Blake Witham

– I am Blake, I'm 28 and from Australia.

How did you end up in Longyearbyen?
– I was working in Japan as a ski teacher, and I was living with some people who had lived here already for many years. They showed me a video of Arctic Nature Guide, and I looked at it and thought, yeah, that's the next step for me.

What have you learned so far?
– I've learned all about glacier rescue and guiding in general. So many things that, in my previous experience, I might not have thought about so much — and now I'm actually thinking about it. Multi-day trips, surviving in snow, and keeping yourself alive and well in arctic environments, and just cold environments in general.

So how would you say this kind of knowledge is important?
– It's important to keep yourself alive, keep yourself safe. If you're working as a guide, you keep the people safe around you. You have a big responsibility for looking after people’s lives and safety, and that’s an important thing to take seriously.

Who is this program for? Who does it suit best?
– It suits people who really like being outdoors, who love the cold, who love being in just complete wilderness and enjoying themselves in nature.

How would you describe the group you're part of? It's quite an international group?
– It’s been very nice. I was a bit concerned, first coming in, that it would be a lot of Norwegian and I would struggle with the language, but everyone’s been very welcoming — especially the international people. It’s been great to mix with a bunch of different cultures and learn new things from everyone.

Have you seen polar bears yet?
– We have seen, so far, three polar bears. Two on the first excursion — a mother and a cub — and then one on the sea ice course, where we kept our distance.

So what’s your next step after this?
– I’m not sure. It will definitely be something in snow. Maybe something around Longyearbyen — a bit of ski and sail perhaps. I’ve got a lot of options now, so I’m going to see what I want to do.

But you will be outdoors?
– Oh, definitely. You won’t find me in an office at all!