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Travel & Photo

Day tripping in the Arctic: A cruise to Pyramiden

Finding the world on board a cruise to Pyramiden, an abandoned Soviet mining town on Svalbard.

Mia Bennett 4September 30, 2024

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Mia Bennett is an associate professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Washington.
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cryopolitics

🛰️❄️ polar geographer | 🗺 mapmaker | 📸 professor
Follow the journeys behind the Cryopolitics blog with photos from the Arctic & beyond
i love my bike & i love the bay. a big day riding i love my bike & i love the bay. a big day riding 180 km/2400 m vert from san francisco up to nicasio, point reyes station, limasol beach, and bolinas and then back over the relentlessly uphill fire road through mt tam state park back to fairfax, and then back across the golden gate bridge during the golden hour. tragically, the buffalo soft serve i was dreaming of at palace market has been discontinued, but regular old soft serve was there to save the day. #cycling #pointreyes #bikestagram #bikes #bikesf
i think my road bike made me finally fall in love i think my road bike made me finally fall in love with seattle 😱 or at least burgermaster. gotta love turning a drive-thru into a bike-thru and having a waiter run out to your two wheels with a fresh banana milkshake & fries 🍟 🍌 🦅#cycling #seattle #burgermaster #520bridge #sunsetcycling
i got a road bike this spring in seattle and those i got a road bike this spring in seattle and those two wheels have unlocked a whole new universe. these are some photos from my first big ride -- 130 km/2600 m vert on a perfect day in may -- going up to chinook pass. sometimes, life is a bowl of (yakima) cherries. 🍒🚵🏻 #cycling #mtrainier #washington #chinookpass #roadbike
one good thing about skiing is that you can't be h one good thing about skiing is that you can't be hit by an idiot behind the wheel. got hit by a car while biking on friday but not gonna let those 🤬 screw up my weekend. did have to miss parkrun but still made it to the mountains, bandaged knee and all 🤙⛷️
I love the way the setting sun streams directly th I love the way the setting sun streams directly through the sand dunes in springtime in San Francisco and up through the juniper trees in Golden Gate Park. March and April have seen some of the warmest days on record for this time of year. It's all rather disconcerting, but climate anxiety never stopped anyone from going to the beach on a perfect day. This particular evening, the rust-colored clouds made the beach look like something off of Mars, if Mars had oceans that drew lovers to its rhythmic shores.
such a stunningly beautiful day in a sea of white. such a stunningly beautiful day in a sea of white. skiing in Hokkaido's Tokachi Mountains was like being immersed in a white-out that still had total clarity. every branch, every bough, every twig was outlined in white on white on white. there were shades of white i never knew existed: ivory, paper, cream, whipped cream, cotton, eggshell, vanilla, pekingese, pearl, powder, porcelain, seashell, bone, alabaster. and of course, snow-white. 👸🏻❄️ big thanks for a safe and heavenly day in the mountains @alpinebackcountryjapan @el_nicoguty 🙏🏻
Nighttime strolling in Asakusa the night before th Nighttime strolling in Asakusa the night before the big race...Tokyo Marathon 2026. Scenes of shafu and their rickshaws (jinkirishu) and lonely laundromats. #asakusa #tokyobynight #nightphotography #rickshaws #laundromatlife
I'm not quite sure I've ever visited a city that e I'm not quite sure I've ever visited a city that ever felt so straight out of Blade Runner as Sapporo. It even manages to outfox Tokyo and Hong Kong, those other rain-drenched neon metropolises. There's something about Sapporo's swirl of snow, rain, and steam veiling the violet lights and animatronic crab signs that makes it all rather cinematic. From a tiny standing-only sushi bar on the sixth floor of a nondescript building, to @magazzino2010 and his wonderful omakase, lamb, and Hokkaido's finest wine (who knew!), to streetside food vendors serving chimaki (steamed rice wrapped in a bamboo leaf) stuffed with seafood, Sapporo is a treasure trove for gastronomic discovery set to a Vangelis soundtrack. Even better, you can take the train+bus to ski and be hitting the slopes at Teine in less than an hour. ⛷️ #sapporo #hokkaido #bladerunnerrealworld #bladerunnerreality neonlights
