[VO] It took us a long time before our trip to Barneo.
[VO] It's a drifting ice camp near the North Pole,
which Russian polar explorers build for researchers
and tourists from all over the world.
[VO] Unfortunately, our flight was delayed for five days.
[Man] Four carts, dogs, and a tent...
[Man] Come on, come on! [Man 1] Mind your foot!
[Announcement] Our plane is ready for take off. Please ensure your seatbelts are fastened.
[VO] We didn't know then we might not get to the ice camp at all.
[VO] The previous plane nearly crashed.
ARCTICT UNITED
[Aleksandr] It'll go to the factory to be X-rayed.
[Aleksandr] It will all be X-rayed.
[Aleksandr] It's a serious issue.
[Man] More! [Man 2] Come on, come on!
[Voice] More!
[Voice] Put that...
[Voice] That's it.
[Voice] What fearless journalists!
[Voice] It could fall over, by the way!
[Voice] Careful, guys, the plane could fall on you!
[Aleksandr Orlov, Head of Barneo Ice Camp] Upon landing the chassis was damaged.
[Aleksandr] It's hard as the runway's short and made of ice.
[Aleksandr] Something went wrong.
[Aleksandr] The weather was bad, zero visibility.
[Aleksandr] It's very rarely sunny, and so our schedule changed.
[Aleksandr] For four or five days, there were no flights.
[Aleksandr] Then we found another plane,
and when flights resumed,
[Aleksandr] it was very intensive.
[Aleksandr] Planes land every six hours now.
[Aleksandr] In that time, we have to unload,
and reload the plane,
meet arrivals, see people off, eat and get some sleep!
[Aleksandr] It's interesting how it's always light, it never gets dark.
[Aleksandr] The work we're doing now doesn't require nights.
[Aleksandr] People don't sleep for 3 days when they arrive, which is just what we need.
[Aleksandr] That way, we build the camp,
then everyone crashes out.
[Aleksandr] Whatever time it is on the third day,
people sleep to the sound of heat guns and generators.
[Aleksandr] A healthy body will get the sleep it needs.
[Aleksandr] Your nose's getting frostbitten. [Woman] Yes!
[Aleksandr] Cover it. It's white not red. See the doctor, or it'll peel.
[Aleksandr] Come on, I'll take you.
[Woman] Is it frostbitten?
[Doctor] It is, a little.
[Woman] I usually wear a balaclava,
but asking questions was hard,
so I took it off for five minutes.
[Doctor] That was long enough.
[VO] Two month earlier, an international forum took place in the Tver region.
[VO] Out of the 150 young research applicants, the 5 best were chosen to travel to Barneo.
[VO] Their stay at the ice camp would only be for one day.
[VO] But even such a short trip, they competed for almost a week.
[Participant] In Russian this is "Valenki"!
[Participant 1] It's what? [Participant] "Valenki"!
[Participant] Winter Russian shoes! [Participant 1] Nice!
[Man] The main aim is to test their teamwork.
[Man] You have to contribute, how else will you survive in the North?
[Voice] Enough! Down!
[Vasily Savin, Member, "Arctic Expedition" Forum] Why go to the Arctic, when it's such an expensive trip?
[Vasily] It's not to take photos for our grandkids.
[Vasily] That's for tourists. A real scientist has a clear goal.
[Vasily] The research I'd like to carry out,
is a magnetic survey near the North Pole.
[Man] Guys, I'm getting nervous! You understand?
[Man] If that's your attitude, we'll do things differently!
[VO] Barneo was expecting guests.
[VO] Tents had to be put up for them on time.
[Organizer] My friend! Do you know why we did that yesterday?
[Organizer] Connecting the silencer and all that?
[Organizer] Why are we doing double the work?
[Organizer] It'll be a platform for evacuating the camp quickly.
[Organizer] Kind of like sleighs.
[Correspondent] If the ice floe cracks? [Organizer] If it cracks, we'll need these sleighs,
to move the camp to a new location.
[Correspondent] And you're responsible for safety, right?
[Organizer] Yes, for safety too.
[Correspondent] What should I do to avoid being eaten by a bear?
[Organizer] What should you do?
[Organizer] Bears are scared of big shapes.
[Organizer] Raise your arms, wave like this,
and the bear will think that you're bigger than it is.
[Organizer] And don't run away from it!
[VO] Bears weren't supposed to come this year
as the station was drifting a mere 40 kilometres from the North Pole.
