Writer and photographer Cathleen Calkins visits Kamchatka for Backcountry Magazineto climb and ski.
BOOKS
"Trekking in Russia and Central Asia" by Frith Maier remains the authoritative source in English for information about the mountains and wild areas of Kamchatka
STEPAN KRASHENINNIKOV was born in 1711 during Russia's greatest period of exploration and expansion. As a student, he was invited to join Vitus Bering's Second Kamchatka Expedition which departed St. Petersburg in 1735. He was distinguished by an aptitude for history and geography, and he was permitted to pursue his own interests. Krasheninnikov was sent ahead to Kamchatka to make advance preparations for the rest of the scientific team. Upon arrival at Bolsheretsk, his ship foundered his supplies and two year supply of food were lost. He was not deterred; he went on to explore Kamchatka on foot and virtually alone for the next three years.
"In that distant primitive land of mountains, avalanches, earthquakes, quagmires and volcanoes, besieged by hostile natives, mosquitoes and lack of food, Krasheninnikov observed, collected, noted. Seeming nothing escaped his notice."-Introduction to 1972 edition of Explorations of Kamchatka.
He ultimately produced a monumental work, Opisanie Zemli Kamchatki (The Description of the Land of Kamchatka) about the geography, ethnography and history of the region. The work has been translated into English and printed by the Oregon Historical Society ("Explorations of Kamchatka 1735-1741," by Stepan P. Krasheninnikov, Oregon Historical Society Press, Portland, 1972).
GEORGE KENNON joined the Russian American Telegraph Company in 1864 to survey a route for a telegraph line from the Bering Straight across Siberia. He traveled via dogsled up the Kamchatka Peninsula as far West as the area now home to the city of Magadan. His adventures en route, including many interesting encounters with the native peoples, are recounted in his classic book, "Tent Life in Siberia."
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