snowing lots tonight in hokkaido~! hoping i don't snowing lots tonight in hokkaido~! hoping i don't get stuck ... 🙏🏻#hokkaido #asahidake #japowder #japow #powderday
few things make me happier in life than skiing act few things make me happier in life than skiing active volcanoes ⛷️🌋 i'm super stoked to finally be chasing my powder dreams in Hokkaido after having wanted to come here ever since I cracked open my first box of Hokkaido Butter Pocky in 2004. in this land of dairy delights, everything is nice and white. 🤍 🐻‍❄️ ❄️
Day 3/3 of wandering the South West Coastal Path. Day 3/3 of wandering the South West Coastal Path. Today, I found the internet, and it was covered in shit. Or at least I thought I did on this miserable day traipsing across exposed submarine cables and around abandoned tin mines. When I finally reached my destination of Pendeen, at the pub (where the three-year-old Pickles nabbed my seat as soon as I stood up to place my order for a £17 homemade fish pie and a half pint of cider), I taught a Young Earther how to listen to his voicemail on his ancient phone -- and then how to block further voicemails from ever reaching him. He strongly disputed my claim that I'd found a submarine cable in Sennen, contending that it was most likely just a power cable extending from the beach out to the lighthouse. Hindsight, they say, is electrifying. 💡 ⚡#cornwall #sennen #pendeen #swcp
Day 2/3 on the South West Coast Path. After an amb Day 2/3 on the South West Coast Path. After an amber weather warning in the morning, which I sat out by inspecting every single antique telegraph at the @pkporthcurno Museum of Global Telecommunications, the skies cleared and I was able to walk to my next destination of Sennen. I only saw four other people the entire way. I passed through Land's End and stood in the footsteps of Gary Barlow at the signpost with not a soul in sight. I made it to the @oldsuccessinn as night was falling. Luckily, no raindrops were. Now take that. #cornwall #pkporthcurno #walking #swcp
Day 1 of winter walking from Penzance to Lamorna W Day 1 of winter walking from Penzance to Lamorna Wink along the muddy but gorgeous South West Coastal Path in an effort to understand how Cornwall's geography led it to become the center of global telecommunications in the 20th century. I didn't see a single other person on the path, but the phone service was pretty good, so I called my dad 4,000 miles away. I eventually was picked up at a pub by my AirBnB host, who showed me the Merry Maidens, a neolithic stone circle dating back to when people made sense of the world by the stars. He kindly made me baked beans on toast for dinner, and all was well with the world.
stepped off the 10am sunday train from Paddington stepped off the 10am sunday train from Paddington to Penzance and into a sunlit heaven #penzance #cornwall
back when the going was good. a few days in the si back when the going was good. a few days in the sierras this summer with @takkaji and @plundquist full of starry nights sleeping over 10,000', alpine swims, dehydrated meals, fish cheese, and high school memories. oh, and a guy we met who had dropped a live chainsaw on his foot. hope he made it to whitney—and one day, hope i do too.
Seeing the stars reflected in a lake at our campsi Seeing the stars reflected in a lake at our campsite along the John Muir Trail this summer ✨ #johnmuirtrail #sierras #astrophotography #california #backpacking
shots from a few weeks at home in the 415 this sum shots from a few weeks at home in the 415 this summer 🌞 🌉 it was the coldest summer in 40 years, making the few sunny days like lightning in a bottle.
it was july '25, last time i felt alive, sweating it was july '25, last time i felt alive, sweating bullets in the concrete jungle.