[VO] The animals usually live close to the open water.
[VO] Yet this time, the water was far away.
[VO] But you still felt uneasy if you left the camp without a weapon.
[Organizer] This is a 450 calibre gun.
[Organizer] It's used...
...in emergencies.
[VO] A plane was expected soon, and the tractor was clearing the landing strip.
[VO] Now it was possible to fly to the ice float.
[VO] The members of first team to arrive in Barneo when there is no landing strip yet
are air-dropped in with the equipment.
[Correspondent] Are you always here at the very start?
[Aleksandr Zemlemerov] Yes, that's what I find most interesting.
[Aleksandr] You land in the Arctic, and there's nothing there.
[Aleksandr] Like on the moon.
[Aleksandr] You turn around,
and there's nothing, just your first footprint.
[Aleksandr] Then you see other tracks,
but there's nothing behind them, either.
[Aleksandr] They belong to the others who landed here.
[Aleksandr] There's no one here,
you can do whatever you want.
[Aleksandr] Jumping out like a hero means nothing.
[Aleksandr] Before that, there's lots of preparation.
[Aleksandr] You might work without a break for 12 hours.
[Aleksandr] You keep going,
then suddenly you realise,
you just packed five tons of parachutes.
[Aleksandr] One parachute has an area of 750 square metres.
[VO] Aleksandr is the only one from the first team who had remained by the time we arrived.
[VO] The researchers asked him to stay for some diving work.
[VO] They needed videos of the subglacial space,
which would enable the researchers to see what is going on in the Arctic Ocean.
[Aleksandr] I'll get changed.
[Aleksandr] Help me with the zip.
[Aleksandr] I'll do this myself and I disappear!
[Aleksandr] Nothing bad can happen, there's no current.
[Aleksandr] The sharks are small!
[Aleksandr] I should catch some crayfish!
[Aleksandr] Right!
[Aleksandr] You'll manage.
[Correspondent] I'll do my best!
[Correspondent] It's moving! [Aleksandr] Hooray!
[Aleksandr] We're saved! Thanks!
[Aleksandr] Someone who helps a diver get dressed is a diver too, honestly!
[VO] Experiments showed that in the past several years the process of global warming has sopped.
[VO] However, it's still hard to find a firm ice float here.
[VO] If the ice was once 2,2 meters thick, now it's only 1,8.
[Correspondent] When will you pull him out?
[Man] We hope he'll get out himself.
[Man] Got you!
[Correspondent] You didn't freeze?
[Aleksandr] It feels quite wet and cold here.
[Aleksandr] I'm not sure why.
[Aleksandr] I probably got dressed wrong.
[Correspondent] I'm a bad assistant! [Aleksandr] What?
[Correspondent] I'm a bad assistant!
[Aleksandr] No, you're great.
[Aleksandr] If only you could see how beautiful it is...
[Correspondent] I've noticed.
[Aleksandr] One arm's wet.
[Aleksandr] Let's get dry.
[VO] On the second day of our stay, the polar workers held an initiation ceremony for us.
[Worker] It's salt water from the ice hole! [Worker 1] Have you got a cup?
[Worker] Come here! [Correspondent] Just a little for me!
[Worker] There's no need for words!
[Worker] Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!
[VO] The young researchers' competition is over.
[VO] After a week of scientific reports the winners were announced.
[Crowd] Well done!
[Announcement] The winners would like to say a few words.
[Winner] There's a person on our team,
who is more deserving than me.
[Winner] I'd like to give my place to Aleksey, if possible!
[Organizer] Come here.
[Organizer] Who's in favour?
[Crowd] We are!
[Participant] You can thank me when you're older!
[Participant] When you become manager of the polar station Barneo 41,
you can take him with you for free!
[Aleksey Maslakov, Member, Arctic Expedition Forum] My dream is to feel what being on the very top of the world is like.
[Aleksey] When wherever you look is to the South,
and you can travel around the world in a couple of minutes!
[Organizer] Congratulations!
[Organizer] Remember them!
[Organizer] Because next time you see them, they'll have frostbitten faces!
[Crowd] You're the best!
[VO] On the third day we completely lost track of time
because the sun was above the horizon all the time.
[VO] We started having trouble sleeping.
[VO] But at least we managed to adjust to the climate.
[Aleksandr] Tell me about it. [Correspondent] I don't feel well.
[Correspondent] I confuse night and day.
