Video: Lucky Rabbit Survives Avalanche in the Kamchatka Mountains

This video was shot on a mountain in Kamchatka, a remote area of Russia where a team of heliskiers were filming a snowboarding movie. During production an avalanche occurred on the mountain, sweeping down the slopes. The snowboarder featured in the video was able to easily out run it, but a white rabbit actually runs into the avalanche and manages to avoid getting crushed. As you'll see in the clip, he is one lucky bunny who manages to stay above the tumbling snow, and make it to the other side in one piece.

Avalanche! Run Rabbit Run! Original Video By Helipro. from HELIPRO on Vimeo.

Adventurers Complete First Circumnavigation of Lake Baikal in Winter by Motorbike

Awhile back, two adventurers complete a journey through one of the coldest environments on Earth when they circumnavigated Lake Baikal in Siberia by motorbike in the dead of winter. The expedition was undertaken as an exploratory mission for a potential new extreme trip sponsored by The Adventurists, but also to raise funds for charity, and to prove that it could be done.

Matt Prior, Dennis Malone, and a team of other crazy travelers embarked on the 2000 km (1242 mile) journey around the frozen lake beginning and ending in Irkutsk, Russia. It didn't take them long to discover what they were in for, as they faced temperatures that plunged below -30ºC/-22ºF, as they battled winds that approached 80 mph (128 km/h). That would be challenging enough under any circumstances, but to do it on a motorcycle is unthinkable.

Located deep in Siberia, Baikal is the largest and deepest lake on the planet. It covers more than 31,000 square kilometers (12,248 sq. mi), and plunges to a depth of 1642 meters (5387 ft). It is also know for its extreme weather, which is owed much to its location. The lake was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site back in 1996 due to its value as a natural resource.

Despite the harsh conditions, it was actually an unseasonably warm winter along the lake, which made ice conditions challenging at times. Matt and Dennis had to cautiously move forward at points, as certain sections weren't even safe for walking, let alone driving a motorcycle. At one point, one of the bikes even broke down, forcing major repair work to be done in the field in order to keep moving forward. It didn't help much that the motorcycle was a vintage Russian Ural with a sidecar that was left over from World War II.

Despite the challenges, the expedition – which was sponsored by GoPro, Klim, and Powertraveller – was a success in more ways than one. The duo managed to raise funds for some important charities, including Help for Heroes, Soldier On, Plan UK, and Cool Earth.

If the name Matt Prior sounds familiar, it's because I've written about his initiative to launch the Adventure Academy in the past. That is his brilliant idea of providing would-be adventurers with the skills they need to launch their own expeditions by taking them on a journey that is equal parts learning experience and cultural immersion. You can learn more about the concept in the video below.

Congrats to Matt and Dennis on completing this Siberian odyssey.


Matt Prior Adventure Academy Main Promo from Matt Prior Adventure Academy on Vimeo.

Construction of 2015 Barneo Ice Camp Set to Begin

Over the next few days, construction is set to begin on the 2015 Barneo Ice Camp. This temporary base of operations is built in the Arctic each spring in order to serve as a staging ground for explorers, researchers, and adventure travelers heading to the North Pole. Located on the Russian side of the Arctic ice, Barneo has been operating somewhere near 89ºN Latitude for the past 15 years, providing access to the frozen Arctic Ocean to a wide variety of visitors in the process.

Traditionally, the process for building the base begins with Russian aircraft flying into the Arctic to first locate an ice flow of suitable size and stability. Once the location is selected a group of paratroopers drops onto the ice, along with construction equipment. They immediately go to work building a temporary runway that is suitable for large aircraft such as the Antonov An-74 cargo-passenger plane. The team also constructs a small camp to accommodate the men and women who come and go throughout the brief Arctic exploration season.

Once the camp is established and the runway is built, larger aircraft can land on the ice flow and begin delivering gear and supplies. They'll also shuttle the visitors to Barneo, some of whom will continue on to the North Pole by skis or helicopter.

From the sounds of things, it seems like 2015 will be quite a different season for Barneo than in year's past. Early reports indicate that there will be fewer tourists heading to the Arctic this spring, while more scientists and researchers take their place instead. Additionally, it seems the Russian military will use the camp as a base of operations while it conducts training operations in the Arctic as well.

Traditionally the camp opens around the first week of April and remains in operation for about three weeks. Weather conditions will determine just how long Barneo remains in service each year, as the ice flows begin to break up as the season advances. It is likely that the 2015 version of the base will follow roughly the same schedule.

Sadly, it seems there are fewer explorers heading into the Arctic this season, so it is unclear what kind of news we should expect out of Barneo in the days ahead. Right now it seems that visitors will be mostly limited to researchers and military personnel, but if a good story arises, I'll be sure to share it. The North Pole season will certainly be a quiet one though it seems.

