Today’s top local news is totally dedicted to Norwegian adventure travelers lost allegedly in the Oymyakonsky region by the Embassy of Norway and found by the Russian rescuers. They were okey.
They appeared to be very naive travelers. They thought they would be the first who made it to Magadan by the old route of the Kolyma Highway in winter. Even experienced local drivers know that driving from Tomtor directly to Magadan that way is impossible, because it is impassable, it is covered with thick snow. Now they are forced to say they got stuck due to the breakage of their Mercedes Benz off-road vehicle. That’s the myth!
Oh, man! That’s funny and not funny at the same time, but these travelers will gaily and proudly tell their friends, how they were searched by Norwegian diplomats and the army of the Russian rescuers. “What a fun we had!” they can say for sure.
Guys, please, do not repeat after these Norwegians. Act responsibly.
In the picture: The ice road over the Lena River to Yakutsk.
So what happened? The story is the following.
Yesterday, on Dec.22, at 4:30 pm, the Republic’s affiliate of the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry received a call from the Embassy of Norway in Russia with the request to find three Norwegian travelers, who were driving from Moscow to Magadan via the Pole of Cold.
Norway’s Embassy informed that their citizens are between Yakutsk and Magadan and, according to travelers’ plan, they must be near Tomtor, the Oymyakonsky region. Something terrible must be happened.
At 8:00 pm a rescue team departed from Tomtor, Oymyakonsky region, and at 8:50 another team started the search from the village of Myaundzha, Magadan Oblast.
At 11:10 pm rescuers found Norwegians. They were alive and felt good.
That’s the story.
They were stuck on the old route of the Road of Bones between Tomtor and Magadan Oblast. If to be more precise, that’s 150 km from Tomtor. (It seems like it’s the same place, where the Turkish off-road driver stuck the last rainy autumn.) When stuck, they gave a call to the Embassy via a satellite phone and let know about their current location.
It’s good :) they had a satellite phone.
But it is NOT good that they ignored travel tips.
Btw, I wrote here much about this part. Once again I am saying. This part on the old route of the Kolyma Highway after Tomtor is impassable in winter. It is not used at all by locals. It is burried under the thick snow cover.”
Yeah, adventure is priority, but, please…
Act responsibly and wisely!
Hmm. Strange. How come three big Norwegians couldn’t pull out their only Mercedes Benz vehicle?.. Just recalled the last year’s winter story…
A German off-road team got stuck on the Road of Bones and asked for help. Rescuers arrived, and those German guys didn’t even get out of the car to help locals. Their car was pulled out manually together with travelers sitting inside. A very impolite act. We understand that they didn’t accustom to be outdoors in the extreme cold, but they could help locals a little. Just sit inside and wait for help and do nothing… this is a very strange. Btw, later they described themselves as heroes in interviews to mass media.
Norwegians say officially their car was broken, but locals do not believe this myth.
Already received feedbacks to this story from Susan, British Columbia:
They are very lucky to be alive.
Actually, if this happened in Canada, they may have gotten a bill from the rescuers. This sort of idiocy happens here, also, but mostly from skiers who go out of bounds. Here, if you are lost in the woods/bush you will die within one or two days. And locals must rescue people, thus putting their own lives at risk. This has happened too many times in British Columbia that lately some regions and municipalities have started to send bills to people who have acted irresponsibly. (skiing or snowboarding out of bounds is a very common problem, another idiotic problem is people who think they are ‘expert’ hikers, but then they hike alone and break their leg). There will be police, rescue teams, helicopters, dog teams, volunteer locals, and more.
We had a couple from Quebec who skied out of bounds in a high snowy mountain in British Columbia. They were lost for maybe 7 days? The woman died. The man survived. He sued the rescuers (rude of him), but the court said it was his fault for going out of bounds on purpose.
Yeah, we have to adopt Canada’s billing experience here.
UPDATE: Wow, more details I learned about these guys.
1. They arrived on an old small Mercedes Benz car.
2. They confessed they got stuck as fuel was finished.
It appears that they tried to overcome the impassable part of the Road of Bones on a small car without fuel. Haha. This part of their journey deserves to be included in the film script they are about to submit to a Hollywood producer. Yeah, Hollywood is their final destination. Crazy boys :)
Similar Posts:
- Is it dangerous to travel to Oymyakon, the Pole of Cold in winter?
- 2009 September Report: the condition of the Kolyma Highway (the Road of Bones) Kyubeme – Tomtor – Kadykchan
- The Ford Fiesta will try the Road of Bones
- Pros & Cons: Travel from Yakutsk to Magadan in winter by taxi
- 2009 August Road Report: the condition of the Kolyma Highway (the Road of Bones) in Oymyakonsky Ulus
