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Expedition Siberia: Another night in the freezer
Dec 6, 2004 11: 19 EST
The guys report -42F and another cold night in their tent. Don't forget to check their other dispatches and the automated Contact GEO tracker map on their website!
5 Dec, 04 - 20:50
GPS-pos: N66°39' | E152°29' | Alt: 21 M
-42°F, freezing cold, a light southerly wind, we've done 20 km;s today. We've pitched another icecold camp at N 66°39'14.3 and E 152°29'43.9
A minor disaster
"Johans skiboot broke today. After only 240 km of skiing. This is, of course, a minor disaster. But what to do? No use to complain. Fortunately there's not too much snow, so it's possible to walk relatively comfortably. Which Johan's done for the last two days.
We'll solve the problem, somehow
He's strong as an ox, but as fast as bigger amounts of snow will fall, he won't be able to walk and survive. But we'll solve the problem, somehow. Nothing is impossible along the Kolyma. But we've had far too many problems. The skins, a binding and now the skiboot. No fun at all.
The cold is eating everything
We don't have too much energy to care too much, though. Regarding these problems. The cold takes all our energy. We don't get much sleep at the present and cooking takes hours. The stove doesn't handle cold to well and the quality of the fuel is so poor, that this morning we had to clean the stove 8 times! In -43°F this is no fun.
Village on the horizon
But it could be worse. Even though we feel constantly cold and every time we take a break, it turns in to a small struggle. But we do handle temperatures down to -43°F without any panicking at the moment, but it feels like it is getting slightly colder for every day that passes.
Another sign that we're acclamitizing relatively well, is that we've started to enjoy the surroundings again, the stark beauty of this ice landscape. Daily we pass fresh tracks after wolves and big moose. But, we do look forward to finding en Even village tomorrow, for company and warmth. Our toes are beginning to give us problems. But, it could be worse! Read my dispatch on Thursday!"
The start of this Siberian winter crossing expedition didn’t go too well – mosquitoes, broken fishing poles, a rising river flooding their camp site, doctors judging them too fat to go, wife leaving... This expedition paddled their way through Siberia and eventually took to land to get a taste of what Siberia is really known for – bitter coldness.
Husband and wife adventurers Mikael and Titti Strandberg, planned embarking upon an epic journey through Siberia stretching over 3500km. Joining them is a young guy, a great outdoor talent, and good hunter, Johan "Delta" Ivarsson. Before the expedition started, however, Titti decided to abort as previous medical conditions mean it’s very unsafe for her to be exposed to such cold for as long as they will.
Image of expedition tracker and insert image live over Contact 3.0 of Johan trying to fix his ski boot.
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2004
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