Happy Thanksgiving from Vayegi !

So, yes, I was indeed able to make it to Vayegi rather quickly yesterday.

A few minutes after I landed in Markova, I found out that I was going to be able to jump on an administrative commuting helicopter which was taken on a few passengers from Markova to Vayegi.
The flight cost me only 500 roubles (about 20$ for a seat) but 1600 roubles for all of my cargo !
A bargain after the previous expensive flights: 2100 roubles from the city of Anadyr, across the bay to Ugolnye Kope at the airport and 7100 roubles + 6100 roubles for cargo for the one hour airplane flight from Uholnye Kope to Markova. I even had to beg them for them to be willing to take my crucial back country skis as part of my cargo...

So, in deed, I am very greatful that I was able to make it to Vayegi so quickly and efficiently and with all of my gear.
I arrived in Vayegi 9 days after I left Seattle which is by all means a fast performance, taking into account the usual weeks/months long delays in Chukotka due to bad weather and simply overall flight cancellations.

So, since I arrived in Vayegi, I have been able to get reacquainted with my friend, the mayor Viktor Nikolaivich Bogariev as well as with "fatso", my good and loyal companion, a mighty sled from Snowled, which spent the summer months, tucked away in a warehouse, under piles of construction materials.
I definitely hope that he will be able to support me through Omsukchan this year !

Since I arrived, I spent a large portion of my time setting up all of my gear and testing everything one more time, before getting on the trail !
It has been a stable -30C in the vicinity and therefore I need to be well prepared for the elements.

Viktor Bogariev and I are currently trying to find a way for me to get back hopefully very soon to where I last stopped last year, 37 miles North West of Vayegi on the Algan river. The point I marked with my GPS and where I first met Viktor with his boat after fought the rushing rivers as hard as I could.

At this stage, I may either have to ski from Vayegi to that point and back or benefit from a snow machine ride that would drop me off there with my sled.
In any event, I will then make my way back by skis to Vayegi and pursue on down to Slautnoye.

In Vayegi, I celebrated today Thanksgiving in a very local way: indulging myself in drinking a liter of fresh milk !
Vayegi is one of the rare farming villages in Chukotka that actually have cows!
I also enjoyed a wonderful reindeer roast with potatoes served by Alicia Bogariev, the wife of the mayor. Not quite a turkey but definitely at least as tasty!

In a way, I was able to say "thank you for the giving" while having the pleasure to present at the school with the assistance of the local English teacher in front of about 60 chukchi fifth graders.
I was also able to tour the school museum where one could see some interesting artifacts:
mammoth bones, tusks and teeth found in the region, ancient chukchi items such as sleds, baby craddles, weapons, etc...

During the presentation, I had some interesting new questions such as:

Q:"Do you smoke"
A:- "Niet!, I also barely drink alcohol , or if I do, mostly beer"

Q:"How do you plan to go over the mountains while traveling South towards Slautnoye?"
A: "Well... I use my maps and GPS the best I can to define the best route through the mountains and I also ask the local brigade team of reindeer herders what route they would recommend. I also plan to follow the route taken by the potential wezdehods when it makes sense".

Q: "What do you plan to do if you run out of food"
A: I tend to take extra food so that I don't face this issue. If I ever will, I believe that I have definitely stored enough fat in my body me to last me for a while.... and I also have an emergency fishing kit."


Q: Did you bring your bicycle for the next leg?"
A: "Niet ! I have plenty enough to carry as it is. I plan to buy my bicycle in Magadan or bring it from the States upon my return in late spring."


Q:"Did you ever have any problems while crossing borders ?"
A: "Yes, while crossing the Bering Strait and arriving in Chukotka in 2006. I had the right papers to enter Russia but not the necessary propusk for Chukotka. It cost me two months to sort the matter out and fight a potential deportation out of Russia, valid for 5 years. As a result, I am now overly cautious when I cross borders to make sure that I have all the required documents.

On that note, here are some of the more original questions I was asked at the college in Anadyr earlier this week:
I plan to answer all of these questions in a FAQ that I will have on the website later this Spring...

