Moscow-Chukotka Ford Expedition

The Russian chapter of the Explorers Club, with the participation of the Ford Motor Company and the support of the administration of the Chukotka Autonomous District, is preparing to carry out a winter expedition across Russia from Moscow to Chukotka in specially modified Ford Expedition automobiles.

Goals:
1. To traverse a route not yet traveled by man; 
2. To visit places connected to the history of Arctic discovery and conquest; 
3. To draw the international community’s attention to Russian history and contemporary life in its most remote corners.

Expedition Motto: “Chukotka – it’s closer than you think!”

Participants: Members of the Russian chapter of the Explorers Club, along with professional drivers.

Expedition Route: Moscow - Kazan - Perm - Ekaterinburg - Novosibirsk - Krasnoyarsk - Ust-Kut - Mirniy - Yakutsk - Khandyga - Chersky - Pevek - Cape Schmidt - Egvekinot - Anadyr. The Cape Schmidt - Anadyr portion of the journey will be entirely off-road. 

In the Arctic, the expedition will pass through locations unified by their place in the history of discovery and conquest of the Russian Arctic, including points along the treks made by such figures as Dezhnev and Stadukhin, Bering and Dmitriy Laptev, Shalaurov and James Cook, Billings and Sarychev, Wrangel and Matyushkin, Kolchak and Vilkitskiy, De Long and Nordenskjold, and Stefansson and Bartlett. Among other landmarks, the expedition will visit the place where the American aviator Carl Ben Eielson was lost; the site of the Soviet North airplane crash; and places related to the heroic Chelyuskinskoy epic.

The expedition will cross the Artic Circle at least twice, and will also traverse the boundary between the Western and Eastern hemispheres. The most northern point on the route is at latitude 69°42′ North (Pevek). The most eastern point visited will be at longitude 169°40’ West (Cape Dezhnev).   

Expedition Start Date: 6 March 2006. 

The expedition launch and press conference is scheduled for 12:00 on Monday, March 6, 2006 at the Zero Point near Red Square (just outside the gates next to the Historical Museum) Chukotka regional officials and representatives of the Ford Motor Company and other partner companies will be in attendance. Representatives of the media are also invited.