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Johan and Micke reached Srednekolymsk: Half way Wrap-Up of a Siberian Odyssey

Dec 16, 2004 00: 14 EST
"This part of the world is one of the few remaining places on earth that is virgin territory. This is a genuine journey of discovery. We believe that it is in this untouched area that the answers to many of the questions asked by modern men are to be found: What are we doing here? What is our task? How do we find calm, harmony and satisfaction in our lives?"

This was the introduction that Micke and Johan presented ExWeb when they announced their expedition.

Shackleton's spirit

“The main aim is to use words, pictures and film to make a record of this unknown part of our world. This is a vital task, since in the course of our extensive research work we have realized that not even the Russians or the Siberians themselves have a comprehensive picture of the area along the Kolyma River," the guys told us.

A rough start

So we got them Contact 3.0, and they were off... to a tough start. First the men were rendered "too fat" by the Russian Doctors and then the wife left the expedition altogether. But a short stroll was all that was necessary to turn the tides, "...we went out and took a walk in the surroundings of our camp. Our mental state went directly from 0 up to the top of the scale due to this stroll. We came across fresh tracks from bears and moose and we realized once again, that this really is pure wilderness and were we want to be. Once again we enjoyed life!” wrote Micke and Johan one of the first days on their journey.

Epic journey

Embarking upon an epic journey through Siberia stretching over 3500km, they would face among the lowest temperatures on Earth, following the River Kolyma in northeast Siberia. There, the permafrost is one and a half kilometers deep and the remains of mammoths over 10,000 years old have been found, almost perfectly intact. Daylight is nothing more than a faint glow on the horizon in the middle of the day. They headed to a very isolated research station: the Northeast Siberian Research Station in Cherskii, near Ambarchik Bay. This is where Expedition Siberia 2004 will end.

Trip from bad to worse

Yesterday, they reached the half point - Srednekolymsk. The trip there went from bad to worse with each day. The average winter temperature is minus 35 degrees Celsius, but it often dips to minus 60 degrees. At such times mercury freezes solid and brandy becomes the consistency of syrup. It is so cold that trees explode, blue sparks fly from falling timber and when somebody exhales, their breath is transformed into a shower of ice crystals, followed by a tinkling sound referred to as “the whispers of the stars”. This icy whisper was experienced by almost three million prisoners deported to the most feared of Stalin’s work camps: the Kolyma Gulag, the Auschwitz of the Soviet Union.

The nearsighted bear

The trip had begun late summer with mosquitos and wildlife: "I knew bears had a bad eyesight, but not that it was this bad," they wrote after a huge bear headed down the riverbank only 50 meters away: "The bear came as close as 25 meters (80 ft). This experience has made us more worried about the near future. Will more things like this happen? And if they do, will we see them in time? If we don't, we will have big problems!"

The hunt for food

But they loved it: "To live as a trapper, to survive on hunting and fishing. I have now seen that I'm capable of doing just that. What an enormous sense of freedom that gives! I've had a great time so far and I doubt, even if I know that it will be extremely cold and tough, that the winter will be any different," wrote Johan a few months into the trip. They continued the trek, trying to hunt for survival. They caught sight of one of Kolymas giant hares: "Fire - it's food" urged Mikael. And next: "you missed again!" But the hunting picked up: "It took us over an hour to get the fire going in the stove. Good firewood was scarce. We've got two hares hung up in a tree just outside the cot and fish for drying."

The Siberians and the rats

In the villages, they had other encounters: "The Siberian is a true fighter and survivor," dispatched the explorers, determined to paint a more positive picture of Siberia than the usual gloomy version offered by media. That was tough enough though, as the Russians themselves accused the guys to be too rosy. And they learned some Russian reality. As the guys were testing their technology (Contact 3.0) they were arrested by local police passing by in a dark vehicle, accused of spying and terrorism. A phone call to the team’s old friend Sergei the mayor sorted it out, and the guys went on a rat hunt to calm down. They got 15 big ones and had a nice soup.

The Siberian single mother

Now they started to cybercast virtual books. The story of a single mother made top story on ExWeb: "It isn't easy being a teenage mother", explained Violetta to them, "sometimes I pull my hair in frustration! Other visitor's have said that the women of Zyryanka are very modern, have a good knowledge how to use cosmetics and that our fur coats are spectacular. But, then again, having said that, if I could, I would leave Zyryanka right away."

Into the cold

End November it was time to leave the villages for good and face the cold. "What, are you going to wear that? No fur? You are going to freeze to death!" said the locals. Already the next day out, the guys found themselves by the fire in a tiny hunting cabin "with these fantastically friendly Siberian bush men. They've fed us and given us plenty of warmth."

But they couldn't stay in the cabins forever. The book tales ended abruptly, as the dispatches grew shorter: "-41F and wolf tracks: "There's so much to tell, but not now!" The guys were stunned by the cold and ran for their lives: "It is truly cold"... "almost unbearably cold"... "terrifyingly cold"... and so went on their desperate dispatches: "I can't handle the cold anymore, it is so cold right now, but I like to add, I think we're beginning to get things under safe control. We think."

But only the next day, Micke got another 6 frostbites: "I've never in my whole life experienced such a cold!"

-57F 'Nuff said!

Through it all, they cybercasted everything. The brutally cold nights in the tent, the temperatures falling by each day: -45F and pitch black at 10 am. Their gear falling apart, and only so many huts to beg for food, Johan and Micke continued their trip, into Siberia’s freezing winter darkness. At these temperatures, the thermometers bottom out. The guys own unit broke, and they got the temps over sms from the national weather institute in Moscow. Two days ago, the final dispatch: "-57F 'Nuff said."

Calendar winter - the beginning of the end

Well yesterday, the guys reached Srednekolymsk. They will rest at this check point for a while. But remember, the winter hasn't started yet. The Calendar winter begins December 21, and with it the true Northern hemisphere cold. Sometime around that time, the guys will head out again - for their final destination - the Northeast Siberian Research Station in Cherskii. In fact, the thrill has only just begun.

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.

Images live over Contact 3.0 courtesy of the team.

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