Q: "Are you afraid of wild animals ? Which ones have you seen ? How did you respond to them ?
Q: Has the expedition changed / affected you spiritually and else ?
Q: Did you ever find something on the trail that you wanted to take but couldn't because of its size/weight ?
Q: What do you think of Chukotka and its people ?
Q: Have you tried any of our native food ? If yes, what and did you like it ?
Q: What do you think has the strongest (will) power ? Mother nature or the human race ?
Q: What is harder for you to deal with: hot weather in the Sahara desert or cold weather in Chukotka?
Q: What do you and the Americans in general think of the Russians ?
Q: Is their thinking of Russia currently changing ?
Q: Is the current economic crisis impacting your expedition ?
Q: What do you think of president elect Barack Obama ? Do you support him ?
Q: What are you doing tonight ? - To which the whole class bursted in laughs... ;-)


Thanks to progress, I am now able to use the internet at the school in Vayegi which I could not have done back in June... and this is why I am able to easily post this update !

Let me take the opportunity to share here a few thoughts on my hectic week last week in Anadyr...



1. "Drujba, Obama, Moloko!"
A lot of Russians seem to be quite keen on the fact that America has chosen Barack Obama as its next president.
Chukchis especially seems to love him !
Stepen, a chukchi teacher, father of 8 children and living in a small village up North near Pevek was quite excited when I gave him an "Obama 08" badge and immediately returned the favor by offering me a glass milk and yelling: "Friendship, Obama, Milk!"
Now, that's a slogan !

I was sharing my room with this man, as well as with Slav, a baptist priest from Pevek on his way to a conference in Anadyr and Nikolai, the veterinarian from Omsk I mentioned in my last post.
One could also make a joke out of a priest, teacher, a veterinarian and a traveller sharing a room... I have a few weeks on the trail to think of one...


At a separate time, a 1/2 white 1/2 chukchi woman was also very excited when she saw my Obama Tshirt and asked me where she could buy it...
I mentioned to her that maybe some day Russia will have a 1/2 chukchi 1/2 white president to which she responded: "maybe in 40 years but definitely not now..."


2. Safety and border matters
I have been told that I was on a tight leash while travelling through Chukotka.
I have been asked to sign a contract agreeing that I was required to call or email via satellite phone every night a responsible party.
If I fail to do so, the local emergency team and/or border guards will be entitled to dispatch an helicopter to attempt to rescue me while travelling through the tundra. Of course, I have also agreed in writing that I would have to cover the cost for this rescue which could be equivalent to the price of a medium size car...
This contract only applies while I am travelling through Chukotka territory.
Afterwards, I will no longer be required to call on a daily basis which can be quite challenging in -30C with a limited amount of satellite batteries.
I am predicting that in about 2 weeks I should be out of the Chukotkan territory and entering the state of Kamchatka where regulations will be much more relax.

Needless to say that I want to avoid at all cost to have to dispatch (and accordingly pay for it!) an helicopter rescue . I am currently re-checking all of my satellite phone batteries, hoping that none of them will fail me !

One of the reasons for the authorities to be quite concerned is the fact that about a month ago, the owner of a small overcraft in Markova got lost while getting in the wrong river and broke his engine. He finally appeared in Anadyr three weeks later, having survived the odyssey the best way he could...
The fact that he was without a GPS and potentially drunk may have impacted the ordeal slightly, as you can all imagine...

3. Vodka ? Niet, spassiba !
Last Sunday, I had the pleasure to join friends at the Banya where one get to see everyone in town.... One thing led to another in a very typical Russian fashion and the next thing I know I was leaving the Banya to attend a drinking and eating gathering with journalists and officials.
No matter how small the glasses are, they do add up, round after round and ,frankly, my body is really not used to this type of abuse...
So, I have decided that going forward, I will try my hardest to turn down any vodka offering in motherland Russia. Let's see how strong is my power of persuasion in the weeks to come !

Piva, da, niet problem...

4. Life can be taken away so easily...
I had a strong reminder on Wednesday on how fragile and valuable life can be.
The Bering Air flight from Nome to Anadyr on which one was being shipped some of the technical gear I was missing, had been delayed.
This was because a 60 years old employee from Kupol died of a heart attack as he was boarding the plane.
My prayers and thoughts go to his family for such a sudden departure.

On this departing note, I need to stop abusing from the kindness of the school in Vayegi offering me this internet access and need to go back to my final preparation.
Once again, wherever you are , enjoy Thanksgiving if it is part of your tradition /culture.

Paka !
Dima...

