Press "Enter" to skip to content

Posts published in December 2015

Chillingly clueless: Svalbard’s 10 strangest stories of 2015strangeststories15

Chillingly clueless: Svalbard’s 10 strangest stories of 2015

By Mark Sabbatini on December 31, 2015
0 0
Read Time:10 Minute, 13 Second

Which is stranger: a year where parasitic wasps went on a killing spree or the year that actually happened? Yeah, we’re not sure either.

All we know is both versions of Svalbard will be back – and probably even stranger – next year.

About Post Author

Mark Sabbatini

I'm a professional transient living on a tiny Norwegian island next door to the North Pole, where once a week (or thereabouts) I pollute our extreme and pristine environment with paper fishwrappers decorated with seemingly random letters that would cause a thousand monkeys with a thousand typewriters to die of humiliation. Such is the wisdom one acquires after more than 25 years in the world's second-least-respected occupation, much of it roaming the seven continents in search of jazz, unrecognizable street food and escorts I f****d with by insisting they give me the platonic tours of their cities promised in their ads. But it turns out this tiny group of islands known as Svalbard is my True Love and, generous contributions from you willing, I'll keep littering until they dig my body out when my climate-change-deformed apartment collapses or they exile my penniless ass because I'm not even worthy of washing your dirty dishes.
marksabbatini@yahoo.com
http://icepeople.net
Happy
Happy
0 %
Sad
Sad
0 %
Excited
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
Angry
0 %
Surprise
Surprise
0 %
ALERT: Advendalen flooding blocks road, strands drivers and snowmobilersroadclear

ALERT: Advendalen flooding blocks road, strands drivers and snowmobilers

By Mark Sabbatini on December 31, 2015
0 0
Read Time:2 Minute, 7 Second

Update 7:10 p.m.: Frank Jakobsen, director of LNS Spitsbergen, states “crews are working to clear the road, but “we recommend that all unnecessary driving in Adventdalen be avoided.”

Original article: Heavy flooding in Advendalen has blocked the road at the Bolterdalen river, leaving vehicle and snowmobile drivers stranded, and other rivers are at risk of overflowing.

“Slush wave and lots of water have made the main Adventdalen road impossible to pass,” wrote Tom Foreman in a post on a Longyearbyen community Facebook page, noting he is touch with people on the other side of the river. “Slush building up on the road and more water building behind the road and slush dam. Very dangerous. Trucks and snowscooters apparently stuck out there already.”

About Post Author

Mark Sabbatini

I'm a professional transient living on a tiny Norwegian island next door to the North Pole, where once a week (or thereabouts) I pollute our extreme and pristine environment with paper fishwrappers decorated with seemingly random letters that would cause a thousand monkeys with a thousand typewriters to die of humiliation. Such is the wisdom one acquires after more than 25 years in the world's second-least-respected occupation, much of it roaming the seven continents in search of jazz, unrecognizable street food and escorts I f****d with by insisting they give me the platonic tours of their cities promised in their ads. But it turns out this tiny group of islands known as Svalbard is my True Love and, generous contributions from you willing, I'll keep littering until they dig my body out when my climate-change-deformed apartment collapses or they exile my penniless ass because I'm not even worthy of washing your dirty dishes.
marksabbatini@yahoo.com
http://icepeople.net
Happy
Happy
0 %
Sad
Sad
0 %
Excited
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
Angry
0 %
Surprise
Surprise
0 %
Into blackness: Svalbard’s 12 biggest stories of 2015topstories15

Into blackness: Svalbard’s 12 biggest stories of 2015

By Mark Sabbatini on December 31, 2015
0 0
Read Time:17 Minute, 38 Second

It was already a shell-shocked community beginning to say their farewells to possibly a quarter of the town’s residents, with those left behind worrying about the future of a town with a decimated economic foundation.

Then the avalanche struck.

Either alone ranks among the most significant events in Longyearbyen’s history. Together they may reshape the town more dramatically than at any time since it was almost entirely destroyed during World War II.

