Enjoy a week of sailing and ski touring under the Midnight Sun! Make your way to Longyearbyen, the world’s northernmost settlement, board the Saeftinghe, and chase the freshest lines on remote and untouched mountains with a seasoned expert! We will switch locations almost daily to reach the best snow and get some epic descents. Your guide will adapt the touring to your group’s goals and abilities, though prior ski touring experience is a must. All you have to do is enjoy the views and pick the most exciting slope you want to shred!
Fly into Svalbard Airport just northwest of Longyearbyen and transfer to your hotel in town. We certainly recommend that you arrive at least one day prior to the expedition. If you need help arranging a hotel & airport transfers, leave a note at checkout—we can organize the whole package to make your stay as carefree as possible.
Meals & accommodation are at your own expense prior to boarding the boat.
Step aboard the T/S Saeftinghe, get settled into your cabin, and ease into life at sea. As we sail into the Arctic wilderness, your guides brief you on the adventure ahead while the coastline gives way to the first glimpses of towering mountains and glaciers. Our first anchorage is chosen based on conditions—keep an eye out along the way for seals, walrus, or whales. That evening, we gather over dinner onboard, get to know one another, and let the guides assess what tomorrow has in store.
Meals: Dinner
Accommodation: T/S Saeftinghe
Wake up in a remote bay to an Arctic landscape that has no business looking this good before coffee. After breakfast we head to shore for our first ski tour—no internet, no notifications, no schedule. Just snow, mountains, and the decisions that come with backcountry skiing. Based on weather and conditions, we spend the day skiing from breathtaking peaks, carving through untouched snow, and finding our own lines. Back onboard, a warm meal and a new anchorage await.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: T/S Saeftinghe
By now the routine feels like second nature: sail, climb, ski, repeat. We push further into remote Arctic backcountry, exploring hidden mountains chosen for the best conditions of the day. Every run brings fresh snow and views that don’t get old. In the evening, we swap stories over dinner—with a bit of luck, under the midnight sun, which at this latitude keeps the sky bright well into the night.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: T/S Saeftinghe
We’re deep in the Arctic wilderness now, most likely navigating the waters around Krossfjorden on the west coast of Spitsbergen—a fjord of varied, dramatic landscape with several branches, side bays, and glacier fronts near the research settlement of Ny-Ålesund. The route adapts to conditions as always, but the skiing out here is spectacular: uncrowded terrain, fresh lines, and a scale that puts everything in perspective. We scout for wildlife while sailing and spend the nights anchored in extraordinary surroundings. Whales, walruses, seabirds, and the occasional polar bear sighted in the distance have all made appearances.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: T/S Saeftinghe
Some days bring long ascents to panoramic summits with extended descents toward the sea. Others offer shorter tours with time for multiple runs. Weather and conditions shape the day—terrain carved by glaciers, slopes first explored by early Arctic adventurers, and a silence out here that’s hard to find anywhere else. We take our time, soak it in, and let the Arctic do what it does best.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: T/S Saeftinghe
Isfjorden holds some of the best backcountry skiing in Svalbard, and your guides save the best slopes for last. Based on the latest conditions, they select the day’s terrain to give the week a proper send-off. One more day of fresh snow, open mountains, and the kind of skiing that’s hard to describe to anyone who hasn’t done it.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: T/S Saeftinghe
After a week at sea and in the mountains, we drop anchor back in Longyearbyen and disembark. Time to say goodbye to your guides, to the ship, to the rhythm of it all, and to the people you shared it with. You head home with memories shaped entirely by nature.
Meals: Breakfast
Included:
Add-ons (pricing shown at checkout):
Not included:
To enjoy this sailing & skiing adventure in Svalbard, prior ski touring experience is a must. Good physical fitness is essential, and you should be comfortable skiing in variable terrain, as Arctic conditions can be challenging.
The terrain varies from gentle slopes to steeper descents, with opportunities to explore untouched Arctic snowfields and breathtaking glacier landscapes.
In order to join this sailing & skiing tour in Svalbard, you need to be an experienced backcountry skier.
Don’t worry if you’ve never been sailing before! You’ll have professional guides and crew onboard with you, and they will take care of everything. Still, the sails are easily handled so even unexperienced guests can take an active part in the handling of the ship.
For technical backcountry ski touring gear, you will need to bring:
For clothing, we recommend bringing:
For personal items, we recommend bringing:
Yes, your guides offer full ski equipment and avalanche gear rental. You can add it to your booking at checkout.
The full ski equipment package includes alpine touring skis, telemark skis, skins, avalanche safety gear, helmet, ski goggles, poles, and glacier travel harness for advanced touring.
Although there can never be guarantee of sun, May in Svalbard brings relatively good and stable weather. You’ll sail from point to point and go skiing depending on the weather conditions. Your guide will make sure to maximize your skiing time.
Regarding temperatures, it’s generally around -10°C (14°F) at sea levels with a variability throughout the day. Naturally, the nights are colder and temperature can vary depending on the altitude. Check out our clothing and equipment recommendations. We recommend packing more than you need, because the weather can come in quickly, and a sunny morning can soon become a stormy afternoon.
Group sizes and pricing:
Min. age requirements:
If your group has skiers under the age of 18, contact us prior to booking to make arrangements.
To get to this ski tour in Svalbard, most people fly into Svalbard Airport near Longyearbyen, the largest city in the archipelago and the starting point of this tour. There are daily flights to Longyearbyen from Oslo, Norway, but we encourage you to book early. Norwegian Air flies from Oslo, while SAS arrives from Stockholm.
Flying to remote Svalbard takes a while, so plan your journey ahead, and spend a day in town before departure on this tour. Your guide will organize for a minibus to transport you and your gear to your hotel in Longyearbyen.
We highly recommend that you cover all your bases with insurance. To make your booking and traveling experience as carefree as possible, you’ll be offered to simply insure your trip with Redpoint at checkout.
Redpoint—the official 57hours insurance partner—tailors protection packages for adventure travel, offering a comprehensive travel program, even in remote locations! Trip cancellation, natural disasters, pandemic coverage, medical evacuation, primary medical expenses—regardless of the travel interruption that may happen, Redpoint will have you covered.