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

Galya Morrell has shared the link to the video “CLIP” summarizing the new initiative of Uummannaq Polar Institute named CLIP (“Cleaner Life Ice Project“).

It is UPI’s contribution to the Earth Day – a day on which events are held worldwide to increase awareness and appreciation of the Earth’s natural environment. Earth Day is now coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network, and is celebrated in more than 175 countries every year on April 22nd.

Learn more about the CLIP project at the Uummannaq Music/Uummannaq Polar Institute website with detailed description of the happening:

http://uummannaqmusic.com/2012/04/clip/

Happy Earth Day, my friends!

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

Siberian villages are the coldest places in the world now! Woo hoo!

The only website that gives the full answer to the question, “Which places are the coldest on the Earth now?” is Ogimet.com. Check it!

Currently, the world’s coldest place is Oymyakon (also known as Ojmjakon) in East Yakutia, Siberia / Russia). It’s -46.9C now.

Other top coldest places on the Earth belong to Yakutian (Siberian) villages:

2. Segen-Kyuel’, -46.4 °C
3. Tompo, -44.4 °C
4. Batamaj, -43.7 °C
5. Ust’- Moma, -43.1 °C
6. Curapca, -43.0 °C
7. Verhojansk, -42.9 °C

Do you know what? This winter will be coldest in Yakutia (East Siberia/Russia) definitely, as such lowest temperatures are usual for this region. Cold winter weather dwells in Siberia as well as in Yakutsk, that’s becoming to be recognized as the coldest city in the world.

Vladimir Potapov during his snowmobile expedition in the Arctic zone of Yakutia, Siberia, Russia. Early November 2011.

More about 2011 Arctic Snowmobile Expedition to Laptev Sea in Yakutia, Siberia / Russia.

Reindeer sledding journey in the world's coldest inhabited valley of Oymyakon in Yakutia, Siberia, Russia

More about The world’s coldest reindeer sledding in Oymyakon.

Follow the link to see the video tutorial.

The How To Make An Igloo video tutorial was created by Sooli Entertainment & Transa Backpackers AG.

Photographs via Fubiz.net

Check also Douglas Wilkinson’s classic short film “How to build an igloo” (1949) using only snow and a knife.

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

Proud to announce that our Cold United group on Flickr is becoming popular! We’ve got 684 members and 8,899 cold winter photographs. Cool! Feel free to join us.

Meanwhile, enjoy Cold United members’ pretty chilly portraits. All pics are clickable.

Flagstaff Eskimo. By Shanks, Flickr.

29 Eric Lon at Stok Kangri, October 2011. By Eric Lon, Flickr.

Snow heart in Yakutia, Siberia. By Egor Fedorov, Flickr.

Two sisters in the fish market in Yakutsk, Yakutia, Siberia. By Bernard Grua, Flickr.

Standing on a frozen lake. By LiamCH, Flickr.

With All Of My Heart. By John M. Kennedy, Flickr.

By Jessica Joy Photography, Flickr.

Indeed, winter has already started. For instance, my city of Yakutsk has -24C right now. Not extremely yet, but it’s good time to shart sharing the cold and its beauty

Yesterday was a turning day in Yakutsk. It looked like the Winter said, “Ok, no more games with mild winter weather. Let’s have the real cold come right now and for a long time.”

The day didn’t promise anything extraordinary. It was pretty regular in the beginning. -3C and light snow. By the end of a work day, something happened. Winds started blowing furiously and snow descended in abundance. It was the Arctic-like blizzard that lasted, unfortunately, not so long.

Cool anyway! People liked it. See more snowstorm photographs and a video.

After one-hour storm:

To see the progress of the winter start in the Siberian city of Yakutsk, check the last post at eYakutia.com.

Children of the Arctic Festival. Photo By Galya Morrell.

It is already a big event and a big tradition. This year The Children of the Arctic International Festival is arranged by Shparo‘s Adventure Club under the support of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation for the third time. It started at the Youth Almaz Center in the town of Ruza on Aug. 20th and ended in Korelia on Sep. 02.

More than 100 children from the Arctic regions participated in the festival. They were from 11 Russian ones (Arkhangelskaia Oblast, Vologodaskaia Oblast, Moscow, Murmanskaia Oblast, Nenetzky Autonomous District, Karelia Republic, Komi Republic, Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Taymyrsky Dolgano-Nenetzky Municipal District, Chukotsky autonomous district, Yamalo-Nenetzky autonomous district as well as from Greenland, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden.

The mission remains the same and, probably, won’t be changed ever, as it is the key stone of the mordern Arctic youth. It’s to unite children of the Arctic region to settle the common problems under the slogan “Our Arctic – Our Future.”

The Festival is carried out by the Organizing Committee, including prominent official authorities of Russia such as Dr. Arthur Chilingarov, Special Representative for Arctic and Antarctic Issues to the President Russian Federation, Vasily Zhukov, academician, Rector of the Russian State Social University, Dr. Dmitry Shparo, General Director of the Adventure Club.

And you know what? There was our friend Galya Morrell, co-leader of Uummannaq Music Project.

Galya Morrell’s photographies of the Children of the Arctic Festival.

Here is what Galya writes:

Does anyone remember the book “Children of the Arctic”? A story of Marie Ahnighito, Admiral Peary’s daughter, who was born in Greenland and became known world wide as the Snow Baby? Now, a 100 years from then we are about to offer you another story of the “Children of the Arctic” – a gathering of 100+ Arctic teens from 18 Arctic regions, from Chukotka and Yakutia all the way to Greenland. It’s happening now in Russia, between Ruza, Northern Karelia and Moscow.

After two days of rain, the skies cleared up over Ruza where “Our Arctic – Our Future” science conference is taking place. Leaving distractions of cultural confusion and jet lag behind, Arctic children are ready to discuss “stuff”. They are talking about climate change, smart usage of mineral resources, endangered animals, a need to keep ancestors’ spirits alive and a need keep sanity in the difficult times of a societal change. And what is a better way to do so than travelling down a Karelian river on a raft and living in accordance with nature?

We’ve built a virtual North Pole on the grass and held the loud drum-singing “party” inside the Kremlin. We hope our voices were heard by those who are in charge of designing the new policies affecting the future of the Arctic Region. We are also confident that our “cold party” comprised of agile, cool-headed, resourceful and peace-loving young citizens of the Arctic, is capable of finding the right path on the thinning ice. These teenagers who over two weeks became a tightly knit community of their own already know how to live and survive at the top of the world.

Resource: Galya’s Flickr.

More Children of the Arctic info at Shparo’s Website.

Another interesting news came from Galya:

“Our young Arctic explorers, who already know how to live and survive in the harshest climate on Earth, are now united for life. The new Polar Commune is being born! These people know how to travel on thin ice and from now they will travel as a group. Let’s wish them luck on their way!”

Just wonder what she meant. As she broke the above news about a new Polar Commune under the title “ColdUntied in Action.”