Mikael (left), his wife Titti and exploration comrade, Johan Ivarsson..
Mikael's face is invisible at
-57 degrees!
(Click on any of these images to enlarge it.)
Mikael with two Yakut hunters
|
Mikael (left), his wife Titti and exploration comrade, Johan Ivarsson.. |
Mikael's face is invisible at
-57 degrees! |
Mikael with two Yakut hunters |
The Swedish explorer and Long Rider Mikael Strandberg and his compatriot, young Johan Ivarsson, were honoured in February at Hasselbacken Palace in Stockholm by receiving the prestigious Silver Medal awarded by the Travellers Club. The was presented to Mikael by the Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf and the chairman of the club, Jan Mårtensson.
This is the fist time in many years that the medal of honour has been given by this old and prestigious club, which was formed in the year 1911. Other honourees include Dr Sven Hedin, Dr Otto Nordenskiöld and world renowned photographer, Lennart Nilsson.
“This is, of course, an honour” , Mikael says, “but I feel intensely happy that the Medals were given due to the fact that we documented the ethnic people living along the Kolyma River in the North-Eastern part of Siberia, not due to the physical adventure we endured. We need more attention on little known local people and their culture, and less on the eternal quest for personal heroics. I am still amazed at the fact that the history of exploration is full of glorification of white people conquering poles etcetera, when one considers that local people have travelled, and still live, in the polar areas for the last 5000 years, long before either Scott, Amundsen and Peary arrived.”
Spoken like a true Long Rider, Mikael!
The Siberian Expedition has received a lot of attention in the world wide media and is considered one of the coldest expeditions ever made.