They made it! For the fifth time!

Yesterday, April 25, 2012, the Russian teen team led by Arctic adventurers Dmitry and Matvey Shparo (Adventure Club) reached the North Pole by skiing from the Barneo drifting ice base.

I am happy about this event, as one of the North Pole skiing expedition participant is from Yakutia, precisely from the Bulunsky region located in the Polar Circle in North Yakutia, Siberia, Russia.

RussiaToday reports:

They’ve done it again! The fifth teenage expedition to the Noth Pole led by adventurers Dmitry and Matvey Shparo has been successfully completed.

The format of the “Ski to the North Pole” expedition has been constant: seven teenagers, handpicked from thousands of eager would-be polar explorers across Russia, begin their journey at the Barneo drifting ice base.

And after about a week battling through some of the harshest conditions on Earth, the chosen few reach the global summit.

This time, it took the expedition seven days to cover the 110 kilometer distance from the last circle of latitude all the way up to the North Pole.

But the young arctic travelers had to stick around another full day at their final destination because the mission to pick them up – with RT’s crew on board – came late due to severe weather conditions, which prevented themfrom flying.

But one of North Pole conquerors, Danila Romanyuk, says waiting for another 24 hours wasn’t much of a problem.

“We played mafia, sang songs, told jokes, ate and slept… then slept and ate again,” he said.

The pickup team brought delicious pies with them and when the treat was finished, the group was finally ready to pose for the camera and answer some questions.

Well, the pies disappeared within seconds and the group was finally ready to pose for the camera and answer some questions.

“When you ski, the wind stirs up the snow and fully covers your face and then cuts it,” Aleksandr Chernykh, Ski to the North Pole expedition member, said. “The goggles can’t help at all. It was really hard.”

The successful expedition was celebrated by a traditional circle dance and a football match.

The custom of playing football at the world’s summit dates all the way back to the cold war when the crew of a Soviet submarine broke through the polar ice to play the world’s most popular game.

Each year, Dmitry and Matvey Shparo dedicate the expedition to either a cause or a commemorative date.

Their previous sub-zero treks have already been devoted to – among others – Russian teachers and the Sochi Winter Olympics.

This time the journey was made in the name of Ivan Papanin, who spent over two hundred days researching the North Pole, back in 1937.

“This is the copy of a flag which was raised at the North Pole by the expedition of Ivan Papanin 75 years ago and we are commemorating their heroics with our trip,” Dmitry Shparo said.

Hunger for travel, the unknown and effort bordering the unattainable is what separates the teenagers from the expedition from rest of their peers.

At 16 to 18 years old, they have already reached the top of the world and their future life challenges now seem like much easier hurdles to overcome.

Via Dmitry and Matvei Shparo’ Adventure Club

Captain of the Yacht Peter I

Sailing Neva river

Are you still thinking that the streets of Russian cities are full of dancing bears with balalaikas, and the men drink vodka, sitting under the Christmas trees? Well you are almost right.

To see the proof with your own eyes make sure to visit the most northerly in the world regatta “Adventure Race 80 degrees”. A real Russian safari is waiting for you: polar bears and rough sailors, ancient villages and churches of the Russian North, ice and land, that have almost never been touched by human hands. But most importantly – the extreme race in the highest latitudes.

You’ve probably heard about the record-breaking voyage of the Russian yacht “Peter I”. In 2010 she sailed around the North Pole during a single navigation without wintering and the help of an icebreaker. In 2011, the yacht crew organized an international environmental regatta “Adventure Race 80 degrees”.

Thanks to this regatta foreign yacht for the first time without problems were able to get into the internal waters of Russia.

They followed two very interesting routes: cruise in company from St. Petersburg to Arkhangelsk and Arctic race from Archangelsk to the Franz Josef Land and Murmansk.

The cultural capital of Russia – St. Petersburg became the first port of the regatta. Most of the participants gathered there on July,1st, the day before the start. The next day, July 2, the regatta was officially launched by its organizers – Daniel Gavrilov – Captain of the Regatta’s flagship yacht “Peter I” and Elena Solovyeva – Chief mate.

They spoke of the bureaucratic difficulties and other obstacles they faced. That included many months of obtaining permits for the yachts to sail in the inland waters of Russia, and arranging moorages along the route of the race. But nothing stopped them from gathering a fleet of eight boats from five countries: Britain, Germany, Czech Republic, Finland and Russia.

