In February 2019, sportsmen Ray Zahab and Stefano Gregoretti are planning to cross the Kamchatka Peninsula. For the first time in the history it will be done not with a car or any other transport, but ski. The route runs through frozen rivers, mountain passes and volcano caldera. The adventures expect to travel 455 km in 25 days.
Ray Zahab is an experienced traveller from Canada. He has trekked unsupported the South Pole, ran across the Sahara and the Atakama Desert, crossed Lake Baikal. His friend from Italy Stafano Gregoretti is a prominent sportsman as well. He is an ultra runner and a finalist of several Ironaman Triathlons in Europe and the USA. The duo has gone more than 5000 km by foot, bicycles or ski during expeditions in Canada, Namibia and Patagonia. Now, the travellers have decided to discover the Russian Far East.
“Kamchatka is the place I have dreamed about since I was a kid. After finishing the Running the Sahara expedition I realized that once I will manage to make one of the most important travels in my life. I sincerely believe that we are able to meet the challenge others see as impossible to complete.”
The expedition “TransKamchatka” begins on the 19th of February. Ray and Stefano will attempt to cross the Kamchatka Peninsula, from west to east, on foot. They will start from the shore of the Sea of Okhotsk and finish the trip on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. During 25-30 days the adventures will travel more than 450 km. They will navigate through mountain valleys, frozen river systems and across volcano caldera. All gear, equipment and food the sportsmen will carry themselves — in sleds weighing around 80 kilos. The expected air temperature is −25-40°С.
Ray and Stefano have been preparing for “TransKamchatka” expedition for a year. Running, biking, skiing and a lot of strength trainings were in their program. Most of the exercises were aimed to develop strength, endurance and technicality of actions.
During the travel on the website of the expedition Ray Zahab will talk live about passing the route. RussiaDiscovery travel agency and guide Konstantin Langburd are organizers of the trip. Specially for the expedition we have created a detailed itinerary, planned the logistics and provided all necessary recommendations about gear, climate and area features.
Read what obstacles the sportsmen had in the expedition and how it finished in our article "TransKamchatka: the end of the expedition"
Would you like to explore the peninsula in the Far East as well? Check our travels to Kamchatka. In case some help is needed, send a message on our email hello@russiadiscovery.ru or call +7 495 800-8-800/+7 916 674-56-64 (WhatsApp, Viber, Telegram, WeChat)