Paris / New York - Transcontinental 2009

[BlueGerbil]

Second part of the expedition

Right now the expedition team is still in Germany. The designated departure date is Friday, January 23, 2009. Due to the preparations of the return to Russia and the upcoming most difficult part of the entire project, the team needed some extra time in Germany and thus will depart to Jakutsk by today.

The time was also used to create two more short movies - find them here: http://pny2009.com/cms/front_content...cat=659&lang=4

The movie clips now cover the entire driven track. Considering that the communication possibilities will become less, the team now has a satellite messenger which will show the current location online. Therefore it is now possible to follow the driven route via this card:

http://pny2009.com/cms/front_content...cat=707&lang=4.

[BlueGerbil]

January 23-25, 2009: Back on track

It was a troublesome start - hopefully now everything bad is covered right from the beginning.

First of all we had to pay almost 1500 € for our excess luggage at Frankfurt Airport, which should not be the case. Furthermore we became problems with the Russian administration for the first time since the expedition started – apart from that they always exemplary supported us – because they confiscated my signal pistol and ammo right at the Domodedovo Airport with the reason that an important document is missing.

Right before our connecting flight was leaving, they let me go – unfortunately without my signal pistol and ammo. Together with Marco, 240kg luggage, 2 luggage carts, 3 employees of the – in my opinion - most impolite airline ever – S7- and 2 police officers, we ran through the corridors, hallways, security checks and over a special entrance to the luggage compartment where additional four helpers were waiting to load our stuff in the last seconds before take off. Afterwards Marco and I stepped inside of the airplane, the doors directly closed and we started.

In Novosibirsk the fight with another employee of the S7 airline continued after 16 hours waiting at the airport, because they charged us another 1000 € and acted like they where displaying. Again, we barely reached our flight and this time with a special bus for me and Marco. It really suc*** to travel with the S7.

42 hours after leaving Germany it got nicer when in Yakutsk. Serafim perfectly prepared our arrival. We were picked up and already at 6:00 am they opened up their garages for us to store our equipment. Now quickly to the hotel so we can start early enough with the modification and preparation of the vehicles for the hardest track at all. I planned 4-5 days for this.

Ulrich, our photographer is going to be here January 28th, Konstantin from Moscow at the 29th and Kasper from Zurich at the 30th. We are going to meet Evgeny in Ustnera which is about 1000 kilometres away, where he will directly travel to from Magadan…

[BlueGerbil]

January 26, 2009: Modification/preparation of the vehicles

Our job right now is the maximum weight reduction and the preparation as well as modification for one of the most challenging off road tracks in the world with parts which have never been managed before.

We checked everything, really everything for usefulness. If we do not actually need it anymore, we sell it or give it to poor people. Not only clothing but also equipment. We just take what is absolutely necessary.

As planned right from the beginning, we dismounted our roof-boxes in order to send them to Fairbanks where we are going to mount them again. That is necessary because our emergency exit on the Bering Straight will be through the removable front roof halves of the PNY Jeeps. The front tanks will be given to the local people of Uelen.

Furthermore, we exchanged one of the two subsurface tanks that we accidentally ripped a hole in. We established the satellite communication system and navigation system (laptop, fax, GPS, compass, emergency signal, emergency radio communication etc.), reactivated a closer contact to the University of Alaska, turned on our new tracking device, started to release one of our trailers from the frost numbness, fixed the electric of F2 and exchanged the oil seal of F1.

[BlueGerbil]

January 27, 2009: Strip my trailer

„Does everything has to upset me?“ That were my thoughts when the „Sesaria” hotel (written in German as I understand it in Russian) all of a sudden wanted to charge us with a doubled price. I hate stuff like that. Before our departure, we stayed in the Polar Star Hotel and everything was ok. Now we decided to stay in a simpler hotel.

For an according price you can easily ignore dirty rooms, a smelly bathroom, drain pipes passed on plaster, leaky bathtubs, lukewarm water, no roomcleaning service at all, no towels, greasy walls, broken closets, no blankets, insulting employees, falling sheathing, self-floating bathrooms due to the leakages etc. However, if the price doubles while excluding breakfast at the same time, then Matze really gets angry.

