We knew that we were close to civilization because every now and then a sightseeing party would zoom past on snow mobiles. But there was still a lot of work to be done - standing in the way of us and a comfy bed was a long climb up a particularly steep, icy hill. To make matters worse, the weather had closed in so we would have to tackle the climb in a whiteout.

We were so close, yet so far away. Snow mobiles regularly came flying over the top of the hill and I started to think about how nice it would be to hitch a ride back to town. After almost being taken out by one on several occasions, I was genuinely concerned that we were going to fall at the last hurdle.

Slowly but surely I trudged up the slope and eventually stumbled over the top; with my legs aching and my heart pounding from the effort, I collapsed on my pulk exhausted. But it wasn't long before I had a huge grin on my face; when I stood up I could see the faint outline of the small coastal town of Longyearbyen in the distance.

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