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Into the Abyss: Explorers on the Edge of Survival
In 2003 Benedict Allen trained a team of hardened "icedogs" and headed into the remotest corner of Siberia to cross the ice of the Bering Strait alone, unarmed and without backup of any kind. As problems began to pile up, he and his ten faithful dogs found themselves heading ever northward through frozen tundra and pack ice, and on a night of sub-zero temperatures, they plummeted off a cliff.
As he fell into the abyss, Allen asked himself: Why do explorers put themselves in such dangerous situations? And - once the worst possible situation occurs - how do they find the resources to survive?
As he fell into the abyss, Allen asked himself: Why do explorers put themselves in such dangerous situations? And - once the worst possible situation occurs - how do they find the resources to survive?
- GenresTravelNonfictionRussia
Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
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78 people want to read
About the author
Benedict Allen
23 books20 followersBenedict Colin Allen is a British writer, traveller and adventurer known for his technique of immersion among indigenous peoples from whom he acquires skills for hazardous journeys through unfamiliar terrain. In 2010, Allen was elected a Trustee of the Royal Geographical Society. He has recorded six TV series for the BBC, either alone or with partial or total use of camera crews, and has published ten books, including the Faber Book of Exploration, which he edited.[1]
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 24, 2020
This is Benedict Allen's tenth book - a fact he reminds us of near the end of the book, after using many, many quotes from his diaries and previous books (along with other explorers) as his inspiration, and to help him focus his efforts in survival. I think that is why we have such an ambiguous title - which doesn't highlight this book is his journey, indicating that it is somehow about i>explorers in a wider context. Really it isn't - he just quotes lots of them.
The authors ambition was to cross from Russia to Alaska - the Bering Strait - by dog sled. This is something that the natives are rumoured to have done at times when the weather is perfect, but only rarely, and never at a whim. Benedict Allen is looking for new goals, not following the footsteps of others, but breaking new ground, and this is what he came up with.
The Russian Far East, Chukotka, is where he borrows his dog team and sledge, builds his rapport with them, learns his way with them, and then ultimately leaves his guides to set out on his own.
Chukotka, the land of the Chukchis, was that unfortunate chunk of the Russian Far East sticking out east towards America, cut off from the remainder of Siberia by mountains and from the rest of the world by icy seas. It had a balmy climate - by Siberian terms - with temperatures dropping to only minus thirty or forty. It was the wind, through, that was the killer. The Chukchi Peninsula, it was said, boasted not a single tree.
"Even the ordinary Siberians feel sorry for those Siberians!" chortled a Russian I met in a cafe when I asked his opinion. p13
His guides Yasha and Tolia are both experienced with dog teams, not so much Ivan, his interpreter who is a city man, but all three have their challenges with alcohol. At some point each of them lets Allen down, but equally each proves his worth more times that not.
As much as this book is about the preparation and training (the solo departure happens at page 220, and the book ends around 40 pages later), it is also about the authors mental preparation, and his mechanisms for coping, and thinking his way out of problematic situations.
Personally I found the quotations from his previous experiences, and the quotations from many other explorers too excessive, but they are easy enough to skip over. I enjoyed his affection for his dogs, which grew as he learned more about their distinct personalities. Top Dog, Flashy White, Mad Jack, Jeremy, Bernard, Muttley, Dennis, Frank, Basil and Blot. Each have a role, each provides balance to others.
So does Benedict Allen achieve his goal of crossing the Bering Strait? That would be a spoiler.
3.5 stars, rounded down.
The authors ambition was to cross from Russia to Alaska - the Bering Strait - by dog sled. This is something that the natives are rumoured to have done at times when the weather is perfect, but only rarely, and never at a whim. Benedict Allen is looking for new goals, not following the footsteps of others, but breaking new ground, and this is what he came up with.
The Russian Far East, Chukotka, is where he borrows his dog team and sledge, builds his rapport with them, learns his way with them, and then ultimately leaves his guides to set out on his own.
Chukotka, the land of the Chukchis, was that unfortunate chunk of the Russian Far East sticking out east towards America, cut off from the remainder of Siberia by mountains and from the rest of the world by icy seas. It had a balmy climate - by Siberian terms - with temperatures dropping to only minus thirty or forty. It was the wind, through, that was the killer. The Chukchi Peninsula, it was said, boasted not a single tree.
"Even the ordinary Siberians feel sorry for those Siberians!" chortled a Russian I met in a cafe when I asked his opinion. p13
His guides Yasha and Tolia are both experienced with dog teams, not so much Ivan, his interpreter who is a city man, but all three have their challenges with alcohol. At some point each of them lets Allen down, but equally each proves his worth more times that not.
As much as this book is about the preparation and training (the solo departure happens at page 220, and the book ends around 40 pages later), it is also about the authors mental preparation, and his mechanisms for coping, and thinking his way out of problematic situations.
Personally I found the quotations from his previous experiences, and the quotations from many other explorers too excessive, but they are easy enough to skip over. I enjoyed his affection for his dogs, which grew as he learned more about their distinct personalities. Top Dog, Flashy White, Mad Jack, Jeremy, Bernard, Muttley, Dennis, Frank, Basil and Blot. Each have a role, each provides balance to others.
So does Benedict Allen achieve his goal of crossing the Bering Strait? That would be a spoiler.
3.5 stars, rounded down.
