On thin ice

May 1, 2016 7:23 PM

Every winter in Russia's east, the rivers that vein the enormous open spaces of siberia freeze solid. Photographer Amos Chappel joins one group of men who make a living on these frozen highways.
posted by smoke (38 comments total)

Wow, that was amazing.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:38 PM on May 1, 2016 [9 favorites]

I was going to comment "Brrrr!" but I see it's already in the tags. Excellent, carry on.
posted by The otter lady at 7:40 PM on May 1, 2016

When this truck-shaped hole in the ice appeared in front of us, Ruslan braked hard, then crunched the truck into reverse, saying only, "That's fresh," before finding another route.

Hoo boy. Nope.
posted by rtha at 7:58 PM on May 1, 2016 [9 favorites]

Oh God this combines so many of my nightmares at once
posted by WidgetAlley at 8:09 PM on May 1, 2016 [3 favorites]

That was really great. Enjoyed the story, the photography and the design.
posted by stargell at 8:10 PM on May 1, 2016 [4 favorites]

I loved this! On my MacBook, though, I couldn't scroll down on the pages with text, so couldn't see the ends of the story. I'll have to try another way.

As a kid, I was fascinated by the effort to bring supplies across the ice in winter during the Siege of Leningrad. This is similar. Much danger and excitement in beautiful settings there.
posted by not that girl at 8:16 PM on May 1, 2016 [1 favorite]

Amazing story. Very moving to see that part of humanity's journey. And stunning photography.
posted by brambleboy at 8:16 PM on May 1, 2016

Previously: Brr, Brrr, Brrrrrr, and Brrrrrrr.
posted by feckless at 8:29 PM on May 1, 2016 [1 favorite]

Loved this, even as my stomach was clenched. Thanks for posting.
posted by SweetTeaAndABiscuit at 8:29 PM on May 1, 2016 [1 favorite]

hope he made it back....
posted by andrewcooke at 8:31 PM on May 1, 2016 [4 favorites]

Man, that is something, and an excellent piece of photo journalism at that.

That has a whole The Wages of Fear vibe about it, and no, I don't think I could even begin to think about doing that for a living. Very brave indeed, these truckers.
posted by Phlegmco(tm) at 8:38 PM on May 1, 2016 [4 favorites]

The whole piece was fantastic, but that one picture of Ruslan in the bathtub is so joyful that I'll be thinking about it all day tomorrow. Thanks for this.
posted by phooky at 8:42 PM on May 1, 2016 [5 favorites]

Terrific! Thanks!
posted by bird internet at 8:48 PM on May 1, 2016

Everything about Russia has a 'living on the edge of where humans should actually be capable of living' vibe to it. I'd kind of love to live like that...but reading about it is so much easier.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:54 PM on May 1, 2016 [3 favorites]

"I loved this! On my MacBook, though, I couldn't scroll down on the pages with text, so couldn't see the ends of the story. I'll have to try another way."

Yeah, that seems to be a design flaw or maybe we're just getting linked to the mobile version of the page?

Either way, on your Macbook, see if you can scroll by touching the trackpad simultaneously with 2 fingers and then moving them up or down.
posted by I-baLL at 9:10 PM on May 1, 2016

These drivers are also continuing something of a Russian tradition in navigating these long, treacherous frozen river-roads. This story brought to mind Korolenko's short story At-Davan, which is set during a long and frozen trip up the river Lena, north from Yakutsk. (Only that it's 1880, and with horse and sleigh, not truck):

"W-well! Of all the r-roads!" exclaimed Mikhailo Ivanovich Kopylenkov, my
travelling companion. "The damnedest ice-track, the worst possible! Do I speak
the truth or not?"

Sadly enough, Mikhailo Ivanovich spoke the undeniable truth. We were
driving down the Lena. Across the full breadth of the river jutted in every
direction huge ice hummocks which in the autumn the swift-flowing, infuriated
river had disgorged in her battle against the bitter Siberian frost. At long last the
frost scored victory. The river froze, and the formidable hummocks, a chaos of
icebergs, piled up in disarray, jammed in at the base, or tossed high up in some
inexplicable way, remained a mute reminder of the titanic straggle; then, too, here
and there gaped strips of never freezing water in which rushing sprays swirled and
bubbled. Over these ice-holes hovered ponderous clouds of vapour as though
indeed hot water gushed underneath.
...
And so for hundreds upon hundreds of versts. All week long the measly little
speck of our sleigh had been bobbing in between the hummocks, like a skiff in a
rough sea.

posted by Kabanos at 9:28 PM on May 1, 2016 [10 favorites]

Great post - thanks!
posted by hapax_legomenon at 9:46 PM on May 1, 2016

Thank you, smoke.
posted by clockzero at 9:53 PM on May 1, 2016 [1 favorite]

