Fedor Konyukhov and Victor Simonov will dog sled around the World in 2015-2017

It’s been nearly five months since Fedor Konyukhov and Victor Simonov returned home after their successful dog sled crossing of the Arctic Ocean from the North Pole to Ward Hunt Island, Canada.  The crossing of Greenland from north to south was postponed until next year.  However, there has been some major changes in the initial plan of the “North Pole – Southern Coast of Greenland” project.  This time, both Fedor and Victor are convinced that they should try to expand the horizon of dog sledding in the Arctic latitudes.  The two explorers collaborated on a plan to dogsled around the world.  Here is a quick summary of their vision:

The first stage – Greenland crossing:  The two explorers will return to Greenland in April 2015 to dog sled the Greenland Ice Cap from south to north reaching Nares Strait that lies between Greenland and Ellesmere Island.  The significance of this destination is in the fact that Fedor and Victor’s crossing of the Arctic Ocean was completed in April 2013 on the shores of Ward Hunt Island which lies north of the Ellesmere Island.

The second stage – Canada crossing:  In spring of 2016 return to the Ward Hunt Island and begin the dog sledding along the entire northern coast of Canada from east to west.  Reaching Alaska will conclude the second stage of the expedition.

The third stage from Alaska to Russia via Bering Strait: In Spring of 2017 both Fedor and Victor will fly back to Alaska to dog sled across the Bering Strait and arrive to Russia (Chukotka). Then they’ll continue along the northern shores of Russia with the finish line in Petrozavodsk, the capital city of Republic of Karelia, Russia.

The challenges of the proposed dog sled expedition are many:  the sheer distance and the subzero temperatures of the Arctic environment, along with the logistics of getting to the starting point of each leg will require an enormous effort, planning, sponsorships and mother nature’s cooperation.  Both Konyukhov and Simonov are optimistic that the Arctic circumference can be done, since the most difficult part, crossing the Arctic Ocean from North Pole to Canada, has already been completed in 2013.

Translated by Tatiana Koreski