March 26, 2023
I just couldn't get into this book - I've really enjoyed other books by the same author, but in this , at least at the start it seemed to leap from topic to topic rather than following a chronological sequence. In addition there are asides in different type, which are boxed off from the main text (I was reading the paperback) which appeared in the middle of something else, and completely took away the thread of the narrative. I gave up on the beginning, as I was making no headway, and started at random further through. Marginally better but still these weird asides interrupted. It feels to me like a reasonable book in theory but still in dire need of a talented editor to tear it apart and reassemble it into an engaging and logical narrative.
July 8, 2021
A bit hardgoing but great reading for those who love dogs....
June 3, 2014
Like Piers Paul Read’s 1974 classic history Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors (there’s a 2005 paperback from Harper Perennial), this book deals with the survivors of a plane crash in a frozen wasteland. Also like Alive, it’s told in third-person close, an excellent strategy for conveying the compelling, life-critical decisions made by multiple people along the course of a bad, bad plane trip way the hell up in Canada one night in October, 1984. One dissimilarity, and this might be considered a spoiler: no one eats anyone else on this crash. A dutiful, but exhausted and spiritually drained pilot makes a mistake flying into High Prairie, Alberta. Of the ten people on board the small commuter plane, only four live: the pilot, a politician, a Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman, and the prisoner he was transporting for arraignment. Three are injured, shocked, and sort of dazed; the fourth guy—the one who holds his shit together—is, ironically, the prisoner. He winds up being responsible for the lion’s share of activities that save the rest of them. About the first third of the book describes the run-up to the crash and the personal and weather conditions contributing to it. From the moment of the crash onward, however, it’s interesting to see the men lose all semblance of status and just try their best to help each other survive and be rescued—they have to, because October in Northern Canada is deathly cold. Shaben, the daughter of the politician, also explores the next few years of their individual lives. VERDICT Vibrant without being flamboyant, honest without feeling raw, and especially exacting and forceful, this is not a book that screams for attention, but it remains riveting just the same.
Find this review and others at Books for Dudes, the online reader's advisory column for men from Library Journal. Copyright Library Journal.
Find this review and others at Books for Dudes, the online reader's advisory column for men from Library Journal. Copyright Library Journal.
September 27, 2007
It was the cover photo that got me: the husky looking winsomely at the camera as it enjoyed a cuddle with the smiling, weatherbeaten explorer. I've always been fascinated by snow and ice, and particularly by dogsleds, so I knew this was one for me.
Benedict Allen sets out with the ultimate aim of crossing the Bering Strait from Russia to America - an almost if not entirely impossible feat fraught with danger for man and dogs. He also wants to learn what makes humans cling to life in hopeless circumstances.
To this end he carries a 'survivors file' containing accounts of Polar exploration and other dangerous experiences from all over the world. The narrative is interspersed with these, which I found distracting; I was much more interested in Allen than in Amundsen. The thrill is not in the author's philosophising about human nature but in his struggles and triumphs as he gets to know the harsh, heart-breaking Siberian region, its Russian and Chukchi inhabitants, and especially his team of charismatic, wilful dogs.
Benedict Allen sets out with the ultimate aim of crossing the Bering Strait from Russia to America - an almost if not entirely impossible feat fraught with danger for man and dogs. He also wants to learn what makes humans cling to life in hopeless circumstances.
To this end he carries a 'survivors file' containing accounts of Polar exploration and other dangerous experiences from all over the world. The narrative is interspersed with these, which I found distracting; I was much more interested in Allen than in Amundsen. The thrill is not in the author's philosophising about human nature but in his struggles and triumphs as he gets to know the harsh, heart-breaking Siberian region, its Russian and Chukchi inhabitants, and especially his team of charismatic, wilful dogs.
August 22, 2012
For those of us who adore a good nonsensical, fly by the seat of your pants, autobiographical exploralogue, Benedict Allen reads like an old friend. He writes about his discoverational (something between 'discovery' and 'motivational', in case you were wondering) exploits as one should, without greater theme and/or literary causality. Life in its extreme should be written of accordingly; our lives are not stories so much as accounts. All of that feel good meaning and direction and everything else we supply on our own. If you like honest adventure, you should, honestly, pick up this book about dog sledding in the arctic. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll get to know a lot more about sled dog psychology (assuming you'd ever known anything about said psychology to begin with). Highly recommended for any Starkell fans out there (see "Paddle to the Arctic" if you're confused).
May 18, 2013
Found this book at the back of cupboard, having forgotten I bought it several years ago and am absolutely delighted to have found it again. Benedict Allen is such an inspiring guy. He allows you to get close to him and understand what makes him tick, then just when you think he's on the edge of giving up, the insight into where he goes to dig deep for inspiration is so moving. He should be much better known than he is. He's the sort of person that should be lauded as a role model, up there with Sir Ranulph Fines, yet, he's disappeared off the radar for several years. I see from his web page and twitter feed that he's just coming 'out of hibernation' again and I, for one, can't wait!
February 14, 2011
I've read quite a few Benedict Allen books now, and I enjoyed this immensely. The author has a keen flair of adventure and in this book, he decided to train a team of dogs to head from Siberia to the Bering Strait on a solo mission.
You dont only get to hear about the preperation for the solo mission, you also become akin to the dogs who are Allen's only company on the solo run. There are some heartfelt moments and some insights into other adventurers tale that emphasis what a risk Allen took.
You dont only get to hear about the preperation for the solo mission, you also become akin to the dogs who are Allen's only company on the solo run. There are some heartfelt moments and some insights into other adventurers tale that emphasis what a risk Allen took.
March 20, 2013
More like a documentary than a novel. It was interesting but not entertaining.
September 5, 2013
This is a cool book. The story is incredible. The author's father actually survived the plane crash, thus her perspective is fascinating. Shaben is a journalist and has a terrific writing style.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews