach and the slope under the mountain Skansen are littered with cultural remains from two periods of mineral exploration and exploitation during the 20th century. The attractive mineral here was gypsum and the findings created much attention in the years before World War I. In 1918 Dalen Portland Cementfabrikk from Brevik, Norway, occupied the area and started exploring. The venture became short-lived and the activity was terminated after one season.
The gypsum mine was re-opened by ship owner Kjode in the 1930s, but after a few years of trial operation the activity was again stopped. Today you will find many remains from the mining for gypsum in Skansbukta – most of them from the second period. There are remains from the lading plant on large landfills of gypsum and anhydrite. The entry to the gallery is low in the slope and has a narrow gauge railway towards the beach where the tip was. Incomplete parts of the railway which was split into several tracks and large ramps made out of coarse timber are probably the remains from the laden plant. There are other remains from the smithy, the workshop and toilet, but also a house site that probably functioned as the workers barrack and mess. Further up the beach there is a boat with a wheelhouse, a cargo hold and an engine. It is worn from the weather, but in relatively good shape.
Between the larger structures in the landscape there are smaller things that tell you something about daily life and the humans that once lived and worked here; the remains of wagons that were used to transport the gypsum from the gallery, rusty nails and cans, broken glass and bottles. The tale about the many mineral ventures in Svalbard and the dream about a quick profit are present also in Skansbukta.
The remains from the mining in Skansbukta show signs of the ravages of time. Slowly they disintegrate and they are supposed to “die in beauty”. Nature takes back its land; these are natural processes of which it is neither practical nor wanted to do anything about. Being a visitor in Skansbukta it is important not to accelerate the disintegration process by stepping and crumpling items or picking souvenirs. The remains from previous human activity are supposed to lie untouched.
The south west side of the bay has remains from the Norwegian overwintering trapping from the beginning of the 20th century. In the area there is a trapper’s cabin, a house site and a grave. The site and the grave are connected and bear witness to the overwintering of trapper Peder Nilsen Furfjord from 1904-1905. Furfjord had previously overwintered a few times in Isfjorden when he decided to make another one together with his wife Hansine and his two brothers Simon and Mathias. During the winter Hansine got ill and died. Her grave is found on the moraine-ridge a bit up the slope from the site of the timber cabin they resided in. The death of Hansine struck Peder hard and he never overwintered again. The cabin is long gone, but the grave is still visible. On the cross you can still read parts of its inscription:
…rests Hansine Nilsen Furfjord. Born 1850 died the 22nd MA…
Furthest out on the same side of the bay there is another trapper’s cabin, probably built as a satellite station in 1923 by Arthur Oxaas and Peder Pedersen Ullsfjord. According to the diary of Oxaas from 1938 he later bought the cabin from the widow of Ullsfjord and repaired it. The cabin is, true to tradition, built of materials at hand. Some is driftwood and some is probably snatched from the installations across the bay. This is in line with the Arctic tradition of re-using building materials. The Governor of Svalbard has restored the cabin." (from http://cruise-handbook.npolar.no/en/isf jorden/skansbukta.html - Norwegian Polar Institute)
After visiting the mine, the wind is still strong. Benoit calls Longyearbyen to have more details on the weather forecast. Manu tells him that no lull is expected. Thus we decide to wait before leaving, and to have brunch with pancakes, saussages, soup, cheese... in order to gain strength :-)
Despite the strong wind, we have to move and to come closer to Pyramiden and Bruce Byen if we want to reach our final destination on time. We pack our stuff and put warm clothes on and finally board our kayaks. When we leave, the wind is much calmer. The sea is quite calm in the bay. We pass along many puffins ! But this does not last for long !!! We leave the bay and paddle northbound, the strong wind in the face ! It is difficult. It is cold !! We are in the shades of the mountains, and I have to put my neoprene gloves back on.
After 8km and 1h45min of effort, we make a short break but we rapidly go back on board our kayaks ! After 5 minutes of paddling, our rudder blade breaks off ! We cannot repair it while on sea, so we have to keep going without it !
The wind is still strong, and the waves well formed. It is difficult to move on efficiently ! 6 more kilometers to go to reach the next campsite. When we arrive there, the site is very exposed to the wind, so we continue for 10 more minutes and we find another site more protected from the wind.
We set up the camp quickly and put some warm and dry clothes on.
Tonight is supposed to be the first "night" when the sun passes below the horizon. But due to high mountains all around us, no way for to check this out !!
-------------
FIGURES OF THE DAY : 14,3km of kayak in 3h22
"In a lush and beautiful landscape, under the mountain Skansen, there are many different remains of earlier human activity. The area is a perfect example of how cultural remains and landscape are closely tied together. In Skansbukta you can easily get an impression of how humans interacted with, and left traces in, the landscape.
