€35,00
In the far north of Europe, even beyond the North Cape, lies an archipelago mainly
covered by ice and with more polar bears than inhabitants. There are birds there in
the millions and old trees just have a few centimetres in height. The polar landscape of this isolated region is among the most spectacular in the world.
To the west, mountains sharpened by ice thrust themselves up between valleys
engulfed by glaciers reaching down into the sea. This is what gave the island the
name Spirtsbergen, or “sharp mountains”. To the east, the ice cap of Nordaustlandet (Nort East Land) is larger than Corsica and protrudes into the Arctic Ocean as
an ice shelf extending 190 kilometres, the longest in the Northern Hemisphere, and
has become known by the Norwegian name Svalbard, or “Island of cold coasts”.
And everywhere lies the pack ice, which connects these islands to the North Pole
just 1000 kilometres away.
Each year, 44,000 people visit these coasts on cruises lasting between 3 and 12
days. This book is both an excellent guide for you as the text and photographs focus on your itinerary and ports of call, as well as being a beautiful souvenir album.
Before writing this book, the author spent almost 40 years in the Far North, first as
a leader of polar research expeditions and then as a lecturer aboard ocean liners for
20 years. Following this, he was the first to launch expeditions cruises in France in
1990. During this time, he has seen the glaciers receding, the pack ice shrinking,
whales dying and polar bear starving…
Christian Kempf will take you on an extraordinary journey into the world of
walruses, seals and polar bears. As well, he will introduce you to the fascinating
history of the region, forged by whalers, trappers, explorers and researchers.
Whether for large ocean liners or expeditions cruises, this is the perfect book to
chronicle your own Arctic adventure this summer!
ISBN : 978-2-918299-13-4
Parution : 2010-2013-2016-2019
Format : 29,7 x 21