Video: Timelapse in the Altai Mountains

Located in Central Asia, the Altai Mountains stretch across Russia, Mongolia, China, and Kazakhstan. Remote, rugged, and wild, the Altai's are stark in their beauty, challenging visitors with unpredictable weather and their distant location. But this video takes viewers to that amazing landscape and gives us a taste of what that part of the world has to offer. To say it is breathtaking would be an understatement.

Altai Mountains Timescapes from Eugene Bryohin on Vimeo.

Lamenting the Lost Arctic Season

We're about to enter a bit of a lull in the world of exploration and adventure. The winter climbing season on Nanga Parbat is likely going to wrap up later this week, with success on the mountain still far from certain. We're also a few weeks away from climbers departing for Nepal to begin the spring climbing season on Everest and other major peaks in the Himalaya. For those men and women, the remaining days of March will be the calm before the storm as they launch a two-month long odyssey to reach the top of the tallest peak on the planet. While that will certainly be a busy and interesting time as always, this year there is definitely something missing from my usual round-ups of adventurous pursuits, and it isn't hard to identify exactly what that is. With no full-distance expeditions set to launch for the North Pole from the Canadian side of the Arctic this spring there is a real vacuum in terms of challenging undertakings, and it is unclear if that vacuum will be filled ever again.

Typically this time of year there are several teams in Resolute Bay, Canada waiting to be flown out to their starting points on the ice. Those intrepid adventurers generally have big dreams of skiing unsupported to the North Pole, covering roughly 700 km (435 miles) in the process. Most don't make it. In fact, since 2010, only one team has actually been able to accomplish that feat, which I believe is the most challenging journey in the world today. Climate change has altered the Arctic in undeniable ways, and as a result, those skiing north now face impossible thin ice, massive rubble fields, open leads of water, and numerous other obstacles. It is a difficult, punishing experience that has simply become increasingly difficult as the years have passed. So much so that it now seems nearly impossible for anyone to travel on foot all the way to 90ºN.


I'm not the only one who thinks that a full-distance North  Pole expedition is now almost entirely out of reach. Earlier this year, Kenn Borek Air, the charter airline that has supported Arctic explorers in the past, announced that it was ceasing operations in the region. With the increasing dangers of flying into the Arctic, it simply was no longer economically viable for the adventurous airline to continue supporting explorers in the area, and as a result the company made the surprise move to pullout. This has left a few expeditions in the lurch however and has meant that there will be no skiers attempting to reach the North Pole from the Canadian side of the ice this year.

As someone who enjoys following the intricacies of an expedition, particularly a very challenging one, the lack of North Pole skiers this year has left me disappointed, although not surprised. I've been saying for several years now that an expedition to the top of the world would only continue to get more difficult until it was simply impossible to complete. I didn't expect that to happen so soon, but it is the reality that Arctic explorers now face. Climate change was going to put an end to these kinds of journeys sooner, rather than later, but it seems that economics killed off these expeditions first.

That isn't to say that the North Pole will go completely unvisited this year. The Russians will once again build the Barneo Ice Camp on their side of the Arctic, and there will be any number of "last degree" expeditions that launch from that temporary base. Typically, Barneo opens in late March and stays active for about three weeks, granting well-heeled travelers an opportunity to scratch another destination off their bucket lists. I imagine that the camp will only see increased traffic this season with more people funneling through on their way to 90ºN.

While Barneo, and its visitors, will provide some sources of adventure news in the days ahead, it simply won't be the same as following a small team of adventurers as they spend days out on the ice struggling to ski to the North Pole. I'll miss reading daily updates on their progress while cheering them on from afar. I'll miss hearing about their struggles to cover even just a few kilometers in a day, as the weather, surface conditions, and other challenges conspire to make the journey harder than anyone ever imagined. It is an end of an era in the Arctic and in exploration in general, and I'm not sure we'll ever see anyone make this journey again in our lifetime. It is sad to see this come about, but it only makes me respect the explorers who have gone that way before all the more.

So, while we'll dutifully turn our attention to the Himalaya – and rightfully so – that doesn't mean that I won't be lamenting the fact that the North Pole is now out of reach, and that another chapter in the age of exploration has closed for good.

Video: Altai - The Road and the River

This past summer, expedition kayaker Chris Korbulic traveled to the Altai Mountains of Russia to explore the wilderness and paddle the rivers found there. This short film shares that adventure with us, delivering some amazing images from that remote place, mixed with some impressive paddling on rivers that are seldom seen by outsider. Chris and his team discovered some epic whitewater along the way, with massive waterfalls, narrow canyons, and some truly wild destinations. This is a truly great piece of filmmaking with some breathtaking shots on and off the water.

Altai - The Road and the River from chris korbulic on Vimeo.