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I'd heard whisperings from afar that snow had fallen on Tarfala. Of course, there was little that I could do about it, but the anticipation of what I would return to was never far from my mind. Roped up, trekking up a snowy Storeglaciären, I was beginning to wonder whether Mike and I should have …

Tarfala gets going!

After a frustratingly snowy start to my time in Tarfala, the snow eventually turned to slush, and within days the glacier's bare ice finally started to reveal itself. On July 11th, 11 days after arriving at Tarfala, and after a bout of gale force winds, I dashed up the hills on the other side of …

10 days in Tarfala – by Aliyah Debbonaire

I am on day four of ten at the Tarfala Research Station. I came here with intentions to collect tube after tube of cryoconite, gather up any biofilm samples I can and do some glacier forefield sampling. So far, thanks to a hefty layer of snow, I have achieved only one out of three and …

Tarfala: The Waiting Game

There's been a lot of waiting going on these past weeks: waiting for purchases to arrive, waiting to be able to pack, waiting to travel... Now I find myself in the absolutely stunning surroundings of Tarfala, complete with beautiful mountains and fantastic glaciers, waiting for the winter's snow to melt away. Our first three days …

Heatwave

It turns out it's pretty hellish trying to pack for the Arctic during the UK's hottest June day since 1976... not to mentioning in an office that lacks opening windows or air-con! Nevertheless, after several hours of to-ing and fro-ing around the buildings of Aberystwyth University, an ensemble of ideas of what to pack finally …