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Steider watched polar bears sleep, dig, scratch, sniff and swim. Here, bears pause to show off their big webbed feet and thick fur.

Walking outside of town in Longyearbyen was illegal without a weapon or a guide.

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I left my heart in Svalbard

I left my heart in Svalbard

I went to Svalbard to see polar bears before they disappear. It was a profound experience, and the greatest adventure of my lifetime. For 12 days, I was in constant wonder and awe, barely able to breathe while enveloped in arctic splendor. I boarded a 12-passenger expedition ship that moved north through pack ice, then along many fjords around the island of Spitsbergen with top-tier conservation photographers guiding us.