Winter 2008 in Sakhalin

Can the ocean freeze? Yes.

Remarkably fast i thought! The first photo is taken at end of January 2008, the second only a month later, same spot. It was solid frozen we could walk on the water (didn't want to push it too far - you wouldn't last long if you fell in!)

I had the pleasure of spending 6 weeks in January and February 2008 on site in Sakhalin. It was the depth of winter. A chilly 30 degrees below zero, and when the wind picks up, it hurts. It was a busy rotation, but i managed to make the most of the remoteness and the abundant snow and get out and about on cross-country ski's at lunch times for some exercise. It was really cool to go off into the forest, with nothing but nature around. I couldn't help worry about skiing along and fall into a bear's den though.



The forest is very beautiful around the site. With no other development for a few hundred clicks from us, it is very much pristine forest. The snow is great too, very dry powder which makes stacking it off your skis quite fun. The sun generally shines, and even though its so cold, being dry cold means you don't really notice it if you have some good layers on. I actually enjoyed being outdoors, and worked up quite a sweat on the skis. Follow the link for some photos...

Winter 2008 at OPF

I had a training course in Yuzhno for a day, which gave me an escape from prison OPF, and managed to catch up with Fabs for dinner. We went to a Japanese restaurant and had a good Tepenyaki meal.

But as always, i was dying to get home. I had to do 6 weeks away this rotation and i was exhausted. Plus i was looking forward to our ski trip to France and Easter in Switzerland.

Steve