Emerging from the clouds
Each story in the series Beyond the Image is about more than a single photograph — it’s about the moments, the waiting, and the quiet persistence behind them. This story is from an expedition at Svalbard. Over 26 days we skied from Longyearbyen to Sørneset, the southern point at Svalbard - and back again. In freezing winter temperatures we experienced Svalbard with all the island has to offer.
The previous day we had a little celebration in our tent.
On the day this image was taken we started our day all the way down at sea level. From our camp at the very bottom of Belopol'skijbreen we started the day in complete whiteout.
The previous day we had a little celebration in our tent. We had reached our goal and turning point for our expedition from Longyearbyen to Sørneset at Svalbard. I do not know if it was said out loud but I think we all felt relieved hat we had not only reachead our goal. We had conqured the difficulties in one piece. We had gained experience for the way back north. That evening we opened the Svalbard in our tent serving a tiny bottle of Whiskey to each. We even smoked a sigar.
All morning we skied up the steep side of the glacier. The moment we reached the top - the heavy fog started to lift
In the whiteout the one next to you was the only thing to rest the eyes on.
When the fog lifted
one sharp peak
after the other
revealed itselves.
Text and photography by Henning Hovland
Henning is a Norwegian photographer. He is passionate about landscape and wildlife photography and a keen explorer. Henning has explored the arctic landscapes at Svalbard on several occasions and love the expedition lifestyle.
Vincent Colliard, Caroline Côte, Aleksander Gudmundseth.