[Correspondent] I couldn't sleep today.
[Correspondent] When I got up, my eyes were like a frog's.
[Aleksandr] You look fine!
[Correspondent] What are you doing today?
[Aleksandr] A prince from Marocco, I think, is coming in two hours.
[Aleksandr] With his wife and kids.
[Aleksandr] He and his wife are doing a parachute jump at the North Pole,
and diving in an ice-hole.
[Correspondent] But at the Pole, not here? [Aleksandr] Yes, they'll go by helicopter.
[Aleksandr] And we'll do our usual chores.
[Worker] You have a unique opportunity to feel the taste of pain with us.
[Aleksandr] That's what he calls champagne and caviar.
[Aleksandr] The prince is going to treat us to black caviar from Africa.
[Og Amazu] It means... top of the world. It means...anything is possible.
[Og Amazu] It means...believe, and do something. Do something!
[Og Amazu] For somebody else, for yourself, something miserable, smile, that's the right thing.
[Correspondent] He's with his wife. [Aleksandr] Wife?
[Correspondent] Yes, they'll be jumping tandem! [Aleksandr] Interesting way to get rid of your wife!
[VO] Tourists are one of the ways to make money, so that researchers could come here later.
[VO] Parachute jumping and diving on the North Pole is not a cheap entertainment.
[VO] It costs tens and hundreds of thousands Euros.
[Og Amazu] I love you God, thank you Jesus, I love you Russia! I love you Nigeria!
[Voice] Yes, Aleksandr?
[Aleksandr] They found nothing.
[Aleksandr] We're going ourselves. [Voice] I see.
[Aleksandr] Ok, let's go? [Correspondent] Ok.
[VO] The camp was running out of fuel.
[VO] We had to find the new barrels with fuel
that had been dropped from the plane.
[VO] Sometimes this can take the whole day,
especially if the fuel is on the other side of the crevasse.
[VO] At any moment, the ice float can split .
[Aleksandr] See the water?
[Aleksandr] Don't go too close, be careful.
[Aleksandr] Dangerous, eh?
[Correspondent] Yes. [Aleksandr] You could fall in there.
[Correspondent] How deep is it?
[Aleksandr] 4,000 metres.
[Aleksandr] Yury, come in?
[Aleksandr] Can you cross the crevasse? There's a large one here.
[Yury] We can.
[Aleksandr] This is the hardest task.
[Aleksandr] Finding barrels.
[Aleksandr] You feel like a tracker.
[Aleksandr] You can't see them at all.
[Correspondent] Can't you get more exact coordinates?
[Aleksandr] It depends on many factors, like the wind.
[Aleksandr] When they drop them, they don't know the wind conditions.
[Aleksandr] We have a rough idea.
[Aleksandr] We tell them what it is on the runway, at ground level,
but it changes with altitude.
[Aleksandr] Big, isn't it?
[Voice] Yeah, really wide.
[Aleksandr] If you dived in, no one would ever get you out.
[Aleksandr] I wanted to say how these mounds form.
[Aleksandr] They appear when one ice floe moves over another.
[Aleksandr] They're dangerous.
[Aleksandr] One year, two or three of our tents disappeared into one of those.
[Aleksandr] Literally their camp!
[Aleksandr] People grabbed what they could, their bags,
and in 20 minutes it was all sucked into the ice.
[Aleksandr] It was really loud.
[Aleksandr] Right, let's go along the crevasse.
[Aleksandr] There you are, dear!
[Correspondent] At last!
[Aleksandr] Let's attach it here.
[Correspondent] How long does a barrel last?
[Aleksandr] Flying a helicopter, two minutes.
[Aleksandr] But to heat your tent,
it's enough for three days.
[Aleksandr] Right, let's go.
[Aleksandr] The plane's landing in an hour and a half.
[VO] This flight was carrying the participants of the annual marathon.
[VO] A 43 kilometres run at the North Pole.
[Aleksandr] They're definitely a brave bunch!
[Aleksandr] A 43 km run at the North Pole when it's -29C, is not something every person could do.
[Aleksandr] They run through snowdrifts and ice mounds.
[Aleksandr] It's tough. In four or five hours,
you'll see how they look and feel.
[Stanislav Boyarsky, Doctor, Barneo Arctic Camp] His beard's frozen to his mask.
[Correspondent] He's trying to defrost it? [Stanislav] Yes, it hurts.