About Post Author

Mark Sabbatini

I'm a professional transient living on a tiny Norwegian island next door to the North Pole, where once a week (or thereabouts) I pollute our extreme and pristine environment with paper fishwrappers decorated with seemingly random letters that would cause a thousand monkeys with a thousand typewriters to die of humiliation. Such is the wisdom one acquires after more than 25 years in the world's second-least-respected occupation, much of it roaming the seven continents in search of jazz, unrecognizable street food and escorts I f****d with by insisting they give me the platonic tours of their cities promised in their ads. But it turns out this tiny group of islands known as Svalbard is my True Love and, generous contributions from you willing, I'll keep littering until they dig my body out when my climate-change-deformed apartment collapses or they exile my penniless ass because I'm not even worthy of washing your dirty dishes.
marksabbatini@yahoo.com
http://icepeople.net
Happy
Happy
0 %
Sad
Sad
0 %
Excited
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
Angry
0 %
Surprise
Surprise
0 %
AVALANCHE UPDATE: Storm w/ heavy precipitation, gale-force winds, temps to 7C expected Wed.-Thurs.; evacuation extended through New Year’sstormalert122915

AVALANCHE UPDATE: Storm w/ heavy precipitation, gale-force winds, temps to 7C expected Wed.-Thurs.; evacuation extended through New Year’s

By Mark Sabbatini on December 29, 2015
0 0
Read Time:1 Minute, 20 Second

A storm expected to bring heavy rain and sleet, gale-force winds and temperatures up to seven degrees Celsius between midnight Wednesday and Thursday night presents a risk of new avalanches, according to officials who have extended an evacuation order for 80 residents with homes in the highest-risk area through New Year’s Day.

The storm could bring up to 20 millimeters of precipitation – about the same as the snowfall that triggered the Dec. 19 avalanche that buried 11 homes and killed two people, although that storm occurred over a period of several hours – and winds up to 50 kilometers per hour, according to the Norwegian Meteorological Institute. The heaviest rainfall and highest temperatures are expected Thursday afternoon.

About Post Author

Mark Sabbatini

I'm a professional transient living on a tiny Norwegian island next door to the North Pole, where once a week (or thereabouts) I pollute our extreme and pristine environment with paper fishwrappers decorated with seemingly random letters that would cause a thousand monkeys with a thousand typewriters to die of humiliation. Such is the wisdom one acquires after more than 25 years in the world's second-least-respected occupation, much of it roaming the seven continents in search of jazz, unrecognizable street food and escorts I f****d with by insisting they give me the platonic tours of their cities promised in their ads. But it turns out this tiny group of islands known as Svalbard is my True Love and, generous contributions from you willing, I'll keep littering until they dig my body out when my climate-change-deformed apartment collapses or they exile my penniless ass because I'm not even worthy of washing your dirty dishes.
marksabbatini@yahoo.com
http://icepeople.net
Happy
Happy
0 %
Sad
Sad
0 %
Excited
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
Angry
0 %
Surprise
Surprise
0 %
AVALANCHE UPDATE: Analysis shows 5,000 tons of snow hit homes at 80 km/h; response by organizations and individuals generally praisedevacuatemeeting

AVALANCHE UPDATE: Analysis shows 5,000 tons of snow hit homes at 80 km/h; response by organizations and individuals generally praised

By Mark Sabbatini on December 28, 2015
0 0
Read Time:4 Minute, 11 Second

Both the event and response were a case of an immensely large force meeting a seeming unmovable object.

As what will surely be a prolonged examination begins of the causes, response to and long-term impacts of the Dec. 19 avalanche, the immediate verdict is the damage – massive as it was – could have been much worse and the rescue efforts could not have been much better.

About Post Author

Mark Sabbatini

I'm a professional transient living on a tiny Norwegian island next door to the North Pole, where once a week (or thereabouts) I pollute our extreme and pristine environment with paper fishwrappers decorated with seemingly random letters that would cause a thousand monkeys with a thousand typewriters to die of humiliation. Such is the wisdom one acquires after more than 25 years in the world's second-least-respected occupation, much of it roaming the seven continents in search of jazz, unrecognizable street food and escorts I f****d with by insisting they give me the platonic tours of their cities promised in their ads. But it turns out this tiny group of islands known as Svalbard is my True Love and, generous contributions from you willing, I'll keep littering until they dig my body out when my climate-change-deformed apartment collapses or they exile my penniless ass because I'm not even worthy of washing your dirty dishes.
marksabbatini@yahoo.com
http://icepeople.net
Happy
Happy
0 %
Sad
Sad
0 %
Excited
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
Angry
0 %
Surprise
Surprise
0 %
AVALANCHE UPDATE: Mixture of snow, rain and temps up to 5C next week ‘could be good or it could be really bad’sundayupdate

AVALANCHE UPDATE: Mixture of snow, rain and temps up to 5C next week ‘could be good or it could be really bad’

By Mark Sabbatini on December 27, 2015
0 0
Read Time:1 Minute, 31 Second

Rapidly rising temperatures expected to reach five degrees Celsius by Tuesday, and a mixture of rain and snow, could help settle avalanche-prone snow in Longyearbyen – or trigger it, one of two experts who surveyed the area last week said Sunday.

