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The other Siberia: Not out just yet!
Dec 15, 2004 17: 24 EST
The guys rowed across the Bering Sea in a boat they bought on e-bay, and went hiking through Siberian wilderness, determined to make it on foot all the way from Vancouver to Moscow.
That's when disaster struck. Colin got dual kidney infection, infected bladder and an acute urethral stricture. The team took a break while Colin awaited surgery in Vancouver. "This is a huge setback to the expedition, both financially and in terms of lost time. The team will likely be 2-3 months behind schedule and thousands of dollars off budget," wrote the team’s webmaster.
Colin swore to raise additional funds for the expedition, right from the hospital bed - and what do you know - things are looking up!
"I can walk, Yulya can walk and so can Colin!"
Tim and Yulya are taking advantage of their hiatus by researching the upcoming leg of the expedition and organizing logistics in Anadyr, Siberia. Colin's surgery was scheduled for December 14th, and Wallace and Carey, one of the team's core sponsors, has stepped in to provide assistance in various ways to help the team overcome their latest obstacle!
Although Colin's current medical problem is different from the usual expected obstacles faced on such a journey, it is being treated no differently: a problem being dealt with in the most efficient manner.
When asked if the expedition would continue, Tim's reply was, "And why wouldn't it? I can walk, Yulya can walk and so can Colin!"
No sails, no engines - just raw human energy. From Vancouver to Alaska, across the Bering Sea and into Siberia, two BC adventurers Colin Angus and Tim Harvey have rowed and bicycled their way since June 1. The trip is an 11 month, 18,000 km journey that will take them to Moscow using only human powered modes of transportation.
Colin and Tim started out cycling, the bicycles each carrying 140 lbs of gear, clocking 120 km a day. Grizzly bears and blistering heat were all part of the daily routine, in Yukon they were almost caught in forest fires reducing visibility to 30 meters. In order to stick to their schedule, they decided to canoe from Whitehorse towards Fairbanks along the Yukon River. The voracious forest fires created a river journey that Colin described as "the liquid road to hell". The flames crept up to both sides of the river, creating a constant smoke that obscured the river banks and made breathing difficult. "It's like being in pea soup with iridescent displays of light."
They cooked, ate, and slept in the canoe (bought in Whitehorse for $200). The boat carried more than 700 pounds, including both bikes and all the gear. This made it quite unstable and left little room to sit, let alone sleep. Strong headwinds assaulted the overburdened and undersized canoe for five days. They could not afford to wait a week until the weather system passed. The constant 24 hour daily paddle took on new meaning as they were both forced to paddle the canoe to keep its nose pointed into the waves and stay on a forward course. After nearly sinking and 48 hours without sleep they reached Fairbanks.
In Fairbanks, a rowboat conversion was finalized from a boat purchased on E-Bay only a few months earlier. The 18 ft rowboat was packed solid with 1500 lbs of gear and provisions - everything needed in Siberia. They set off to cross the Bering Sea and immediately almost sank in a storm. After a rescue by a giant Russian vessel, on their second attempt they finally made the crossing. Currently they are waiting to continue their long walk to Moscow.
Colin Angus
Colin Angus and pals traveled the 7,000 km length of the Amazon River in a raft - from the first trickles of melting snow in the Andes to the Atlantic Ocean. In five months, they crossed a desert, climbed mountains, shot rapids and ducked bullets, and 119 days after setting out from Lima on Sept. 13, they navigated the entire length of the river.
Based in Vancouver, Colin has spent the last twelve years pursuing a life of adventure. Colin sailed across the Pacific Ocean (much of it solo) as a teenager, organized the self-powered expedition down the Amazon, and most recently completed a descent of the 5,500 km Yenisey River through Mongolia and Siberia.
Colin has authored two books for Random House and co-produced two documentaries for National Geographic, one of which garnered awards at the Banff and Telluride Festivals of Mountain Films.
Tim Harvey
Born and raised in BC, Tim has long enjoyed exploring the coastal wilderness by kayak and canoe. Tim spent seven months in Central America, funded by the Canadian International Development Agency to work as a photographer on biological inventories of threatened marine and wetland ecology.
Image of Tim in Siberian outfit, courtesy of the team.
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2004
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