Icy Siberia Won't Stop This Land Rover Defender
Land Rover, the Royal Geographical Society and the Institute of British Geographers joined forces for an expedition that aims to explore the social, cultural and physical implications of living in the most extreme climates during winter. That means -58 degrees at the Pole of Cold in Siberia.
Jeep might be offering a Wrangler that tells you where Vostok is meanwhile the Land Rover Defender is crawling towards certain death, but when it comes to setting camp in the coldest places on earth, I would still go for this specially prepared 110 utility wagon.
There are two places in Siberia that are called the 'Pole of Cold'. One is Verkhoyansk here, while the other is Oymyakon, where -89.86 degrees was recorded in February 1933. Average temperature stays under -4, and that's where they're headed.
The 18,641 mile endurance drive is led by British adventurer Felicity Aston, who had this to say about the 14-week challenge:
The 'Pole of Cold' is our ultimate destination and so it will be a big moment when we arrive, but I'm looking forward to so much of what we have planned along the way. As is so often the case, it's the unexpected encounters that are the most memorable.
The rest of the team consists of Manu Palomeque, a photographer and film-maker who will be co-ordinating creative output during the trip, and Gisli Jonsson, a highly experienced cold-weather engineer, mechanic and winter driving advisor. Their training took place in the Skjalbreidurr mountain ranges of Iceland, which included camping on the Langjökull glacier.
After picking up the four-wheel drive member of the team at the Land Rover assembly line in Solihull, the expedition will start from the Royal Geographical Society in London on 20th November.
As always with Land Rovers, for science and Her Majesty.
More info in the press release.