Crossing the Arctic Circle - 2004

Novi Urenguoi, the end of the world, or so I thought. Beyond this bustling city in Russia’s far north lay the gas fields that were its very existence. Pipelines, laid across the frozen tundra here, snaked their way across half the expanse of Russia to keep most of Europe warm. This gas cooked meals in Germany and France. The source of this gas, the Yamburg field, was our destination on this cold Siberian day.

Every day that we had been here, the weather had been getting steadily colder. After a week minus 10C (10F) would have been balmy now that the mercury had already dropped below minus 30C (-20F). Jesse, the Texas welder, had left a few days ago, glad to out of this extreme cold. He would bundle up each day with just his eyes exposed, looking like the Michelin man, when it was only minus 20C (-5F). But this was to be the field test of the unit we had worked to restore.

Our transport to the jobsite arrived. The best way to describe it is an army 10 ton truck chassis with a 20 person bus body mounted on its back. We had ridden these same vehicles before, in Kumertau. There we had nicknamed them “kidney shakers”. This one would certainly live up to its name. Although however rough the ride, they seem to get through everything: sand, snow, mud. Yuri, Nikolai and I climbed aboard and made ourselves comfortable for the 5 hour trip north.

Before we left the city, a stop was made near Nikolai’s house. While he went off to get a change of clothes, Yuri and I stocked up on provisions at a local “magazine”. The standard supplies were bought and loaded aboard the bus: bread, kielbasa, cheese, water, juice and vodka. Nikolai arrived a few minutes later, heavily laden with even more food. We’d be set for a week anywhere else in the world; here we’d eat for 24 hours. As the transport lumbered away from the magazine toward the highway, we set a table fit for a czar. Vodka was poured and a number of toasts were made for the success of our mission. Then we curled up to get a little rest.

A couple hours later, I was woken up when the truck lurched to a sudden standstill. We had been waved over by the militia at the first gatepost on the highway. The documents that had prepared earlier for us to enter this sensitive area would have to be produced and examined. Shortly a policeman climbed into the bus and did just that. Confident that we were not Chechnyan terrorists, sent to blow up the pipelines, he sent us on our way. We chugged past a long line of stopped cars and trucks and back onto the highway. Nikolai advised us not to go back to sleep as the Artic Circle marker was just a few kilometers ahead. We got our sweaters, coats and boots on and awaited our arrival at this important marker. Although Nikolai had crossed this line many times in his 20 plus years of living and working here, Yuri and I had only crossed it by air. This certainly was a cause for a celebration. The bottle of vodka and glasses were to be brought out as well. Presently the transport pulled to the side of the road. We climbed out into the frozen, but sunshine filled day. A brisk wind ensured that our cheeks would be rosy in a matter of minutes.

Stopping at the Arctic Circle Marker (left to right: me, Nikolai, Yuri)

The marker at the side of the road was certainly one of the most unique ones that I had seen. A ball shaped creation draped with rags. But it was a milestone and we had to acknowledge it. The driver took our picture as we raised our glasses to the event. With that accomplished we again climbed aboard the bus for the last leg of our journey.

Not to bore with the details, the rest of the trip proceeded smoothly… Well, kind of; unfortunately the unit could not be fixed on site. The –38 degree C temperatures had frozen it up to where its engine wouldn’t even start. After three hours of trying, it was decided that we would have to send it back to the Novi Urenguoi base to thaw out before troubleshooting its problems there. We laid a last table for ourselves and the unit’s two operators, drank our toasts to tomorrow’s success and started off on the road back to Novi Urenguoi. Given the turn of events, I was sure that this wouldn’t be the last time that I’d be here since the unit would have to be tested in the field again.