Russian inland waters

Fleet of the regatta

About the Regatta & the Russian Arctic

Elena Solovyeva, director of the regatta “Adventure Race 80 dg”:
- Difficulties were mainly of an organizational nature – all kinds of agreements and documents to obtain permits for foreigners. To get the permission for four foreign yachts to sail in the inland waters we eventually had to get Putin’s signature on one of the documents. The very idea of the race came to mind only six months ago, so we had to work at extreme speeds. But we had a very good team, which easily coped with everything.

Michael Smith, the captain of an English yacht “Willywaw”:
- For a few years we have been unsuccessfully trying to get the permission for the boat to pass the inland waterways of Russia. This year, at last, we were able to do this- thanks to the regatta «Adventure race». Next time will invite other English yachts.

Kizhi

Sailing race

Regatta. Step by step

The starting time was chosen so the bouts will pass along the Neva River under the drawn bridges. On the night of July 4, three boats set off on cruise in company route of the regatta. The first stop was at the estuary of the Neva River, where there the medieval fortress Oreshek is situated. Participants rested, went on an excursion and continued the cruise.

The next step was sailing on the largest European freshwater Lake Ladoga. After that the boats went to the Svir River, and then to Lake Onega, where they examined the main attractions of these places – petroglyphs (ancient rock paintings) in the eastern part of the lake and the island of Kizhi.

The island is famous for the landmark of Russian wooden architecture – Kizhi churchyard. In 1993, it was included in UNESCO World Heritage List. The part of the route in the White Sea-Baltic Canal became memorable for the participants because of both its interesting navigation, and history. This channel of 227 km in length with 19 locks, was built in less than a year, while world-famous shorter canals needed many more years to construct. In the White Sea yachts visited Solovki Islands, where the crews got acquainted with the history of the Solovki monastery and the Gulag Archipelago, and met with “Onega regatta.”

White Sea Baltic Canal

Solovetsky monastery

Solovetsky islands

Participants of the AR 80 DG

After the yachts crossed the sea and sailed on the River Dvina they were warmly welcomed in the city of Arkhangelsk. There, on July 16 the closing ceremony of the first part of the regatta and participants awarding took place.

On July 19, a second part of the Arctic race began. Yacht “Peter I» (Russia) and «Lena» (Finland) started from the Buoy of Arkhangelsk. They passed 950 miles in autonomous navigation to the Franz Josef Land, where they made a stop for five days.

It should be said that for such a voyage the yachts were well prepared: «Lena» had repeatedly sailed to Spitsbergen, and “Peter I» had completed the Arctic circumnavigation. The vessels were equipped with life rafts of unlimited navigation area; buoys, double navigation system, satellite communication, and the crew members had dry suits with them.

Boats were lucky – there wasn’t a lot of ice on the way. At 23:08 Moscow time, July 25 the yacht “Peter I” from Saint-Petersburg, after going around Cape Flora, crossed the declared 80th parallel of north latitude at 80 ° 0’0 .00 “N 50 ° 4’44 .71? E.

The crew had some time to enjoy the beauty of nature, icebergs and gigantic glaciers, wild animals – all of this is a small part of what can be seen in the Arctic.

Sailors managed to visit the island of Champa, which is famous for its perfectly round stones, Hayes Island, with the most northerly post office in Russia. They also got to go to the polar stations on the island Hooker, where the second expedition of Georgy Sedov was wintering in 1913, 1914; the places of wintering of an outstanding Arctic explorer Fridtjof Nansen’s expedition; on the island of Jackson, the famous Cape Flora, where virtually all of the arctic expeditions, that explored the Franz Josef Land had been based. Crews conducted environmental campaign to draw public attention to the problem of pollution in the Arctic where empty fuel barrels had been scattered for decades. Yachts finished in Murmansk August 9, 2011

This year, “Rusarc” is organizing a second regatta “Adventure Race 80 dg – 2012.” The cruise in company route will be added with the islands of Konevets and Valaam in Lake Ladoga. Race time will altered a little – it will start June 23 and end August 4, 2012.

So if you’ve always wanted to visit Russia and see what it is like with your own eyes, you still have some time to join the regatta as a crew member or a tourist. All the details can be found here: en.rusarc.ru.

Captain and chief mate

Yachts Peter I and Lena near Franz Josef Land

Peter I near Franz Josef Land

Interesting meeting

The documentary is from Yukon Arctic Ultra on Vimeo.

