The five members of the Svalbard Scientific Skiing Expedition, colloquially known as the “Frozen Five”, met in Grenoble last week for the final preparations before embarking on their 11 week voyage through the Arctic wilderness on the 29th March.

We’re a group of graduate students of various geosciences that met at UNIS in Longyearbyen during our diverse university careers. From March-June 2007, we will be skiing across the length of Spitsbergen, Svalbard’s largest island. The route, measuring about 1000 km, will take us over numerous glaciers, patches of sea ice and through the territory of the polar bear.

Through this expedition, we wish to share our passion for the Arctic regions with the general public and, in particular, high school students. Blogging from the ice, pre- and post expedition talks at schools and various documentaries are all part of the educational aspect of this project. With the help of the Youth Steering Committee, we wish to make the next generation of scientists aware of the problems facing the Arctic at present, and take an interest in the IPY-related activities as they happen around them.

Of course, just keeping alive and happy in this remote and unforgiving landscape is challenging enough. That is why we met up for a preparation trip in the French Alps, training together and finalising our equipment requirements. Perhaps most importantly of all, we stocked up on the chocolate for our expedition, all 60 kgs of it!

Please have a look at our website for more details, we’re always happy to receive comments and suggestions!