For more than 100 years, the status of the coldest settlement on Earth has been disputed by two settlements in the north of Yakutia: the town of Verkhoyansk and the village of Oymyakon, 626 kilometres away from each other.

The difference between their official temperature records is only 0.1°С.

The team of polar meteorologists and a small group of enthusiasts who decided to pass the test of extremely low temperatures will go to the Pole of Cold of the Northern Hemisphere – to Oymyakon and Verkhoyansk regions of Yakutia – in the statistically coldest period of the year.

The challenge is to determine the exact location of the absolute temperature minimum of the inhabited part of the Earth for the year of measurements, to "catch" and document the lowest temperature record and then pass this data to climatologists working on global warming.

Almost like in space, where the thermometer does not rise above −50 degrees Celsius, alone with themselves and surrounded by wildlife, Cold Conquerors will cover hundreds of kilometres of Yakutia's white silence on deer sleds.

Traveling through the taiga around these camps on deer sleds, participants of the global challenge will take temperature measurements with high-precision equipment and transfer their data to expedition headquarters.

Challenging oneself offers the most valuable life lessons. Climbing Everest, vipassana and ayahuasca practices and the Ironman Challenge, just like Cold Conquerors, are primarily about personal transformation, confronting the present self and willingly choosing hardship.

For such a person, harsh circumstances are not a problem but an opportunity. Diversity in the world in its extreme manifestations sharpens the senses and mobilizes resources, attracting strong and curious people. It is these people, their personal experiences, that excite interest and attract the attention of others. It is these people whom the global challenge Cold Conquerors targets.

Due to the specific nature of the studied location, no more than 6 or 10 persons per year can set a planetary temperature record by joining the expedition as part of the challenge tour.

Yakutia is a huge territory in north-eastern Russia, in the heart of Siberia, little studied and unexposed to mass tourism. When you describe Yakutia, the word "most" is not a mere advertising trick but a hard fact: it is the world's first in many ways. Even the most sophisticated travellers get a fundamentally new experience here.

Following the expedition route, participants of the Cold Conquerors challenge will not only record the lowest temperature on Earth, but also become the discoverers of the pristine Yakut nature in all its beauty and the culturally unique Northern indigenous minorities.

It is merely 0.00002% of the world's population or one in 5.5 million people

1,371 travellers

It is just over 25% of countries; the Pole of Cold remains terra incognita for representatives of 75% of countries

Nationals
of 50 states

Perhaps you will be the first citizen of your country to visit the coldest inhabited place on the planet

More than 50% of those who visited the Pole of Cold are Russians and Germans

Russia - 656 people (47.8%)

Germany - 151 people (11.0%)

France - 77 people (5.6%)

China - 72 people (5.3%)

Japan - 57 people (4.2%)

Great Britain - 32 people (2.3%)

Switzerland - 27 people (2.0%)

Poland - 26 people (1.9%)

Italy - 25 people (1.8%)

USA - 23 people (1.7%)

actor, film director, musician, martial artist

Steven Seagal

"Yakutia is an amazing place. I get a very special feeling here. Maybe it's my blood calling. We took DNA tests and learned that I have ancestors from Baikal and Yakutia. In general, I'm a Russian Mongol. Yakuts also belong to the Mongoloid race, so their culture is my culture."

"This is the coldest piece of land I've ever seen. I've always dreamed of going to Siberia. Delightful nature and very hospitable people. I couldn't refuse them: I swam in an ice-hole and even went to the sauna where I was beaten with branches. It was awesome."

"We were very tired, we ate and slept very little... But all this was compensated by the beauty of Yakutia and its people; I was pleasantly surprised by the concise Russian speech, hospitality, elegance."

Tom Hardy

Natalia Vodianova

actor, producer, screenwriter, BAFTA award winner, Oscar nominee

supermodel, president of the Naked Hearts charity foundation

professional boxer, light heavyweight absolute world champion

Roy Jones Jr.

"Yakutia has made a very powerful impression on me. It's freezing, but also stunningly beautiful. I was told that despite the cold, there's warmth coming from the people. Now I've seen it for myself."