Wow! The Yukon Arctic Ultra Race looks really cool! Hey, I would love to participate in it and try my guts, but not in Canada. In Siberia, definitely! Especially in my lovely Yakutia!

What is the Yukon Arctic Ultra? Read the race info…

Race course:

The Yukon Arctic Ultra follows the Yukon Quest trail, the trail of the world’s toughest Sled Dog Race.

The marathon finishes just off the Takhini River. The 100 mile racers go from Whitehorse to Braeburn. The 300 mile racers keep on going all the way to Pelly Farm. There they will leave the river to turn around and go back to Pelly Crossing on the farm road. The 430 mile athletes do not return to Pelly Crossing. Instead they continue on the Quest trail to Dawson City.

The trail is marked. However, if there is fresh snow or a lot of wind it is difficult to find the trail. If to enhance ability to understand orientation, a GPS is recommended…

Starting time, date and location:

The Yukon Arctic Ultra 2012 will start on Feb. 4th. The time for the start is 10:30 AM.
Start will be done downtown Whitehorse next to the Yukon river…

Disciplines: Mountain bike, xc-skis or foot.

Via Yukon Arctic Ultra

Currently, Canada’s Yukon Arctic Ultra is the world’s coldest & toughest race, but it won’t be as such, if the race would be conducted in Russia’s Siberian region of Yakutia. A good idea to work on since now

A Russian boat RUS in Clyde River, Nunavut. Photo by CBC.ca

Adventure enthusiasts from the Russian city of Ivanovo were reported to be the first sailers, who have crossed the Polar Circle on an air-inflated trimaran. It happened on Aug. 5th, 2011. Last Satuday, their boat called “Rus” have already made it to the Clyde River in Nunavut, Canada.

When Canadians saw their strange-looking 7.6-metre trimaran, they called it as a homemade boat “made out of bamboo, rope and duct tape.”

Here is what CBC.ca wrote:

“Absolutely fascinating. I’ve never seen the likes of it in my life,” said Constable Rolland Lavoie, who’s with the RCMP in Clyde River. “I would expect that a trip of this sort to be on a huge cruise boat, something huge, but this is something out of Gilligan’s Island, for crying out loud. Very Interesting.”

Ok. Who are these Russian sailers?

They are 6 travellers from Russia’s Western city of Ivanovo (mostly known as the city of Russian brides). Their mission is to study the geography and people of the North during their around-the-world Trans-Arctic historical-geographical sailing expedition “The Path of Orion.”

Their way to the Canadian Nunavut was a long journey. They started expedition in the early May from the city of Ples on the Volga River. They reached St Petersburg by the river waterway, then crossed Baltic and Norwegian seas, made it through the Northern Atlantic to Iceland and Greenland. Finally, arrived in Nunavut, Canada.

Now they are travelling through Canada’s Northwest Passage and expect to arrive in Cambridge Bay around Sept. 5. After that their route goes to Alaska and Chukotka, back to Russia.

The Path of Orion Expedition is dedicated to the 140th Ivanovo City Anniversary.

Brave Russians!

Follow them on the Path of Orion expedition wesbite.

I’ve heard about the Adventure Race 80dg Ecological Sailing Regatta before, but I didn’t expect that the Finish yacht “Lena”, one of regatta participants, will continue traversing along the Russian Arctic heading to… guess where… right… to the Lena Delta and Tiksi. In other words, Finish sailers will reach my area called the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). Moreover, they plan to go upstream and make it to Yakutsk, where I live! Cool!

Meanwhile, enjoy photographs of Franz Josef Land Archipelago, Russian Arctic, brought by RusArc’s Petr I yacht crew.

By the way, before you proceed watching Arctic photographs, here is a short description of AR 80dg.

The 2011 International Ecological Sailing Regatta “Adventure Race 80 dg” (“AR 80dg”) is officially completed. It was organized by the Russian company “RUSARC ltd” (http://en.rusarc.ru/) and lasted from July 03 till August 09 within the Russian Federation.

The race consisted of two parts. The 1st one was Arkhangelsk – St Petersburg (through inner river waterways), the 2nd went on the Arctic route St Petersburg – Franz-Josef Land (with paying visit to the old meteo station “Tikhaya Bay”) – Murmansk.

In the first lap, there were sailing boats from Russia, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Czech Republic, England. In the second, two only. They are the Russian yacht “Petr I” and the Finish Lena.

