Sibirien, die Polarstraße ins Polarmeer

In northern Russia, roads are not made of paving stones, concrete or asphalt. Instead, they rely on "Father Frost" - and build roads out of ice and snow. One of the hardest and coldest roads in the world runs through the north of Siberia. It only becomes passable when the temperature drops below minus 30 °C. Only then are the rivers and the snowmelt clear. Only then are the rivers and the swamps of the tundra frozen bone-hard. Then a Russian winter road is created on ice and snow, a so-called "Simnik", after the Russian word "Sima". for winter. Although only passable for three months of the year, it is the lifeline for those who settle north of the Arctic Circle. 360° GEO Reportage went there. Kostja and Ljoscha, two technical employees of the "Institute for Perma-Frost Soil Research" in Jakutsk, set out on an adventurous journey at the end of March. They are to bring research equipment to the Arctic: Drums of drilling fluid, thermal containers for frozen drill cores, measuring instruments and other scientific equipment. Far out, in the icy polar sea, lies the destination of their journey: the Arctic station Samoylov. The starting point is Yakutsk, the capital of Russia's largest federal republic. Here in Sakha, the Republic of the Yakuts, there are the most severe frosts under which humans live - minus 60°C and even colder. The earth is frozen many meters deep and thaws only on the surface in summer. Kostya and Lyosha drive a Russian "Ural" truck. Once developed as an all-terrain military vehicle, it is still in production today. It still proves to be indestructible and reliable in the rough regions of Siberia. It will take them 13 days and 2,000 kilometers to reach the next major settlement, far to the north on the shores of the Arctic Ocean: the polar port town of Tiksi. There are many dangers lurking on the journey. Especially at the Verkhoyansk mountain ridge, which is over 1200 meters high. The mountains appear in bright sunshine and with excellent visibility, and there is even a cleared road over the pass. But it is precisely here that many accidents happen every year, and this time was no exception. And even after that, it remains treacherous - hundreds of kilometers through an unpredictable ice desert. How will the tour go? Will the vehicle technology hold out? Will the ice remain stable? The "Simnik" is a real challenge even for experienced Siberian drivers.