"My girlfriend's parents live in Siberia, and I was very interested to visit these parts. Have you ever seen snowdrifts in Yakutsk? This is something incredible! I just didn't know how to walk on them."

"Yakutia is home to the coldest inhabited place not only in Russia, but also on Earth. The region is extremely vulnerable to climate change - rising temperatures pose a major threat to its indigenous people, their way of life and their natural habitat."

Jesse Eisenberg

Leonardo DiCaprio

theatre and film actor, writer, playwright, Oscar and Golden Globe nominee

actor, producer, Oscar, Golden Globe and BAFTA winner

Yakutia is the largest territorial entity in the world in terms of area

#1

time zones, hours ahead

3

and 400 metres of permafrost: it is the coldest permanently inhabited region of the planet

-71,2°С

It is one of the richest regions in the world in diamonds: a quarter of the world's diamond reserves is here.

¼

years: the oldest northern human settlement and the largest number of skeletons of ancient animals

>6000

rivers, 800,000 lakes, surviving forests, rare animals and Northern Lights

700 000

This includes 20 days of expedition of which 19 days will involve temperature measurements. Participants themselves decide how long they are going to stay, given the expedition's harsh conditions. To increase the chance of "catching" the planet's lowest temperature of the year and setting a personal record, the maximum length of stay in base camp is recommended. The duration of the expedition can be extended by 1 week by prior request of a challenge tour participant.

22 days

Participants will be divided into two groups. According to the results of the draw, one of the groups will camp in Oymyakon and the other in Verkhoyansk settlement of Yakutia.

2 base camps

Each group consists of one inspector scientist, two indigenous guides and two challenge tour participants.

5 people in each group

A tent for the inspector scientist and participants of the challenge tour, a tent for the guides, a tent for the storage of provisions and equipment, a personal-hygiene tent (a field bath, a toilet, water). By additional agreement, individual tents can be provided for the participants.

4 tents at each base camp

100% measurement accuracy

Temperature measurements are carried out at base camps at 6:00 a.m., 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. using standard Stevenson screens for low-temperature measurement equipped with alcohol thermometers according to the method approved by the Federal Service for Hydrometeorology. Observation data is logged, recorded on video and transmitted to expedition headquarters via satellite Internet connection. In addition, daily measurements are carried out by expedition method: challenge tour participants on deer sleds accompanied by tour guides take turns to search and tour the area within a 10–15 km radius from the base camp, where low temperatures can occur.. The temperature outside the base camp is recorded by a mobile meteorological complex, which includes a portable Stevenson screen on a tripod, a TM-9 alcohol thermometer and a digital thermometer. This data is also recorded on video and in the expedition log and then transmitted to the expedition headquarters.

5 Survival School courses

Despite the fact that the safety of scientists and participants is constantly monitored by the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the expedition teams themselves perform all daily camp activities, such as heating, provision of water and food and arranging movements in the taiga. In order to develop the researchers' skills of living in extreme cold, the reindeer herders – native inhabitants of the Pole of Cold – will teach them to cook traditional dishes, winter hunt and fish, catch deer and steer reindeer sleds, instal temporary shelters, gather firewood and drinking water and make warm clothes.

Transport

• airplanes
• helicopters
• automobiles
• snowmobiles
• reindeer sledding

Life Support

• furnace-heated tents insulated with deer skins

Infrastructure and Security

• gasoline generators at each base camp
• sanitary tent
• Iridium satellite phones with Internet access
• private radio stations to communicate with other participants
• warm outfit and national costumes of indigenous reindeer herders
• daily monitoring by the emergency services of the Ministry of Emergency Situations

Measuring Equipment

• stationary Stevenson screens for low temperature measurement at base camps with two alcohol thermometers TM-9-2 and TM-2
• mobile meteorological complexes for temperature measurement by the expedition, including portable Stevenson screens on a tripod, TM-9 alcohol thermometers and digital thermometers

Operator of the Cold Conquerors project and the copyright holder of the corresponding trademark is Cold Conquerors LLC. The expedition is supported by the Government of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) in partnership with key R&D expert centres: the Russian Geographical Society, the Permafrost Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Federal Service for Hydrometeorology, and is sponsored by companies and private donors who also believe in the importance of scientific research of global climate change for future generations.

