Sunniva Sorby (Flag #14) and Hilde Fålun Strøm are the first women in history to overwinter in the Arctic without men. They embarked in September 2019 on a nine-month expedition in the High Arctic of Svalbard, Norway. Living in a trapper’s hut with no running water or electricity, they were in complete darkness for 90 days. Dodging polar bears under nights of spectacular borealis, weathering raging storms that piled massive snowdrifts that blocked their door (they climbed out of the window), they recorded and broadcast extreme climate change events as they happened, in real time. They also collected valuable data as citizen scientists on northern lights, marine plastics, cloud formations, phytoplankton and wildlife.

The Hearts in the Ice expedition was expected to end May 2020 but, due to COVID-19, it was extended to May 2021. WINGS then issued Sunniva and Hilde an additional Emergency Fund grant to support their unexpected satellite terminal and extensive communication needs, including transmitting observations and data to NASA, the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, and the Norwegian Polar Institute, and connecting live with 100s of global classrooms. Read the press release for more.

The polar ambassadors passed a second winter (2020-21) in the Norwegian Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, continuing to document climate change and promote public engagement with climate science. Their recently published book, Hearts In The Ice: The Adventures of the First Two Women to Overwinter Solo in Svalbard, tells the story of the courage, collaboration and community surrounding this expedition to inspire and engage action around climate change.