In the arctic, a complex operation to retrieve a Ford F-150 truck that fell through the ice

Originally published at: In the arctic, a complex operation to retrieve a Ford F-150 truck that fell through the ice | Boing Boing

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Any dire, life-threatening emergency you can walk away from is an anecdote; doubly so if it happens within the Arctic Circle. What a tale to have in your back-pocket for quiet moments in the bar.

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Good thing it wasn’t a Chevy…

:musical_note: Like a rock :musical_note:

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Wasn’t this how Jean-Marc Barr and Rosanna Arquette met in The Big Blue?

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soon to be up on CraigsList for sale…

“Ran when parked, might have minor water damage”

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In Lake Baikal, they do it with “wood panels, strong rope and a long metal pipe.”

There was some good footage of this in Aquarela.

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I always think of Jack Pepsi when I hear about trucks going through the ice.

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Beat me to it. But he just dove to grab the registration and insurance paperwork. It is one of the best character intros ever, though…

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I’m struck by the “What can I save?” aspect of this.

You don’t drive over ice and keep the first-aid kit in the trunk. A box on the roof should be a floating container, filled with all the survival stuff you’ll need.

Or tow a floating sled behind you… something other than “We’re going down, grab the sat phone from my bag under the back seat!!”

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This whole transglobal car-based “expedition” is kinda weird, especially in this day and age where they aren’t going anywhere new. They’re already bringing along some Russian-built Yamelya Amphibious artic vehicles to use in areas around the North Pole where the trucks can’t safely drive on the ice, so what’s the point of these modified trucks at all?

The “Mission” description on the website sure is vague and wishy-washy:

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This seems like a complex and expensive endeavor to retrieve a vehicle because “it’s the right thing to do.”

Unless…it was designed to cover up the retrieval of an alien artifact that the team discovered buried in the ice.

Is it obvious that I grew up watching The Thing and X-Files.

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NO TIRE KICKERS, I KNOW WHAT I HAVE!"

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From that story…

Happily, the rescued car was dried out, the oil changed, and it is none the worse for its chilly dip in Lake Baikal.

Maybe these two are thinking of competing with the Top Gear Toyota Hilux pick-up? Now to see that Honda and that Ford driven into a tree, dropped from a crane and put on the top of a building being explosively demolished. Let’s see if they still run after that.

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giphy

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Great link! They used a capstan such as found often on ships to weigh anchor. A hook on the axel and some lashed beams to distribute forces. Brilliant.

Here in California it is more common to see 12volt winches and snatch blocks to pull out stuck vehicles.

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