Halfway between mainland Europe (600km south) and the North Pole (1000km north) lays a archipelago called Svalbard. One of the world’s northernmost inhabited areas. Formed by over 400 islands, shaped by glaciers and surrounded by the Arctic Ocean which penetrates uncountable fjords it is home to more polar bears then humans. The need to carry a rifle is necessary as soon as one leaves town into the wild where no streets nor trails, no cars or trees can to be found. Today mostly known for its its rugged terrain and wild nature, it has also a rich coal mining past. In the summer of 2015 and 2016 Delve went on an adventure trip to Svalbard to explore and document the remains and traces of of its once glory mining industry.

On an eight week roadtrip along the west coasts three Delve members from Germany tried to get a feeling what this wild west land is really all about.
Starting north in Seattle they headed south along the coast and later heading inlands with stops in major cities, most of nature wonders, looking for places far away from tourists, abandoned structures and try to find some mellow surf. Roughly 6.000km in total.

Decades of mining activity in Norway and Svalbard changed the countries faces permanently and left countless marks in their landscape. In the summer months of 2015 we went on a two month road trip across Norway and Svalbard. Along our way we explored and documented abandoned mining sites as well as deserted districts in search of what remains after the last shift has ended and all people left. In numbers: roughly 10.000km in distance, 7.000km by car, 2.000km by plane and 600km by ship, 4 countries, 2 months.