Ok, so far, a little bit of frustration - now back to the modification activities. Four mechanics, Marco and I are parallel working at the two PNY Jeeps and the trailers. Today we worked on my trailer. “Strip my trailer” was the slogan after the special trailers survived the toughness since the expedition started without any problems – They did a great job.

Then we started to demount, grind, weld etc. everything that is not essentially necessary. The unbundling of the specially designed trailers started. A total mess when the last melted ice out of the smallest corners, makes you wet after flowing down the dirt of the trailers – everything because you have to work lying on the floor underneath because a car hoist does not exist. Little by little we will dismount the trailers until nothing is left but the frame. By then we should have been arrived in Uelen. The before/after pictures will be published in about two days. Furthermore we started with the installation of the auxiliary heating system from Webasto, exchanged the second fuel tank, replaced the previous trailer couplings with the current and new special “nato” trailer coupling from Rockinger for extreme off road driving and mounted the third winch at the vehicles.

Totally exhausted we hit the sacks at around midnight. Already at 5:00 am we have to get up again to pick up Ulrich (our photographer) at the airport.

[BlueGerbil]

January 28-February 01, 2009:

During the last three days there was a lot of work and organization as well as arrivals/absence of team members going on.

On the 28th early in the morning, I picked up Ulrich Kaifer - our photographer - from the airport. He arrived in Jakutsk without complications. Now we were three people and completely addressed ourselves to the mentioned modification of the vehicles.

It was great that we were also able to meet some old friends in Jakutsk:
Thomas Beil and Uwe Lay. Thomas, to whom I sold a motorcycle some time ago, travelled with his friend to Oimjakon with. Both supported us organizationally and brought material to Jakutsk and back home. We sincerely thank both of them for their help.

Konstantin Savva arrived on the 29th. Our second Russian team member came from Moscow and took care of the special permits right away. We were four.

Kaspar Mettler arrived - after some delays and flight changes - on the 30th.
After a 48 hours long flight he was directly involved in the garage work for another twelve hours. He perfectly faced that exhaustive task and did a great job. We were five.

Now we were simply waiting for a message from Evgeny who was supposed to let us know when he would arrive in Ustnera (1000 kilometers away from where we are right now). That's where we wanted to meet him in order to jointly continue our trip. Unfortunately, it didn't develop as planned. Two days ago Evgeny let us know that - due to urgent business affairs - he had to stay in Magadan for another 10-14 days. That's not what we had in mind. Now we were missing a driver and had to change the teams. Marco in F2 with Kaspar who is now driving the F2 on his own responsibility. Konstantin, Ulrich, and myself in F1.

As of today, February 01, 2009, after receiving great help by Serafim and his team - Artyom, Valarie, Dima, Micha, Sonja and Dima - we are heading towards Belibina.

[BlueGerbil]

February 01-03, 2009:

Sometimes I am wondering if certain incidents can be called normal or coincidental, for example Kaspar Mettler. Only a few days before my departure, Kaspar called and let us know that he wanted to take part in the most challenging parts of the expedition. We made it possible and integrated him in the team. Only 2-3 days later I received the news that Evgeny will not – or maybe a lot later – be able to join us. Eventually we will meet him in Pevek. Not only that we are now missing an experienced off road-driver but also the driver of the second expedition vehicle. Neither Marco nor Konstantin – possibly limited Ulrich – can drive the Jeeps through thousands of kilometers of tough terrain. Kaspar can do it. Already after a few days we know: Kaspar ideally fits in our team. He is an experienced, reasonable and reliable driver and team player. He is a perfect match. We are very grateful for this. Altogether we have a great team at the moment. Uli, Marco, Konstantin – all of them professionals in regards of teamwork, fairness and cooperation. Uli and his great humor, Marco and his Bavarian easy-going nature and Konstantin and his Russian calmness.

Since yesterday 4 P.M. we are on the road again and it seems that Yakutia presents us the same challenges as in December when we arrived. The region and its down to -52° Celsius is the reason, that everything is very difficult.

