Do you like challenges? THIS is a challenge – conquer the Arctic Urals in the winter. We invite you to the adventure of a lifetime – go with us to the Arctic and see what almost no one in Europe has ever seen.
Our experience on this track
In March 2011, we were the first from Europe to reach Vorkuta on wheels. We repeated it in 2012, 2013 and 2015, 2016 and 2017. In 2014, we reached the Yamal Peninsula from the Asian side. This time, the route of the expedition will run on the northeastern part of Europe and in Asia, on the eastern side of the Urals. Once again we will reach the Jamal Peninsula, then we will try to beat the Urals and reach Vorkuta. If we fail, we will go to Vorkuta through the Urals by train (beautiful route). Our goal will be to reach forgotten and distant places that Europeans don’t even associate with Europe even by name (Narjan-Mar, Emwa, Buktył).
Vorkuta, our goal in this quest
Similarly, Vorkuta is a European city. However, most maps of our continent usually lack it. This also applies to maps of Europe attached to National Geographic and Gazeta Wyborcza. As if a rich and self-satisfied Europe wanted to forget about its distant peripheries, which in fact are not suitable for the continent’s calling card.
The lack of Vorkuta on the maps can also be explained by the fact that there is no road to this city. At this latitude, traveling with any wheeled vehicle is simply considered impossible. The tundra, thawing in the summer for several weeks, turns into an endless swamp. The only hope for breaking through on wheels is the long winter season, when swamps and numerous rivers are forging ice.
In Vorkuta, all of us asked about this assured that every car seen on the street was brought here on a railway platform. This also applies to the monument tank. The city is connected to the world by one railway line. Tracks with a length of over 2.5 thousand kilometers lead from St. Petersburg. Fragments that were most difficult to perform in tundra were created by the death of prisoners’ army seventy years ago. A nightmare saying is commonly known there: under every foundation lies a man.
Vorkuta is the destination of the expedition, however, is not the furthest point of it. First we will go east, cross the Urals and go east along the Asian side to the Jamal Peninsula. From there, we will go through a serviced winter road Gazprom to Europe, over the frozen sea. Don’t worry, trucks go there.