“It could be good be good or it could be really bad,” said Odd-Arne Mikkelsen of the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute. “It depends on the amount of precipitation, but right now it looks like small amount so that would be good.”

About Post Author

Mark Sabbatini

I'm a professional transient living on a tiny Norwegian island next door to the North Pole, where once a week (or thereabouts) I pollute our extreme and pristine environment with paper fishwrappers decorated with seemingly random letters that would cause a thousand monkeys with a thousand typewriters to die of humiliation. Such is the wisdom one acquires after more than 25 years in the world's second-least-respected occupation, much of it roaming the seven continents in search of jazz, unrecognizable street food and escorts I f****d with by insisting they give me the platonic tours of their cities promised in their ads. But it turns out this tiny group of islands known as Svalbard is my True Love and, generous contributions from you willing, I'll keep littering until they dig my body out when my climate-change-deformed apartment collapses or they exile my penniless ass because I'm not even worthy of washing your dirty dishes.
marksabbatini@yahoo.com
http://icepeople.net
Happy
Happy
0 %
Sad
Sad
0 %
Excited
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
Angry
0 %
Surprise
Surprise
0 %
AVALANCHE UPDATE: ‘All emotions are normal in such an abnormal event’; free help available to those needing itcrisistalk

AVALANCHE UPDATE: ‘All emotions are normal in such an abnormal event’; free help available to those needing it

By Mark Sabbatini on December 26, 2015
0 0
Read Time:3 Minute, 16 Second

Anna Eckhardt is a crisis intervention expert, so at least she knows why she’s having trouble remembering things this week.

“Memory can be affected by a crisis,” she said during a meeting with Longyearbyen’s English-language community at the Kulturhuset cafe Wednesday, where she and other officials discussed last Saturday’s avalanche, and its short- and long-term aftermath. “You may have super memories, exact details, remembering 20 seconds like they’re in slow motion – or the contrary.”

“I’m realizing going from meeting to meeting that I need to keep a log,” she added.

About Post Author

Mark Sabbatini

I'm a professional transient living on a tiny Norwegian island next door to the North Pole, where once a week (or thereabouts) I pollute our extreme and pristine environment with paper fishwrappers decorated with seemingly random letters that would cause a thousand monkeys with a thousand typewriters to die of humiliation. Such is the wisdom one acquires after more than 25 years in the world's second-least-respected occupation, much of it roaming the seven continents in search of jazz, unrecognizable street food and escorts I f****d with by insisting they give me the platonic tours of their cities promised in their ads. But it turns out this tiny group of islands known as Svalbard is my True Love and, generous contributions from you willing, I'll keep littering until they dig my body out when my climate-change-deformed apartment collapses or they exile my penniless ass because I'm not even worthy of washing your dirty dishes.
marksabbatini@yahoo.com
http://icepeople.net
Happy
Happy
0 %
Sad
Sad
0 %
Excited
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
Angry
0 %
Surprise
Surprise
0 %
AVALANCHE UPDATE: Cold stabilizes snow conditions despite unfavorable winds, but heavy snow and temperatures above freezing forecast next weeksnowupdate

AVALANCHE UPDATE: Cold stabilizes snow conditions despite unfavorable winds, but heavy snow and temperatures above freezing forecast next week

By Mark Sabbatini on December 26, 2015
0 0
Read Time:2 Minute, 10 Second

Temperatures of about minus 15 degrees Celsius are stabilizing Longyearbyen’s snow-packed hillsides this weekend despite strong winds from the east that were a factor in last week’s avalanche, according to an assessment published Saturday morning by the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute.