Currently in Anadyr airport waiting to depart for Markova

well, in deed, it has been quite a busy week trying to get everthing lined up in Anadyr prior to my departure for Markova tomorrow morning.
I am only able to get a few minutes on the web right now and this is why I am going to make this post very short !
In typical Chukotkan fashion, I am not exactly sure if my flight will leave tomorrow and at what time...
In other words, if I do get a few more hours in the airport, I will try to make my way back to the post office from where I am posting this message right now.
Would love to share pictures with all of you but the connection is wayyyyyy to slow for me to do so right now...
Well, needless to say that I am a little bit concerned about the weeks to come: temperatures has been in Anadyr -25 Celsius and it is supposed to get a lot colder down South, near Kamenskoye and Manily where I am planning to make it through in the next few weeks.
The limited amount of daylight (8:45h til about 15h) is also going to make this a challenging trip.
Batteries are going to be at a premium especially since I am not completely sure I am going to be able to get my supplies shipped on time from Magadan to either Kamenskoye or Evensk.

As usual, I am trying to collect as much information as I can from travellers, hunters, etc...
I actually just found out that I was sharing my bedroom at the airport with a travelling vetenerian from Omsk who is also on his way to Markova.
He is coming to look after the reindeers in the different "reindeer brigades". I have already heard that some of them might be in the region that I am going to travel alone between Vayegi and Slautnoye and therefore I am eager to see what he is going to be able to tell me about their potential location.  For multiple reasons, as some of you can imagine, I would love to have a break from the tundra one day and come across a reindeer brigade / camp....
This is after all partly what I am here for !

On a last quick note, since I am being kicked out of the post office, I had the great pleasure yesterday to present at a college with 180 students, bursting with questions to ask me...
It lasted more than 2 hours and was quite entertaining. The event was also televised by the local TV but I did not get the chance to see it... And finally, last night I was given the priviledge to present at the local orphanage in Anadyr... A great enriching time for me to be able to share some of my stories via a great "travelling  translator" that I met in Anadyr: Konstantin Savva.
The chuckhi and white kids were great and touching ! I was even asked if I wanted to adopt a little chukchi named Pietr to which I responded that I did not think he would enjoy the ride on my sled....

Thank you all again for your support, mynumerous friends in Anadyr as well as Chukotka Discovery and especially 'Ilima for having saved my ---- by promptly shipping some of the technical pieces I was crucially missing ! I was able to retrieve them from customs today after having paid a 30% tax and completed countless forms.... Nothing new here !

Paka !
Dima on his way to the tundra... 

Dimitri's had a very hectic week readying for the trail

He has been busy meeting with officials and rescue teams to put together an 'if' plan just in case anything goes wrong, as well as checking all his gear, finalizing the specifics of his route, gathering as much local knowledge of the route as he can, arranging transport back to the point at which he stopped, which inconveniently was not in a village...and of course reserving a bit of time to savor the Russian culture and sample the Russian vodka : )

Today will be his last day in Anadyr as he heads to the airport tomorrow to both wait for a package from yours truly containing crucially important batteries and some other supplies he couldn't replenish there.Here's his action plan as of today:

'I am presenting this afternoon at the Chukotka Poly-profile college and at the local orphanage.
My presentation has been completely translated in Russian.
I am going to have a good translator (Konstantin Savva) by my side for both presentations.

I am due to fly tomorrow Wed by helicopter from Anadyr to Ugolnye Kope at the airport.
I am due to fly Thursday by plane from Ugolnye Kope to Markova and then go on Vayegi via wezdehod or else.'

Hopefully all the transportation plans will fall into place accordingly and he can get back on the trail within the week, though can someone please tell me how one get's excited about being outdoors in -20 degrees ALL DAY and night? It must be all that amazingly warm gear his sponsors gave him, though unless the down suit contained some kind of radiant heating system other than my body I seriously don't think I could bear it. Thankfully, I/we get to live through his adventures from the warmth and coziness of our own homes. Though I'm sure a good bit of you reading this would prefer to be out there battling alongside our winter warrior. Let's gather up a bit of positive energy to send out there to the man as he starts his trek - in some ways I think those first few days out there must be the hardest!

Dimitri texts posted on Blog via Twitter

Dimitri has now landed in Anadyr, Russia. His texts, while he is in cell range, will be posted on the Nexus Expeditions blog via Twitter. Find the texts at the top of the Nexus blog. Come back to read them or log on twitter as a follower of the expedition and get the updates to your phone or email. To log onto Twitter or read the text history click on the link. "follow me on Twitter."

The Twitter updates are quick updates and they are separate from the blog posts.