Today, for the first time we saw a phenomenon which is dreaded by each and every driver around here: Nalid Ice.
What it is, how it occurs, and what kinds of risk it implies:
Generally it occurs when a river totally freezes all the way to the ground due to coldest temperatures. The oncoming water cannot flow underneath the ice anymore. Therefore it squeezes through or over the ice. At some points water bubbles up to a height of several meters appear. The overflowing water does not freeze right away and is not stable enough to cross it. Vehicles that drive over it will break into the ice and freeze up – if they are not recovered fast enough. Some vehicles/trucks wait for weeks or even months to be recovered. At the river Setorym we experienced Nalid Ice. Fortunately it only broke open for about 10/15 cm. We were able to cross it.

Meanwhile we arrived in Ustnera. After almost exactly 42 hours of non-stop driving. All of us are awake for about 53 hours (if you disregard the three 1-hour sleep stops in the loneliness of Jakutia). Today’s task is still ahead of us: We have to prepare the vehicles for the next section which will lead us along the Kolyma river to Syrianka.

The people in Ustnera have warned us that due to the low temperatures, there will be a lot of Nalid Ice. Furthermore there has been a storm two days ago which has covered everything in snow – damn!

[BlueGerbil]

February 04, 2009:

We had to rearrange our plans and decided to spent the day in Ustnera. After all, five hours of sleep is not enough to make up for the 60 hours that we have been awake, to face the dangerous 400 kilometers to Syrianka. Everybody advises us to be careful. At the same time they also help us to make some tricky adjustments to the cars and organize special icebreaker bars, etc. We will set off tomorrow morning again.

In the evening, our friend Vitalie from Ustnera invited us to his mother's birthday party. We were served with the best specialties from Jakutsk, like intestines of young horses and other treats. We spent four hours amid his family. Dancing and singing are a tradition, therefore also we performed a German song and - after some shots of vodka - danced with women in the age of our mothers. It was a great celebration. In other words, it was a very nice farewell from civilization to the hardship of the Kolymar area.

[BlueGerbil]

February 05, 2009: Start of the winter roads

After having loaded about 850 liters of fuel and produced the correct bio-ethanol mix ratio, we left Ustnera at around 10 a.m. Temporarily we felt like captains of a ship: With initial 1.2 bar air pressure (lateron we reduced to 0.7 bar due to heavy snow drifts) and a precautionary measure which was going to pay off - we removed the stabilizers - the vehicles were rocking like in rough seas. The reason: Without the stabilizers, the lacing bond is improved. Furthermore, the electric disconnectors - which will freeze when breaking into water - cannot threat us with removed stabilizers.

After driving about 90 kilometers on a winter road towards Magadan, we reached the small, unimpressive junction to Szyrianka. This point marks the beginning of Chukotka's tough winter roads. From here (about 600 m above sea level), we followed our first winter road section towards Sasyr. The 60 kilometers long track lead us over the rivers Burustach and Andigitschan. During this 15 hours long drive, altogether we covered a distance of about 220 kilometers, crossed three mountain passes of up to 1,300 meters above sea level, helped two truck drivers whose truck broke down with an engine damage by making an emergency call to their head office via satellite telephone, drove through the aquarium* and winched my Jeep and trailer several times out of deep snow after getting stuck while breaking through the snowy surface. The winches definitely proved their value with the Jeeps and trailers (weight about eight tons) as well as the special trailer coupling system from Rockinger. These systems ensure the most extreme lacing bonds between vehicle and trailer - which we had often enough. The winter roads are tracks that were cleared by 6x6 or 8x8 trucks.

They lead cross-country, along or through/across rivers, woods, hillsides, plains, etc. Just where the trucks are able to get through. Often we were driving with 6 mph or less and passed through valleys or high plateaus and over passes which were of impressive beauty. On one of the plateaus there must have been a fierce storm not too long ago. It looked like an area after an earthquake. There were jags, ice and snow drifts of several meters everywhere. In the surreal light of the headlights they looked like broken earth.

En route we met truck drivers in their extreme Urals and Kamaz, which were keenly struggling through. They told us about several open rivers that are not freezing due to warm water. We should be cautious when crossing them. After arriving at the open river at 3 a.m. we stopped and prepared ourselves for the night. It was too dangerous to cross the river at night. By good coincidence, we saw a convoy of trucks coming towards us the next morning. The trucks only barely crossed the river. We saw how a Kamaz, that was not able to scale the meters high ice step, was recovered out of the river. Not far from where the trucks were crossing, Kaspar found an old, destroyed bridge. It won't carry the trucks, but we hope that it will bear our vehicles which would save us from a difficult winching action.

