A Winter’s Tale

Sunniva Sørby and Hilde Fålun Strøm became the first women in history to spend a winter in the Arctic alone, without men! They spent the winter of 2019-2020 in voluntary isolation on Svalbard, 78 degrees north and 140 km from civilization, in a small uninsulated hunter’s cabin called "Bamsebu" (Bear Hut).

In one of the harshest climates on earth, in a cabin without plumbing or electricity, they have acted as "scientists of the people", sending measurements, observations and data to the Norwegian Polar Institute, the University of Svalbard, NASA, BCIT and the Scripps Institute of Oceanography. They have collected valuable data on the Northern Lights, plastics in the ocean, cloud formations, ice, phytoplankton, and wildlife.

Enlightening thousands worldwide

Through their collaboration with “Exploring by The Seat of Your Pants”, a global network for teaching across continents, and using their uplink, Sunniva and Hilde contact schools around the world. Climate-related topics such as polar bears, Northern Lights and Space Weather, the importance of the ocean, global weather patterns and the consequences of rising temperatures are discussed via two live video calls every month. Hilde’s and Sunniva's combined experience from the Arctic and Antarctic of almost 50 years, make them exceptionally qualified to contribute to stimulating global understanding in this way.

If you want to follow their broadcasts, here is the link: https://www.exploringbytheseat.com/global-women-in-science/

A New Wintering Awaits

When the pandemic hit, Hilde and Sunniva decided to extend their engagement for another winter. Since the pandemic has forced many people to be isolated and separated from each other, Hilde’s and Sunniva’s aim is to inspire and motivate us to get out and into nature, to foster curiosity about it, to fall in love with it and to protect it.

Nowhere in the world is free from the effects of climate change. It is a global crisis. Hilde and Sunniva believe that trying to create a more effective global engagement through their popular research, so that other people can in turn contribute to helping with vital research, as well as by us all implementing measures in everyday life, is of particular importance.

They post stories and photos online and on social media so that researchers, school children and interest groups all over the world can stay updated. Via their satellite phone uplink, they are also engaging students and teachers around the world with monthly video calls.

In addition, they continue testing innovative technology, including PPE, solar and wind power equipment, infrared drones, and satellite communications, in one of the world's toughest climates,

Want to know more?

Follow life at “Bamsebu” through social media or their blog “Hearts in the Ice”: https://www.heartsintheice.com/