[Stanislav] How many rounds did you do without stopping?
[Participant] Four. [Stanislav] Four?
[Stanislav] Get me a cup of hot water. [Correspondent] Must be serious!
[Woman] All the warming up isn't working.
[Stanislav] There's a whole icicle!
[Stanislav] That's it! Freedom!
[Stanislav] We gave him hot tea,
and with some cognac,
and brought him back to life.
[Stanislav] Cognac alone invigorated him even more.
[Stanislav] He said Russian doctors know their stuff,
and, with renewed energy, went back to conquer the Arctic.
[Scientist] The Pole! We're here!
[VO] Finally, the young scientists who had won the trip to Barneo arrived and began the experiments at once.
[Scientist] Right, 90-00.
[Scientist] Hooray!
[Scientist] Look, beautiful!
[VO] However, because of the problem with the camp's schedule
part of the equipment wasn't delivered on time,
so some experiments had to be canceled.
[Vasily Savin, Member, Arctic Expedition Forum] We asked the helicopter pilots,
on their expedition to the North Magnetic Pole,
to take a gradiometer along.
[Vasily] I hope they'll obtain some unique data describing the magnetic field.
[Scientist] The lab has asked us,
to measure the pollution levels.
[Aleksandr] Who fancied a walk?
[Aleksandr] This is what I meant.
[Aleksandr] It gets worse than this. It happens suddenly, and the show's over.
[Aleksey Maslakov] I really appreciate it, it's incredible.
[Aleksey Maslakov] At the same time, I feel guilty.
[Aleksey Maslakov] It weighs on my conscience.
[Aleksey Maslakov] One of the winners, Pavel Kovalevich,
gave up his place,
so I could fulfil my dream of visiting the North Pole.
[Aleksey Maslakov] After the forum ended, we campaigned to include him as a sixth member in the group.
[Aleksey Maslakov] It seems to have worked.
[Aleksey Maslakov] We were told he was coming to the North Pole too.
[VO] No one knew if the sixth team member would arrive.
[VO] They couldn't communicate with him.
[Marta Magnusdottir] They say today: oh, we want to swim in the ocean.
[Marta] I couldn't really say no, but I could not say yes, because it's really absurd.
[Scientist] She didn't regret it! [Scientist 1] That's for sure!
[VO] The Nigerian prince Og was ready to dive.
[VO] The Russian instructors had trained him when he was holidaying by the White Sea.
[VO] Everyone has his own plan for Barneo. But in the evening everyone's equal.
[VO] Here princes live in the same tent as you and eat the same porridge and cutlets.
[Og] Thank you very much!
[Og] Good!
[Og] May family say thank you to you.
[Og] Thank you very much
[Og] Oh, it's a great place. It's easy to be here. Thank you. Bye-bye!
[Scientists] Thank you so much!
[Maksim Syomin] The people here amazed me.
[Maksim] They're tough guys, and they look sullen.
[Maksim] Then you get talking and you realise they're good people.
[Maksim] Always ready to help, do everything for you.
[Maksim] It's a group of people, who,
because of an idea, and a goal they have,
are ready to live in this silence,
and make everything run like clockwork.
[Aleksandr] I'm amazed by the people who come here every year.
[Aleksandr] You don't meet such people in the city.
[Aleksandr] I've made a lot of friends here,
real friends.
[Aleksandr] If you've spent the winter working together,
then you can go anywhere with them.
[Aleksandr] If a person's insincere, something will happen.
[Aleksandr] The ice float will crack, or the plane will break down.
[Aleksandr] Look, they've attached a new part.
[Aleksandr] This piece had been torn off, too.
[Cameraman] Who'll fly it? [Aleksandr] I will.
[Aleksandr] Who else?
[Aleksandr] There's no one else.
[VO] The ice camp usually only operates for a month.
[VO] It's dangerous to stay here longer, as the sun rises higher and higher, and the ice starts to melt.
[VO] As soon as the base is disassembled, plans are made for the next year.
[VO] The young researchers intend to return, and this time for more than just a day.
[VO] Although quite a lot happened for one day.
[VO] On the way back they met the sixth participant, the one who gave up his place.
[VO] He had managed to reach Barneo after all.
[Scientists] Pavel!
[Scientist] They told us you wouldn't come!
[Scientist] We did it!
[Scientist] The sixth one's here!
[Scientist] We had a swim, so should you! [Scientist 1] In an ice hole!