as winter arrives in London with temperatures fore as winter arrives in London with temperatures forecast to drop to 0, it helps to look back on all those languorous evening strolls around Lancaster in the warm embrace of summer
golden strolls with that shimmery someone golden strolls with that shimmery someone
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cryopolitics

🛰️❄️ polar geographer | 🗺 mapmaker | 📸 professor
Follow the journeys behind the Cryopolitics blog with photos from the Arctic & beyond
i love my bike & i love the bay. a big day riding i love my bike & i love the bay. a big day riding 180 km/2400 m vert from san francisco up to nicasio, point reyes station, limasol beach, and bolinas and then back over the relentlessly uphill fire road through mt tam state park back to fairfax, and then back across the golden gate bridge during the golden hour. tragically, the buffalo soft serve i was dreaming of at palace market has been discontinued, but regular old soft serve was there to save the day. #cycling #pointreyes #bikestagram #bikes #bikesf
i think my road bike made me finally fall in love i think my road bike made me finally fall in love with seattle 😱 or at least burgermaster. gotta love turning a drive-thru into a bike-thru and having a waiter run out to your two wheels with a fresh banana milkshake & fries 🍟 🍌 🦅#cycling #seattle #burgermaster #520bridge #sunsetcycling
i got a road bike this spring in seattle and those i got a road bike this spring in seattle and those two wheels have unlocked a whole new universe. these are some photos from my first big ride -- 130 km/2600 m vert on a perfect day in may -- going up to chinook pass. sometimes, life is a bowl of (yakima) cherries. 🍒🚵🏻 #cycling #mtrainier #washington #chinookpass #roadbike
one good thing about skiing is that you can't be h one good thing about skiing is that you can't be hit by an idiot behind the wheel. got hit by a car while biking on friday but not gonna let those 🤬 screw up my weekend. did have to miss parkrun but still made it to the mountains, bandaged knee and all 🤙⛷️
I love the way the setting sun streams directly th I love the way the setting sun streams directly through the sand dunes in springtime in San Francisco and up through the juniper trees in Golden Gate Park. March and April have seen some of the warmest days on record for this time of year. It's all rather disconcerting, but climate anxiety never stopped anyone from going to the beach on a perfect day. This particular evening, the rust-colored clouds made the beach look like something off of Mars, if Mars had oceans that drew lovers to its rhythmic shores.
such a stunningly beautiful day in a sea of white. such a stunningly beautiful day in a sea of white. skiing in Hokkaido's Tokachi Mountains was like being immersed in a white-out that still had total clarity. every branch, every bough, every twig was outlined in white on white on white. there were shades of white i never knew existed: ivory, paper, cream, whipped cream, cotton, eggshell, vanilla, pekingese, pearl, powder, porcelain, seashell, bone, alabaster. and of course, snow-white. 👸🏻❄️ big thanks for a safe and heavenly day in the mountains @alpinebackcountryjapan @el_nicoguty 🙏🏻
Nighttime strolling in Asakusa the night before th Nighttime strolling in Asakusa the night before the big race...Tokyo Marathon 2026. Scenes of shafu and their rickshaws (jinkirishu) and lonely laundromats. #asakusa #tokyobynight #nightphotography #rickshaws #laundromatlife
I'm not quite sure I've ever visited a city that e I'm not quite sure I've ever visited a city that ever felt so straight out of Blade Runner as Sapporo. It even manages to outfox Tokyo and Hong Kong, those other rain-drenched neon metropolises. There's something about Sapporo's swirl of snow, rain, and steam veiling the violet lights and animatronic crab signs that makes it all rather cinematic. From a tiny standing-only sushi bar on the sixth floor of a nondescript building, to @magazzino2010 and his wonderful omakase, lamb, and Hokkaido's finest wine (who knew!), to streetside food vendors serving chimaki (steamed rice wrapped in a bamboo leaf) stuffed with seafood, Sapporo is a treasure trove for gastronomic discovery set to a Vangelis soundtrack. Even better, you can take the train+bus to ski and be hitting the slopes at Teine in less than an hour. ⛷️ #sapporo #hokkaido #bladerunnerrealworld #bladerunnerreality neonlights