*The Aquarium: For truck drivers an infamous little lake close to the third mountain pass on which usually forms a lot of Nalid Ice. In the morning we met truck drivers that told us that it was 5 cm thick. In the afternoon it were already 30 cm and when we arrived we broke into the ice to above our axes. We had to drive through it because we would probably break even deeper in the ice the next morning and damage the vehicles at the wildly upwards pointing ice, broken by trucks. Consequently, we could not - as planned - stay the night at the third pass (temperatures at such altitudes are usually 10 degrees warmer than in the valley), but had to continue driving in order to prevent the wheels, breaks and axes from freezing after driving through the water.

Feeling group: After six hours of sleep and an extensive breakfast in a beautiful landscape at sunrise, the power was back. Before, the exertion was wearing us out.

[BlueGerbil]

February 06, 2009: Sasyr

The little bridge resisted the weight of our Jeeps. Additionally we passed a large area of Nalid Ice without any problems because it was already frozen again. The day was saved. A difficult section was completed.

Along our further way we spotted a basecamp of reindeer shepherds between some trees. It was temporarily abandoned. Nevertheless we were impressed. 1.5 meters above the ground there were some planks of wood tied together. The sheperds usually sleep on them in furs. There is only a makeshift cover for protection. Already yesterday we saw traces of one or more shepherds with a large number of animals. We followed the traces - but without meeting them.

Around 5 p.m. we arrived at the native village Sasyr which is about 85 kilometers away from our resting place for the night. It is mostly inhabited by horse and reindeer shepherd families and has a long tradition. Here you can also find the only museum which shows the history of the Ewene tribe. Less than five minutes after our arrival we were surrounded by approx. 20 children. They were really happy when we bought them chocolate from the little store. Immediately one of the children invited us to his home. Upon arrival, the family served us tea and pastry.

Afterwards we drove around 70 kilometers on the worst humpy earth roads through woods to our current nightly resting place in deep snow at -48° Celsius.

[BlueGerbil]

February 07, 2009:

I miscalculated narrowly.
Waking up in the morning was not due to the alarm clock ringing or because we were well-rested, but because of the engine shut down of F1. We did not want to refill the tanks at night and in icy temperatures. I calculated that the leftover fuel in the main tank should be just enough until the morning. It didn't last for the last half hour. It's out of question that a tank-to-tank fuel transfer directly after waking up and in the freezing cold is not really fun and that everybody is abruptly wide awake. The first beams of sunlight and a landscape that no painter could have imagined more beautiful made up for everything.

Our breakfast is always interesting. The crowded space conditions usually ask for acrobatic performances (this also applies to the picture editing that Uli accomplishes while driving, with a lot of dexterity and even more patience - in the front we hardly even hear his slight to medium cursing about another bruise on his head or similar anymore). Considering that breakfast is the only meal that we have in a state of rest - without driving - we try hard. As we are cooking in the vehicles, we have to turn the three sleeping places along with the interior equipment into a kitchen. Accordingly, some modification measures are necessary. :-)
But afterwards it's cuddly. Out of question, that three men can comfortably sleep in the Jeep. :-) This morning, for example, my bread - with a thick layer of jelly - which I had placed on top of my cup which was standing at the edge of the GPS which is mounted next to the radio equipment gave way to gravity. Before reaching its final position with the jelly on the bottom, on top of the hydraulic control, it grazed the radio cable, the steering wheel, then the laptop and finally it slid down along my pants and the seat fur.

By now we mostly drive in rivers or through river beds over driftwood. In one of these narrow river beds we met Vitali and Kirill. Both of them live in a 2.5 x 2.5 m tent. They are working on freeing a 6x6 Urla-truck that broke into Nalid Ice in mid December. The vehicle is one single, gigantic block of ice. The trick is to release the truck as one ice block from the river and to tow the 9 x 3 x 1.5 m block from the river onto land via an ice ramp and with two other supporting trucks.
An enormous task. It will take approximately two weeks. Afterwards it will take another week to get rid of the ice by using large Bunsen burners and get the truck rolling again. Another truck will tow the damaged vehicle 200 kilometers into the next village where the repair can start.

We hope to arrive in Syrianka in around seven hours.