Oh so beautiful, but yes, Brrrr
posted by anadem at 10:06 PM on May 1, 2016

Mitsubishi Fuzo or Tatra 815 - breakdowns mean death, and the Fuzos and Tatras don't break down, under all conditions, unlike the ubiquitous Kamaz's. The very definition of penny wise and pound foolish, buying a Kamaz for anything that requires its driver to return safely after delivering its load on time.
posted by Slap*Happy at 10:20 PM on May 1, 2016

This was great. Every so often since reading about the arctic and Siberian explorers, I'll open Google earth and scroll around that vast landscape, retracing some journeys I read about. Awesome to see it at eye level.
posted by blahblahblah at 11:03 PM on May 1, 2016

Yet another "wow", here. Great story, great photos, thanks for posting, smoke.
posted by soundguy99 at 11:04 PM on May 1, 2016

In Russia's Sakha republic, around five times the size of France [...]

In US terms, that's 982 times the size of Rhode Island!
posted by Joe in Australia at 12:08 AM on May 2, 2016 [1 favorite]

I am so very, very weary of "creative" websites that force you to view photo galleries like this, usually resulting in me giving up very soon. But this is a fantastic bit of web design and I hope it catches on. In addition, great photos and great photojournalism.
posted by zardoz at 1:33 AM on May 2, 2016 [1 favorite]

Well, that was great. Thanks !
posted by nicolin at 2:19 AM on May 2, 2016

Wonderful stuff. I've recently been reading Lionel Davidson's Kolymsky Heights which is set in these parts.
posted by poseathon at 3:03 AM on May 2, 2016 [1 favorite]

Spoiler alert?

i still can't imagine how simple chains around tires allowed them to back up a partially-submerged, fully-loaded heavy truck back onto the ice.

yikes!
posted by bitteroldman at 4:31 AM on May 2, 2016

Great photography. Impressed that he managed to keep his camera gear functional in those temperatures.
posted by octothorpe at 4:31 AM on May 2, 2016 [1 favorite]

Truly another world, and fascinating. I'm so soft here in California...
posted by honey badger at 4:58 AM on May 2, 2016 [1 favorite]

The photographs are indeed great.

"I loved this! On my MacBook, though, I couldn't scroll down on the pages with text, so couldn't see the ends of the story. I'll have to try another way."

For me, the scrolling worked on one page but not on another.
posted by Dip Flash at 5:00 AM on May 2, 2016

I spent around two hours this past weekend mapping out my imaginary trip across Russia. Reading the wiki travel section on Yakutsk (" potentially the coldest city in the world") made me decide I'm a softie who'll avoid Yakutsk.

However, Yakutsk appears to be home to the world's only natural cryogenic museum - the entry reads "The trip underground is accompanied by detailed lectures (in Russian, naturally) about the essence of this natural phenomenon, and also displays of the preserved exhibits within the natural "freezer." Do not forget to wear very warm clothes! "

So, fantastic photo journalism link. Thank you! It has reaffirmed my decision to never-ever head to Yakutsk or further north-east.
posted by kariebookish at 5:04 AM on May 2, 2016

Whoa, shit, harrowing. My job is embarrassingly safe/easy compared to this. Thank you very much, perspective-shifting MetaFilter post!
posted by heyho at 7:27 AM on May 2, 2016

Fascinating and terrifying—thanks for the post!

> On my MacBook, though, I couldn't scroll down on the pages with text

I had this problem on my laptop, so I switched to my iPhone and it was fine.
posted by languagehat at 8:48 AM on May 2, 2016

Surprised there is no mention of climate change, which has been wrecking havoc on ice dependent infrastructure across the far north. Most of these ice roads used to be open for much longer than they are now.
posted by rockindata at 9:06 AM on May 2, 2016 [1 favorite]

this was terrific.

ill never know exactly why (because i was an idiot and never asked her) but my grandmother, who died a couple years ago at the ripe old age of 97 and hated television and crude-ness above all else, told me in her last years that she LOVED "ice road truckers," the tv show. and this made me think of her, and that weird fact, so thank you.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 10:31 AM on May 2, 2016

Ice roads are a feature of the Canadian north too, and climate change is making the job a lot harder. A truck went through the ice a few hours away from Yellowknife about a month ago, with fortunately no injuries.
posted by bonehead at 12:50 PM on May 2, 2016

The photographer did an AMA on r/photography yesterday.
posted by octothorpe at 10:10 AM on May 3, 2016 [1 favorite]

Ice roads are a feature of the Canadian north too

Indeed, as featured in reality TV for the past decade.
posted by Sys Rq at 10:58 PM on May 3, 2016 [1 favorite]