The beach and the slope under the mountain Skansen are littered with cultural remains from two periods of mineral exploration and exploitation during the 20th century. The attractive mineral here was gypsum and the findings created much attention in the years before World War I. In 1918 Dalen Portland Cementfabrikk from Brevik, Norway, occupied the area and started exploring. The venture became short-lived and the activity was terminated after one season.
The gypsum mine was re-opened by ship owner Kjode in the 1930s, but after a few years of trial operation the activity was again stopped. Today you will find many remains from the mining for gypsum in Skansbukta – most of them from the second period. There are remains from the lading plant on large landfills of gypsum and anhydrite. The entry to the gallery is low in the slope and has a narrow gauge railway towards the beach where the tip was. Incomplete parts of the railway which was split into several tracks and large ramps made out of coarse timber are probably the remains from the laden plant. There are other remains from the smithy, the workshop and toilet, but also a house site that probably functioned as the workers barrack and mess. Further up the beach there is a boat with a wheelhouse, a cargo hold and an engine. It is worn from the weather, but in relatively good shape.
Between the larger structures in the landscape there are smaller things that tell you something about daily life and the humans that once lived and worked here; the remains of wagons that were used to transport the gypsum from the gallery, rusty nails and cans, broken glass and bottles. The tale about the many mineral ventures in Svalbard and the dream about a quick profit are present also in Skansbukta.
The remains from the mining in Skansbukta show signs of the ravages of time. Slowly they disintegrate and they are supposed to “die in beauty”. Nature takes back its land; these are natural processes of which it is neither practical nor wanted to do anything about. Being a visitor in Skansbukta it is important not to accelerate the disintegration process by stepping and crumpling items or picking souvenirs. The remains from previous human activity are supposed to lie untouched.
The south west side of the bay has remains from the Norwegian overwintering trapping from the beginning of the 20th century. In the area there is a trapper’s cabin, a house site and a grave. The site and the grave are connected and bear witness to the overwintering of trapper Peder Nilsen Furfjord from 1904-1905. Furfjord had previously overwintered a few times in Isfjorden when he decided to make another one together with his wife Hansine and his two brothers Simon and Mathias. During the winter Hansine got ill and died. Her grave is found on the moraine-ridge a bit up the slope from the site of the timber cabin they resided in. The death of Hansine struck Peder hard and he never overwintered again. The cabin is long gone, but the grave is still visible. On the cross you can still read parts of its inscription:
…rests Hansine Nilsen Furfjord. Born 1850 died the 22nd MA…
Furthest out on the same side of the bay there is another trapper’s cabin, probably built as a satellite station in 1923 by Arthur Oxaas and Peder Pedersen Ullsfjord. According to the diary of Oxaas from 1938 he later bought the cabin from the widow of Ullsfjord and repaired it. The cabin is, true to tradition, built of materials at hand. Some is driftwood and some is probably snatched from the installations across the bay. This is in line with the Arctic tradition of re-using building materials. The Governor of Svalbard has restored the cabin." (from http://cruise-handbook.npolar.no/en/isf jorden/skansbukta.html - Norwegian Polar Institute)
After visiting the mine, the wind is still strong. Benoit calls Longyearbyen to have more details on the weather forecast. Manu tells him that no lull is expected. Thus we decide to wait before leaving, and to have brunch with pancakes, saussages, soup, cheese... in order to gain strength :-)
Despite the strong wind, we have to move and to come closer to Pyramiden and Bruce Byen if we want to reach our final destination on time. We pack our stuff and put warm clothes on and finally board our kayaks. When we leave, the wind is much calmer. The sea is quite calm in the bay. We pass along many puffins ! But this does not last for long !!! We leave the bay and paddle northbound, the strong wind in the face ! It is difficult. It is cold !! We are in the shades of the mountains, and I have to put my neoprene gloves back on.
After 8km and 1h45min of effort, we make a short break but we rapidly go back on board our kayaks ! After 5 minutes of paddling, our rudder blade breaks off ! We cannot repair it while on sea, so we have to keep going without it !
The wind is still strong, and the waves well formed. It is difficult to move on efficiently ! 6 more kilometers to go to reach the next campsite. When we arrive there, the site is very exposed to the wind, so we continue for 10 more minutes and we find another site more protected from the wind.
We set up the camp quickly and put some warm and dry clothes on.
Tonight is supposed to be the first "night" when the sun passes below the horizon. But due to high mountains all around us, no way for to check this out !!
-------------
FIGURES OF THE DAY : 14,3km of kayak in 3h22
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