The six’th RuDIVE Group expedition to the North Pole has been implemented. On the strength of International team of 3 Russian and 1 Chinesse participants, we have lived on the top of the mother-earth for a week, setting up a small camp and a dive centre. The Arctic gladdened us with the weather: a steady temperature of -25 – 27 frost, sun was shining and there was still air.
To keep our guard down, the North Pole surprised us by strong ice movement, such powerful hummocking we have never experienced in our previous expeditions. It is visible on photos, that at the place where one of the tent has been set up, an icy ridge of around four miters was arisen. It was approaching with a speed of a small tractor, we managed to pull out the tent and belonging, however few ice screw pitons were sacrificed to the Arctic: rescue of the tent was possible only by cutting ridgepoles, there was no time left to unscrew the ice screw pitons. On another photos expedition participants stand over the spot where some hours ago there was a maina (entry hole in the ice for penetration to the frozen sea).
For the period of 2 ice movements, (each took around half an hour), two ice floes drifted together for approximately 60 miters, gathering a new half miters thick ice in to pressure ridges. After the first convergence, the newly appeared underwater hummocks were so picturesque, that Alaksander Voroshilov managed to take the most beautiful photos for the history of all dives at the North Pole.
For the period of 2 ice movements, (each took around half an hour), two ice floes drifted together for approximately 60 miters, gathering a new half miters thick ice in to pressure ridges. After the first convergence, the newly appeared underwater hummocks were so picturesque, that Alaksander Voroshilov managed to take the most beautiful photos for the history of all dives at the North Pole.
After the second convergence there was no place to dive at the radius of 1 kilometer. But by that time the expedition was running to the end anyway, so there was no necessity to dislocate the camp.
In brief : 7 days and 6 nights we have been living on the ice; set up a camp at one and a half kilometers from the exact coordinates of the North Pole; went a drift on the ice for 30 kilometers; accomplished to make10 dives; took thousands of photos and some video, eat 20 kilograms of food,
have got a lot of joy, got back home according to the time table, and Yan Xiao from China, left us at the ice aerodrome of Barneo at the sixties kilometers from the Pole, to head to the side the North Pole the second time, but now on skies and without an aqualung.
have got a lot of joy, got back home according to the time table, and Yan Xiao from China, left us at the ice aerodrome of Barneo at the sixties kilometers from the Pole, to head to the side the North Pole the second time, but now on skies and without an aqualung.
The expedition participants:
Mickhail Safonov – tour leader
Alaksandr Voroshilov – photographer
Yuan Xiao – videographer
Alaksandr Chelentano – sustainment specialist
Thanks to Alaxander Voroshilov for provided photo material.