So now we expect to see the Finish guys in Yakutia (Russia). I will try to follow the Finish yacht, though I didn’t found their official website with sailing updates. Meanwhile, you might wish to learn more about my land at AskYakutia.com and eYakutia.com.

Photographs from RUSARC ltd’s Expedition Blog that is done in Russian and English languages.

CinemaPole Studio is the Russian TV film production company, that makes documentaries about the Arctic. It has already created many TV shows tightly related with the history of the Arctic exploration.

One of its fascinating program is The Arctic. The Russian Project. Hereby, you might see all three episodes of that show. Enjoy!

CinemaPole Studio Website: CinemaPole.ru.
CinemaPole Studio on YouTube: CinemaPoleSTUDIO.

On February 2, 2011, Simone Moro, Denis Urubko and Cory Richards became the first, who climbed one of Pakistan’s 8,000 meter peaks in winter! Cory Richards is now the only American to summit any 8,000 meter peak in winter. The journey nearly killed them. Cory carried a small camera and filmed the ordeal constantly.

Documentary Info

Cinematography: Cory richards
Directed and edited: Anson Fogel
Written: Kelly Cordes
Produced: Julie Kennedy, David Burden, Forge Motion Pictures
In association with: The North Face, The Access Fund, Petzl

Four Polish students, including my friend, Maciej Besta, completed the 1st Polish hiking (trekking) expedition up to Mount Narodnaya, the highest peak of Russia’s Ural Mountains (1,894 metres /6,214 ft), in winter 2011.

Closer to the peak, the temperature was minus 40 degrees Celcius.

Further, see 45 cold winter photographs taken by Maciej Besta and the text written by Luba Suslyakova, who runs the blog AskUral.com. Maciej Besta is our common friend.

Last summer, by the way, Maciej hiked across Chersky Range in Yakutia. And it’s him in the cold photo of Deant du Geant Glacier. He is a member of a Polish Travel Club.

Luba wrote:

The expedition was launched in winter 2011 by 4 Polish explorers. It was the first Polish winter ascent of Mount Narodnaya and probably the first winter traverse of all the way from Inta railway station (a town in the Komi Republic) to Narodnaya (on foot)

Mount Narodnaya is located in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug and is the highest point in European Russia outside the Caucasus.

Maciej Besta said:

“The exact distance from Inta (a town in the Komi Republic) to Narodnaya along the truck route is 150 km. When we were going to the mountains we covered part of the distance on a truck. But, when we were coming back, we were going only on foot. I did the distance in 6 days (the last day was 50 km of non-stop march), the rest of the group did it in 7 days. However, it is essential to know that the conditions on a route were pretty OK – the snow on route was hard thanks to good weather and trucks.”

Okey, let’s have the virtual tour to Mount Narodnaya with Polish fellows. Don’t miss the pic of Mount Narodnaya standing topless on the peak

Jason De Carteret shared the video announcing Thomson Reuters Eikon’s South Pole Challenge, December 2011.

For further details, and to enter, please visit:

http://thomsonreuters.com/products_services/financial/eikon/#/south_pole
http://apps.facebook.com/southpolechallenge/

After reaching the two poles in 1909 and 1911, Mt Everest in 1953 and the Seven Summits in 1986, Johan Ernst Nilson embarked another “Last great adventure.”

Here is what his press release says:

After over 30 expeditions in 100 countries explorer Johan Ernst Nilson started to plan his biggest adventure ever; a unique journey still undone and one of the most difficult adventure projects ever attempted; Pole2Pole!

The expedition starts with skis on the North Pole on the exact date of Peary’s discovery, April 6, and will then reach Greenland two months later. From Greenland Johan and his team will then continue 1000 km with dogsled over Greenland where they will sail across the Arctic Ocean into Canada. From Canada the journey continues with bike across North America and South America through jungles, deserts and mountains into Patagonia.

After six month on the bike Johan and his team will travel to the coldest place on Earth; Antarctica. Johan and his team will then ski and kite for two months across the continent until they reach the other side of the planet; the South Pole. The odyssey will take approximately one year to accomplish and will be done Climate Neutral.

The team will use skis, kites, doglsed, solarpower, bikes and a sailboat to be able to travel between the two poles. Any distance that can´t be done without engine will be climate compensated. Between the poles Johan and the Pole2Pole team will visit charity organizations to cover the important work the organizations do for our world.

The Pole2Pole Expedition is the one journey left undone… Follow the adventure!

You can follow his adventure on his website Pole 2 Pole or via Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.