Petropavlovsk - Nome
After a thorough weather briefing and a detailed flight planning
we
took off in the morning. Natalia our Russian handling agent
did a
great job (Natalia, we would like to send you your pictures,
please
send us your Email address, we lost it). This lap was going
to be the
most demanding of this trip. The general conditions had to
fit into
the tight envelope. We had enough fuel onboard to reach Nome
plus two
hours 30 minutes reserve. The headwind could not exceed more
then 8
knots, the chronically critical weather in Nome had to be
at least
IFR conditions, the enroute weather had to be clear of ice
and
turbulences. We requested the most economic departure and
route to
Nome which was granted. The sentiments when boarding the airplane
were tense but the spirits were high. We had a good feeling
about the
flight although the weather in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky was
lousy.
Soon after take off we cleared from the clouds and a fabulous
flight
of a little more than 9 hours was laying in front of us. More
volcanos on the Kamchatsky peninsula.
A lot of these volcanos are still active. The Kamchatsky peninsula
is
gorgeous to look at. Waste uninhabited mountain-ranges full
with
local wildlife.
The snow has not gone yet completely iin this area. The remaining
patches underline the topography producing just beautiful
patterns.
Closing on the Bering Strait Anadyr is the second last town
we saw.
It was one of our alternate airfields if the weather in Nome
would
have been deteriorating. Just before passing Anadyr we checked
with
ATC the weather in Nome: PAOM 052253Z 26007KT P10SM SCT030
SCT150
09/06, the weather had not changed since we left Petropavlovsk.
What
a relief. Now we new for sure we can make it.
Marvelous fiords leave the east-most part of asia a mixture
of ground
and water.
And the last Russian town, just beside the Bering Strait,
Providenya.
Nestled along the seashore this fishing town has a beautiful
view
into it's fiord.
At first we thought it would be fog. Then we realised it is
ICE! This
is a picture of the Bering Straight itself.
The Bering Strait is a sea strait between Cape Dezhnev, Russia,
the
easternmost point (169°43' W) of the Asian continent and
Cape Prince
of Wales, Alaska, the westernmost point (168°05' W) of
the American
continent, with latitude of about 65° 40' North, slightly
south of
the polar circle.
The strait is approximately 85 km (58 mi) wide, with a depth
of 30–50
m (100–165 ft) and connects the Chukchi Sea (part of
the Arctic
Ocean) in the north with the Bering Sea (part of the Pacific
Ocean)
in the south. It is named after Vitus Bering, a Danish-born
Russian
explorer who crossed the strait in 1728.
The Diomede Islands lie directly in the middle of the Bering
Strait.
Little Diomede town has a small school in the Bering Strait
School
District.
Suggestions have been made for the construction of a bridge
spanning
the Bering Strait between Alaska and Siberia, dubbed by some
as the
Intercontinental Peace Bridge, and alternatively, for a connecting
tunnel underneath the strait.
During the ice ages, the area of the strait was a land bridge
known
as the Bering land bridge.
In March, 2006, Briton Karl Bushby and French adventurer Dimitri
Kieffer crossed the strait on foot, walking across a frozen
56 mile
section in 15 days. (BBC) (although they were soon arrested
for
entering Russia not through a border control.) from Wikipedia
A closer look of that fog.
The first glimpse of the new continent, America.
Nome, pop:3505, there is no street to the rest of the world.
The only
connections are by ship and plane. Nome is famous for it's
bars.
We made it!
Greetings from above.
Nome, 12 midnight!
