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Who let the dog out

Published: 02.03.2009

With a passion for adventure and a strong will of sharing polar experiences with the non-polar population, 5 students took on a 1100 km skiing traverse of the Norwegian Arctic archipelago of Svalbard. The trip resulted in the documentary: Who let the dog out, starring André, the dog.

The movie is now distributed free-of-charge to all primary schools in Norway, with global distribution planned for autumn 2009.

The Frozen Five are; Kim Senger (Czech Republic), Hella Garny and Ulli Neumann (Germany), Lucas Girard (France), and Mats Björkman (Sweden).
http://www.frozenfive.org/

In late 2006, five students from four different countries; all in the geo sciences, and all students at the University Centre of Svalbard (UNIS) found each other through a common passion for polar issues.

During their encounter a dream about skiing across Spitsbergen was born. Thus, come March 2007, and Kim, Ulli, Mats, Hella and Lucas,: also known as the Frozen Five– and André the dog – set out for the trip of their lives.

Now the movie about the Frozen Five trip is being shown at schools in Norway to educate children about the Arctic. And André is the star.

Foto: Frozen Five
André med pulken sin. Isbjørnbamsen heter Isolina.

77 days and 7 polar bears
The expedition involved 1100 km of skiing and took 77 days to complete. The team had to survive through long spells with temperatures of -30°C, as well as encounters with no less than 7 polar bears.

The group became the second in history to complete the double crossing of Spitsbergen, starting and ending at Longyearbyen and visiting both the southernmost (Sørneset) and northernmost (Verlegenhuken) point of the island.

Apart from the physical challenge of skiing day by day, the team managed to put together the 38-minute documentary film "Who Let the Dog Out?"

Foto: Frozen Five
Kameraet ble flittig brukt på turen.Traveling exhibition
--On average, the team took approximately 5 "good" pictures for every km skied, one of the Frozen Five, Kim Senger said. 

The impressive collection of audiovisual material has been used in a travelling photographic exhibition which has attracted a large audience in Prague already. Next stop is Svalbard, where it will be accessible to visitors and residents alike throughout the summer of 2009 before moving on to another exiting destination.

Part of the collection has been incorporated in the Norwegian Polar Institute's audiovisual collection, with geo-referenced photos complementing the "Placenames of Svalbard" library.

Five diciplines
With know-how from five different disciplines of the geosciences: geology, glaciology, meteorology, biology, sea-ice and their faithful 4-legged companion Andre as the movie star, the film has been an instant success with the school kids, Senger said.

Foto: Frozen Five
1100 km på ski er langt. Men det er tøffeste psykisk, mener deltakerne.

The school children, especially in the Oslo and Svalbard area, have been heavily involved in the movie's production, with their comments on several draft versions taken into consideration during the production.

In addition to the movie production, an educational presentation has been put together and shown to several high schools, both in Norway and abroad. So far approximately 300 school children have been involved in post-expedition talks, with approximately the same number following the pre-expedition talks given by the various team members around the world.

These pre-expedition events allowed school children to follow the team's progress through the real-time updated website. Further talks in schools are planned in conjunction with the distribution of the educational movie.

For further information on the Frozen Five project and its activities, please visit www.frozenfive.org.

Last updated: 02.03.2009

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