Because of my constant desire to see the landscape from above I have been trying to arrange for the past year, helicopter flights over Svalbard before the actual expedition launches. Thanks to the generous assistance of Dr. Jack Kohler, from the Norwegian Polar Institute, we have been granted permission to accompany him in Ny-Alesund as he conducts his research measuring glacial change, giving us access to helicopter excursions over the Kronbreen glacial landscape below. Ny Alesund is a research facility where scientists of many nationalities convene. It’s the most remote permanent arctic research facility. Here's a link to learn more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archipelago

We arrived on Monday and I was up in the air this Tuesday the 17th as well as again today September 18.

I flew with Jack and his colleague Chris Nuth and a very able pilot Bjorn Frode Amundsen and his flight engineer/mechanic, BrynJulv Hauge. We went up the glacier landing to sometimes leave Chris at one station while we went off to another. The day was occupied with checking instruments, dismantling some weather stations and gathering data.