Government of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

Russian Geographical Society

Permafrost Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Federal
Service for Hydrometeorology

Gazprom Space Systems

"The idea to organize an expedition to find the lowest temperatures in the inhabited part of the Earth came to me about 15 years ago. At that time, I brought a group of German amateur meteorologists to Oymyakon settlement. The Germans assembled an interesting map of meteorological data: in the settlement itself within a two-kilometre radius the temperature ranged from −48.8˚C to −51.6˚C, i.e. it fluctuated by 2.8 degrees, while Oymyakon and Verkhoyansk compete for the title of the coldest settlement on Earth because of a 0.1-degree difference. What happens to the temperature in other areas near the Pole of Cold, where no one has ever measured it? Is it possible that new world records with a "minus" sign will be found there, or will we see that it is getting warmer year after year? Cold Conquerors will answer these questions."

Vyacheslav Ipatyev

CEO of Cold Conquerors LLC,
academician of the Russian National Academy of Tourism, author of the project

"Both of the Earth's Poles of Cold are in Russia. Therefore, our country is one of the main participants of all significant international conventions that regulate the processes of monitoring, exchange of significant meteorological information, control and management of climate. And Yakutia, for obvious reasons, has a special role here. The Cold Conquerors project will enable us not only to obtain ground measurements of annual temperature lows in hard-to-reach and poorly studied areas of Siberia, but also to draw the world's attention to climate change. The expedition has another important human dimension. It will contribute to the preservation of the culture of indigenous minorities of the Far North."

Aysen Nikolaev

Head of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

"The climate of Verkhoyansk and Oymyakon settlements of Yakutia is accepted by the whole world as the standard of a severely continental type of climate with extremely harsh conditions and is called the Pole of Cold of the inhabited part of the Earth. This territory is covered by a sparse network of meteorological stations, but we have determined from thermal infrared images of Landsat 8 satellite that areas with the lowest temperatures can be located in the valleys of small rivers, where meteorological observations have not yet been conducted. Cold Conquerors' test expedition of January 2020 confirmed our assumption. The uniqueness of climatic conditions confirmed by participants of the global challenge will make it possible in the future to create here a Pole of Cold natural park and later nominate it to the UNESCO World Heritage List."

Rosalia Ivanova

cryogenic landscape lab research fellow
Melnikov Permafrost Institute SB RAS

"The Cold Conquerors project combines seemingly mutually exclusive things: scientific observation and self-knowledge. But under extreme conditions, these are inseparable. Personal actions for the sake of big science (the completeness of our climate data determines the global strategy for responding to the change) has a powerful impact on the "conquerors" themselves. Greater responsibility opens the way to personal changes. New temperature measurements force us to be more mindful of our natural environment. In the expedition, you acutely understand the fragility of the world's balance and take responsibility for the planet you have tamed."

Natalia Belyakova

member of the Institute of Place Management, journalist, TV presenter, associate professor at the Higher School of Economics, project consultant

"The Cold Conquerors project challenges the limits of human endurance. But it also becomes a test for communication systems. In an extreme climate, uninterrupted high-quality satellite communication is one of the conditions of survival of the expedition members. After familiarizing ourselves with the project, we supplied the test tour with our proven technical solution based on Newtec Sat3Play satellite communication stations with a 75-cm-diameter antenna working via geostationary communication satellites Yamal-401 and Yamal-300K. The equipment proved excellent in the test tour. In 2022, Gazprom Space Systems will continue and expand its cooperation with the global challenge organizers. We are convinced that the project should be developed for the sake of the common future of humankind."

