by Sam Smith

Monday 13 November 2006
We arrived in the middle of the night in Longyearbyen, a small settlement that is the 'capital' of Svalbard. We spend the morning looking out of the window at increasingly bad weather, with high winds and light snow. If Mother Nature doesn't help us a little, we're not going to be able to film anything.

We run into several experts on glaciers, who by coincidence are staying in Longyearbyen too. I know most of them through WWF. Soon they're advising us on where we should go, and giving us the latest information on Svalbard's melting glaciers.

I'm wondering what Anneka will be like, and I'm a little nervous about filming without a script. As soon as I meet her, though, I think this will be just fine. She's keenly interested in climate issues, and soon she and the crew are peppering me with questions. We quickly discover that our children are roughly the same age. She gives me advice about the filming, and I suggest that she buy some additional clothes given the weather conditions.

We go out to the campsite. After some filming, we settle down in the tent and begin to swap stories. It's cold but good to be out of the wind; and I'm glad we have perimeter flares to keep the polar bears away! Though most of them are over to the east now, you never know – you can meet polar bears pretty much anywhere on Svalbard.

Tuesday 14 November 2006
The wind has died down and we're able to go out by boat to a glacier front. The boat trip is long and cold, maybe a little too cold as there's wind and the temperature is below freezing. By the time we get there, Anneka's feet are frozen solid. Fortunately I have two pairs of boots, and loan her the warmest pair. I'm already wearing two pairs of wool socks and feel OK as long as I move around.

We haven't seen any bears yet, so we put on our glacier gear, including crampons, and head up over the glacier. Sometimes bears stay around glacier fronts to prey on the seals that live on the ice that collects there.

At the end of our hike, we pause before rappelling down a glacier front. Anneka asks me if it's too late to save the Arctic. I think about my children, and the future, and say "no". We can't save everything, but if we all do simple things – such as using energy-efficient light bulbs and taking public transport – it adds up to a really tremendous amount of energy savings.

Now we have to rappel down the glacier front. Anneka has done this many times before and is totally relaxed; I've never done it on ice before and I'm a little nervous. It goes fine, though, and before I know it I'm on the ground again.

We have a beautiful boat trip back, with the wind behind us. The light and sunset are incredible. I've been to Svalbard many, many times and never get over how beautiful it is. It's like a love affair – once you've been there, you only want to go back.