And it begins again!!

Overall Information on Spring 2010 section

Vayegi – Omsukchan - 660 miles, 1060 kms
(3 regions: Chukotskiy Avt0nomnyy Okrug, Kamchatka Krai, Magadanskaya)

Click here for further details on this section

After a 14 months hiatus, partly caused by a bad fracture in January 2009 in my vertebral column which required a L1 fusion with 4 screws and a subsequent year of imposed recovery, I am definitely back!


This time, to increase my personal safety while travelling through this remote section deprived of any traffic / aka "zimnik" winter roads (at least for the first 250kms between Vayegi and Slautnoye in Kamchatka) , I have decided NOT to travel alone.

Therefore I am looking forward to embark on this next section which should last a little bit less than 3 months and cover approximatively 1060 kms (660 miles) from Vayegi to Omsukchan, with a 34 years old experienced Yakut путешествиник ("traveller") named Nyurgun Efremov (Нюргун Ефремов).

Nyurgun is a native of Yakutsk and a lawyer for the post office in Anadyr and in his "spare time" over the last few years as taken on during summer months a few kayaking and biking expeditions single-handely or with a partner. One of his most admirable accomplishments was the completion of the section Yakutsk-Anadyr over a few months switching back and forth between his mountain bike and his inflatable kayak which he carried both all the way!

When we first talked about travelling together, Nyurgun tried to convince me that we should travel on "ski bikes" rather than skiing while pulling sleds. It took a while for me to be able to convince this avid biker that in the open tundra, weeks away from any type of trail, I was not prepared to push one of these bikes in the deep snow while pulling a large amount of gear/food/fuel. Needless to say that upon landing in Anadyr, one of the first thing Nyurgun wanted to show me in his apartment was his beautiful ski bike! ;-)

Nyurgun speaks Russian and Yakut and only a few words of English.
Even though this might lead to potential frustration from time to time in our communication, I am actually welcoming this fact which is going to force me to make some serious progress in Russian! I can only hope!

Until now, Nyurgun has not had the "pleasure" to embark on long winter expeditions and is looking forward to honing his winter sled-pulling and skiing skills!

I am excited to have him on the team and to learn from him some of his trapping and fishing skills, when they become needed!

Here you can see the "Ibex Men" Dimitri & Nyurgun enjoying a cool (-37C, -35F) afternoon breeze in downtown Anadyr...

I departed from Seattle to Nome, Alaska via Anchorage on Monday Feb 22d 2010 via Alaska airlines.
In Nome, Alaska, he stayed a few hours, just enough to see old friends and then catch the weekly chartered flight operated by Bering Air, between Nome and Anadyr, Chukotka, Russia.

Nome - Anadyr Bering Air flight

Now in Anadyr, Chukotka and on the verge to secure transport across 700 kms of frozen rivers and open tundra to reach my starting point on the outskirts of Vayegi (N 64° 16.659; E 171° 14.107) the outpost village of Vayegi, deeply buried in the Southeastern corner of Chukotka, way out there, amongst meandering frozen rivers and open tundra....and where I was last forced to stop my expedition on Dec 6th 2008 because of my old broken & worn out sled!

We are currently trying to see how the two of us (with our 2 sleds and about 500 lbs of gear) can be transported/ squeezed in with regular cargo for a reasonable sum to Vayegi in either a Cargo Ural Truck, Trico or Wezdehod.
We are also looking potentially at travelling the 700 kms on skidoos snowmachines....


We also had a short TV interview with our journalist friends from Chukotka TV.

Now... on to Gear, gear and more gear!

Just to give you a little idea of what it entails, here is an older picture of the gear Karl Bushby and I took during our Bering Crossing back in 2006.

The gear we are taking for this section is somewhat similar with of course a few notable exceptions such as new Acapulka Scandic Tour 210 sleds and new skis with dual binding systems allowing us to either use 3 pins back country ski bindings or Berwyn bindings which was provided to me by snowsled. The dual system was set up in Seattle with the help of the crew at 2d Ascent and Pro Ski Sports.
The Berwyn bindings will allow us to use our Baffin Doug Stop boots on colder days!


Now on to a topic that always bring a lot of attention...

Fire power to protect ourselves from potential bear, moose and wolves attacks:

Nyurgun and I have talked a lot about this and we have both decided for multiple reasons (weight, cost, potential malfunction in colder temperatures) to not purchase any fire arms, even though Nyurgun is now allowed to acquire some, after having passed specific Russian examinations testifying that he is neither psychologically insane nor alcoholic....
Not a bad thing to find out, in any case, before we start trekking together for multiple months in the middle of the tundra!