Dmitry Sevastyanov

CEO of Gazprom Space Systems

St. Petersburg Arctic Committee

"We believe that the support to the Cold Conquerors project is in line with the purpose and mission of the Russian Geographical Society to facilitate tourism and share information about our broad and beautiful country. Of no less importance is the possibility to enrich our knowledge about the arctic lands, in a region which serves as a pole of cold and plays an important role in understanding the specifics of climate change and its consequences. Thanks to the cold conquerors who will be doing thorough measurements adding to the data derived from meteorological stations and satellites we will come closer to understanding the nature of extreme temperatures."

Kirill Chistyakov

Vice-President of the Russian Geographical Society, board member of the Society's Scientific Council

The Cold Conquerors global challenge is open to cooperation with pioneering international and Russian companies as well as individual philanthropists. Those who are willing to contribute to global climate research and the preservation of the culture of indigenous peoples of the North.

"The Cold Conquerors is the world's first and only challenge tour, a pursuit of climatic extremes. Want to catch the lowest temperature in the habitable part of the planet? You are going to have to sweat."

"The Cold Conquerors' main trophy is the officially registered lowest temperature of the year, which may be the last on Earth in the face of the global climate change."

"In January, the average temperature at the Pole of Cold corresponds to the yearly average temperature on Mars. To live in Yakutia in winter is, without exaggeration, like going to space."

"The territory between Yakutia's Verkhoyansk and Oymyakon is unique, it has no equals other than Antarctica. But here, the Pole of Cold is inhabited."

"We hope to identify the locations with the lowest temperatures in the inhabited part of the Earth that will supplement the official meteorological observations."

"The Cold Conquerors project demonstrates the capabilities of Yakutia as a testing ground for technical and living systems under extreme cold and temperature fluctuations."

8 days

Participants of the test tour took daily temperature measurements with alcohol thermometers at 6:00 a.m., 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. according to the method approved by the Federal Service for Hydrometeorology.

-52,4°С

Temperature record of the test expedition established in the Oymyakon region. The minimum temperature in Verkhoyansk settlement for the same time period was –50.5°С.

10 participants

Each of the two groups had 5 people in it: one inspector scientist, two journalists and two guides.

100% excitement

Living in tents, when it is +22°C inside while a record-breaking frost ravages just behind a thin tarpaulin; getting trained in the Survival School by indigenous peoples of Yakutia where you master such skills as building a fire in the frost, extraction of water and cooking, deer riding, taiga hunting and ice fishing.

1st place Apple Photo

Russian photographer Konstantin Chalabov, a member of the test expedition, took a photo in the Tomponsky district of Yakutia and won Apple's Shot on iPhone Night Mode photo contest.

Phil Schiller

"Konstantin's photo is a super-dramatic image shot with Night mode. It could be the opening shot of a great Cold War spy movie. It challenges us with intriguing questions – 'Where is the driver? Where are they going? Why stop out here?' A cool mist permeates the blue Russian hillside and snow-covered ground, framing the lonely vehicle with bright red lights that hint at an unknown danger."

Apple's senior vice president

Brooks Kraft

"A movie-like scene that leaves you curious about what happened in this snowy remote setting. Night mode captures the blue light exterior hue beautifully as well as the incandescent lighting inside the cab of the truck and the truck lighting – a wide variety of lighting."

photographer, holder of the title of International Photographer of the Year 2013, member of the jury of the iPhone Photography Award

member of the test expedition, photographer, correspondent at Vokrug sveta magazine

Konstantin Chalabov

"When you find yourself in extreme cold, you start to really appreciate the simple things."

"Though our expedition is called Cold Conquerors, when you meet more and more locals you begin to understand who are the real conquerors there."

"This is a unique journey to the roots, because the real cold conquerors are the Yakuts and the Evens who live a full life here. When you get to know them, you realize the value of what you have. That must be the main mission of our project."

Ilia Voskresensky

Natalia Belyakova

member of the test expedition, photographer, popular travel blogger

member of the test expedition, member of the Institute of Place Management, journalist, TV presenter, associate professor at the Higher School of Economics

"It is very beautiful here! A true ice kingdom. Look at these views!"

Pavel Matveev

member of the test expedition, blogger, author of Inspiration Book 2.0