Guys, Polar Bears are damn smart creatures as these show.
Mikhail just remember you only have to run a bit faster than LB1RH to be OK if you do find a Polar Bear 
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We will sacrifice the guide 
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Good luck and have fun.
Hopefully get to work you on 20m.
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I did think about getting an EU firearms certificate, which is a prerequisite of either hiring a rifle or taking one with you. Then, you would also need somone with a similar certificate (I donât want to be permanently stuck on guard duty). Either way, itâs going to be quite expensive and lots of paperwork. From what the guide sites say, polar bears are quite rare and stick to coastline hunting seals. If you donât see any seals, you probably wonât see any bears; so not likely at the top of mountains. It is always stressed, that shooting a polar bear should be a last resort. Make sure you know how to operate a rifle. A few years ago a British teenager was dragged from a tent and killed because the person with the rifle forgot to take it of safety, very sad and completely avoidable.
73 de OE6FEG
Matt
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Matt, I think that line makes the point of why youâve made the right decision to hire an experienced local guide. Their ability to shoot the bear is necessary but hopefully the need can be avoided. What you wisely are hiring, that would be difficult to supply yourself, is their experience and knowledge on how to avoid bear contact and, if contact does occur, how to manage the situation and avoid the need to shoot if at all possible.
Best wishes for a safe and successful trip. I hope to work you on your Svalbard summits!
73,
Scott WB8ICQ
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Just to be clear, Iâm not going on this, or any expedition to Svalbard in the near future. But I have given some thought to the logistics of it.
73
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Up until very recently you could apply for permission to rent a rifle for polar bear protection from Sysselmannen (the Govenor of Svalbard) and to do that you needed a Basic Disclosure from the Police. With those two pieces of paper you could then rent a rifle in Longyearbyen. However, they have now tightened up the requirements quite a lot it seems, so Iâm not sure if and how youâd go about sorting it out now.
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The other good thing about having a guide or a dedicated polar bear lookout is that both of them can focus on their radios. Itâs very easy to get engrossed in what you are doing and forget to scan the area every so often. When we do fieldwork up there, we tend to take turns standing up and keeping an eye out, perhaps while taking notes or something.
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Yes, I think, after youâve filled out all the forms and bought or hired the gear, youâve probably spent much more than you would have on a guide. Certainly, a decent scope is going to cost an arm and a leg. Guides seem to be about âŹ100/day, so after 15 days of guiding, youâre getting to about what your scope cost. Money that would probably be better spent on a snowmobile.
Matt
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20 meter-se is good for me. See you 73 py2vm
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We are at Longyearbyen now, getting ready for the activation.
The plan is to start operate from JW/MS-007 tomorrow arround 9.30 UTC.
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Here is the link for satellite tracking with 10 min. delay, so you can get idea how close we are to the summit.
WX will be not very nice, but hope at least the sun will be calm tomorrow.
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Somewhat manic is how I would describe 14.277 this morning. At times the signal was peaking 57 on a simple dipole but the pileup was fierce. I only had a 30-45min window before I had to get back to work and the damn PA didnât want to work (now found to be a duff connector) so 4-5W vs that pileup of fix stations was never going to be easy. Never mind, may be better luck tomorrow.
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The pile-ups were a mite manic, even on CW; definitely more âinterestingâ than usual⌠Good hunting!
I didnât have time to wait for the CW sessions to start. I must go and activate some similarly exotic location because Iâd quite like a pileup like that on one of my activations for a change
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Yeah, I feel you, it was pretty wild. I logged 69 QSOâs before I could not feel my fingers :). It was snowing actually. Conditions were changing fast and at times there was strong QRM. To go through with just 4-5W was⌠challenging no doubt :). Hopefully better luck on JW/MS-087 and/or JW/MS-051 this Saturday.
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I may go and find the seldom used contest HF amp which runs to a little more than 5W but I donât think my neighbours will be pleased as everything electrical they own melts 
WX looks diabolic for Saturday, heavy showers and thunderstorms.
Oh, that was a blast, you will have a better luck on Saturday!
Thanks a lot for the pileup! In addition to Lauris I logged 95 QSOs at 17,20 and 30m bands. Worked few DX as well JA, pacific Russia, NA
We will works from the JE5W club tomorrow. And activate more tops on Saturday.
73!
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Hi Andy⌠more luck ( and time ) here, Great QSO 55/43 on ssb 20meter with 100W and a doublet on /P. weak here on 30 meter CW but not able to make it.
A big pile from a JX summit is a guarantee!