Wolves tend to be mostly a problem when one travels with dogs which is not going to be our case.
Bears will hopefully still be hibernating and when they will finally come out, we don't expect them to be too hungry and aggressive, still living off their hibernated cumulated fat.
Chukotkan Mooses, the biggest in the world... well, with those, we will just have to pay a close attention to not cross their paths!

In any case, we will have with us, Russian flares which I have experienced in the past to be only 50% of the time deterrent with the bears.

We also have two massive and efficient machetes to allow us to cut our way through the bushes when needed and which we might have to use for other means...
Finally, for when the weather warms up a bit, we will also have bear spray made of cayenne pepper which I can testify from a previous annoying experience is very potent!

Once in Vayegi, we will start where the expedition last stopped on Dec 06 2008, 15 miles North East of Vayegi and trek for the next 660 miles towards the "road of bones" in Omsukchan!

Documents: I have received the proper documentation (1 year multiple entry Russian visa, Chukotkan Propusk and Rasporyazhenie, Kamchatka permit, proper documentation to carry in Chukotka an Irridium 9500 Satellite phone, a GPS and an emergency beacon), which will allow us to travel by foot through 3 distinct regions:

- Chukotskiy Avtonomnyy Okrug (+ website in Russian)

-Kamchatka Krai

- Magadanskaya (Russian overview of Magadan Oblast)

According to the current Russian Federation regulations, I am only able to travel 90 days out of every 180 days period.

I foresee that this next section of approximatively 660 miles / 1060 km should take us around 44 days of trekking / backcountry skiing and 9 additional days to address administrative matters, re-supply and rest.

We are counting on a speed of 25 kms/ 15 miles per day, trekking and back country skiing.

We are taking into consideration the Siberian winter climatic challenges which we will be facing as well as the great distances of road-less wilderness between villages where we will not be able to re-supply on food or fuel (crucial to make water) for as many as 20 days.

For route planning, we are using ONC (Operational Navigation Chart) maps 1:1,000,000,
TPC (Tactical Pilot Chart) maps 1:500,000, Russian “Zimnik” winter road map, Russian map 1:2,000,000, and internet sources such as Goggle Earth .

The route is primarily based upon the meandering river beds and the location of zimnik winter roads. The vegetation is now too thick to allow a more direct route.

Phase 1:
Vayegi – Kamenskoye
We are planning to start at the exact location located 15 miles North East of Vayegi where I last forced to stop in November 2009 when my broken worn out sled stopped cooperating .

We will cover the Vayegi-Kamenskoye route while trekking and back-country skiing.
We are planning to travel straight South West through the meandering Mayn river bed and then proceed West on to the Aglikich river until he reaches the village of Slautnoye

We are not expecting to see any human traffic between Vayegi and Slautnoye, which is an approximate distance of 150 miles.

Between Slautnoye and Omsukchan, we will proceed Southwest on zimnik winter roads. Zimnik winter roads are mostly maintained by Vezdehod vehicles.

During storms, we might not see any vezdehod for a few days and therefore should not count on any of them to forge a trail in the snow.

We are planning to maximize the use of the few towns and villages along the route. These villages are going to be crucial to ensure our re-supply in food and fuel, and therefore reduce the amount of weight he will have to pull/carry on our sleds.

Our supplies are stored in Magadan with the help of Kulu Safaris. We plan to have some shipped and securely stored in 2 additional way points: close to Kamenskoye and Evensk. These supplies are composed of dehydrated food, fuel, lithium batteries, first aid medicine and additional clothing. The towns/villages may also give us the chance to rest, repair equipment, communicate by land line phones and potentially send emails.

We are expecting to be facing air temperatures down as low as –50C / -50F . These temperatures can even drop further with added wind chill factor.

Phase 2:
Kamenskoye – Evensk – Omsukchan

We are planning to cover this route trekking and back-country skiing on zimnik roads.

Upon reaching Omsukchan, Nyurgun Efremov will fly back to Anadyr and I plan to return to Seattle in the United States, where I will spend at least 90 days, according to the Russian regulations. Thereafter,I am planning to return in Fall 2010 in Omsukchan to continue Westbound by bike towards Yakutsk and Western Russia.