snowing lots tonight in hokkaido~! hoping i don't snowing lots tonight in hokkaido~! hoping i don't get stuck ... 🙏🏻#hokkaido #asahidake #japowder #japow #powderday
few things make me happier in life than skiing act few things make me happier in life than skiing active volcanoes ⛷️🌋 i'm super stoked to finally be chasing my powder dreams in Hokkaido after having wanted to come here ever since I cracked open my first box of Hokkaido Butter Pocky in 2004. in this land of dairy delights, everything is nice and white. 🤍 🐻‍❄️ ❄️
Day 3/3 of wandering the South West Coastal Path. Day 3/3 of wandering the South West Coastal Path. Today, I found the internet, and it was covered in shit. Or at least I thought I did on this miserable day traipsing across exposed submarine cables and around abandoned tin mines. When I finally reached my destination of Pendeen, at the pub (where the three-year-old Pickles nabbed my seat as soon as I stood up to place my order for a £17 homemade fish pie and a half pint of cider), I taught a Young Earther how to listen to his voicemail on his ancient phone -- and then how to block further voicemails from ever reaching him. He strongly disputed my claim that I'd found a submarine cable in Sennen, contending that it was most likely just a power cable extending from the beach out to the lighthouse. Hindsight, they say, is electrifying. 💡 ⚡#cornwall #sennen #pendeen #swcp
Day 2/3 on the South West Coast Path. After an amb Day 2/3 on the South West Coast Path. After an amber weather warning in the morning, which I sat out by inspecting every single antique telegraph at the @pkporthcurno Museum of Global Telecommunications, the skies cleared and I was able to walk to my next destination of Sennen. I only saw four other people the entire way. I passed through Land's End and stood in the footsteps of Gary Barlow at the signpost with not a soul in sight. I made it to the @oldsuccessinn as night was falling. Luckily, no raindrops were. Now take that. #cornwall #pkporthcurno #walking #swcp
Day 1 of winter walking from Penzance to Lamorna W Day 1 of winter walking from Penzance to Lamorna Wink along the muddy but gorgeous South West Coastal Path in an effort to understand how Cornwall's geography led it to become the center of global telecommunications in the 20th century. I didn't see a single other person on the path, but the phone service was pretty good, so I called my dad 4,000 miles away. I eventually was picked up at a pub by my AirBnB host, who showed me the Merry Maidens, a neolithic stone circle dating back to when people made sense of the world by the stars. He kindly made me baked beans on toast for dinner, and all was well with the world.
stepped off the 10am sunday train from Paddington stepped off the 10am sunday train from Paddington to Penzance and into a sunlit heaven #penzance #cornwall
back when the going was good. a few days in the si back when the going was good. a few days in the sierras this summer with @takkaji and @plundquist full of starry nights sleeping over 10,000', alpine swims, dehydrated meals, fish cheese, and high school memories. oh, and a guy we met who had dropped a live chainsaw on his foot. hope he made it to whitney—and one day, hope i do too.
Seeing the stars reflected in a lake at our campsi Seeing the stars reflected in a lake at our campsite along the John Muir Trail this summer ✨ #johnmuirtrail #sierras #astrophotography #california #backpacking
shots from a few weeks at home in the 415 this sum shots from a few weeks at home in the 415 this summer 🌞 🌉 it was the coldest summer in 40 years, making the few sunny days like lightning in a bottle.
it was july '25, last time i felt alive, sweating it was july '25, last time i felt alive, sweating bullets in the concrete jungle.
as winter arrives in London with temperatures fore as winter arrives in London with temperatures forecast to drop to 0, it helps to look back on all those languorous evening strolls around Lancaster in the warm embrace of summer
golden strolls with that shimmery someone golden strolls with that shimmery someone
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