About Post Author

Mark Sabbatini

I'm a professional transient living on a tiny Norwegian island next door to the North Pole, where once a week (or thereabouts) I pollute our extreme and pristine environment with paper fishwrappers decorated with seemingly random letters that would cause a thousand monkeys with a thousand typewriters to die of humiliation. Such is the wisdom one acquires after more than 25 years in the world's second-least-respected occupation, much of it roaming the seven continents in search of jazz, unrecognizable street food and escorts I f****d with by insisting they give me the platonic tours of their cities promised in their ads. But it turns out this tiny group of islands known as Svalbard is my True Love and, generous contributions from you willing, I'll keep littering until they dig my body out when my climate-change-deformed apartment collapses or they exile my penniless ass because I'm not even worthy of washing your dirty dishes.
marksabbatini@yahoo.com
http://icepeople.net
Happy
Happy
0 %
Sad
Sad
0 %
Excited
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
Angry
0 %
Surprise
Surprise
0 %
AVALANCHE UPDATE: Mixture of thankfulness and sadness as Longyearbyen celebrates Christmas Evechristmaseve1

AVALANCHE UPDATE: Mixture of thankfulness and sadness as Longyearbyen celebrates Christmas Eve

By Mark Sabbatini on December 24, 2015
0 0
Read Time:3 Minute, 16 Second

Andreas Styrsell spent Christmas Eve doing one of the most familiar of activities – cooking a traditional Norwegian Christmas dinner for his neighbors. The difference this year is none of them are allowed to celebrate this holiday season at home.

Styrsell, a Longyearbyen resident since 2012, was one of five employees at Kroa who offered to come to work on what was supposed to be a day off to cook a free holiday meal for about 30 residents whose homes are still considered unsafe to live in after last Saturday’s avalanche. The restaurant’s owners announced their plans to host the dinner Tuesday and the response was immediate and enthusiastic, including from employees whose holiday plans had already been severely altered.

About Post Author

Mark Sabbatini

I'm a professional transient living on a tiny Norwegian island next door to the North Pole, where once a week (or thereabouts) I pollute our extreme and pristine environment with paper fishwrappers decorated with seemingly random letters that would cause a thousand monkeys with a thousand typewriters to die of humiliation. Such is the wisdom one acquires after more than 25 years in the world's second-least-respected occupation, much of it roaming the seven continents in search of jazz, unrecognizable street food and escorts I f****d with by insisting they give me the platonic tours of their cities promised in their ads. But it turns out this tiny group of islands known as Svalbard is my True Love and, generous contributions from you willing, I'll keep littering until they dig my body out when my climate-change-deformed apartment collapses or they exile my penniless ass because I'm not even worthy of washing your dirty dishes.
marksabbatini@yahoo.com
http://icepeople.net
Happy
Happy
0 %
Sad
Sad
0 %
Excited
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
Angry
0 %
Surprise
Surprise
0 %
Cue the climate change skeptics: Census of Svalbard’s polar bear population shows large increase since 2004polarbearcensusresults

Cue the climate change skeptics: Census of Svalbard’s polar bear population shows large increase since 2004

By Mark Sabbatini on December 24, 2015
0 0
Read Time:2 Minute, 43 Second

In the spirit of Christmas, some good news about Svalbard’s healthy and growing polar bear population is likely to bring joy to climate change alarmists and denalists alike.

A census at this summer by the Norwegian Polar Institute indicates there are about 975 polar bears in the Norwegian region of the Barents Sea, up from about 685 during the last census in 2004, despite several years with poor sea ice cover during the intervening period.

About Post Author

Mark Sabbatini

I'm a professional transient living on a tiny Norwegian island next door to the North Pole, where once a week (or thereabouts) I pollute our extreme and pristine environment with paper fishwrappers decorated with seemingly random letters that would cause a thousand monkeys with a thousand typewriters to die of humiliation. Such is the wisdom one acquires after more than 25 years in the world's second-least-respected occupation, much of it roaming the seven continents in search of jazz, unrecognizable street food and escorts I f****d with by insisting they give me the platonic tours of their cities promised in their ads. But it turns out this tiny group of islands known as Svalbard is my True Love and, generous contributions from you willing, I'll keep littering until they dig my body out when my climate-change-deformed apartment collapses or they exile my penniless ass because I'm not even worthy of washing your dirty dishes.
marksabbatini@yahoo.com
http://icepeople.net
Happy
Happy
0 %
Sad
Sad
0 %
Excited
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
Angry
0 %
Surprise
Surprise
0 %