Egor Tarasov – 7 weeks alone in Siberian wilderness

Egor Tarasov had been a reindeer herder all his life and was used to living in the harsh Siberian climate, so when he left on a trip to gather firewood for the next point of migration for his herd, it was a pretty standard trip.

He was traveling up the remote Konkovaya River close to the East Siberian Sea on a trip that should have taken about a day. However along the route a thick fog and extreme cold swept into the area and Egor lost his bearings and became disorientated. After getting completely lost and running low on fuel, he decided his best bet would be to stay put and wait for rescue.

A local search team was sent out the next day on September 8th, but found no sign of him, though they did eventually find his boat, just not in time. After waiting there for 2 days Egor decided to try and find his way back on foot which meant walking over 70 miles across frozen tundra.

Since it was at the end of summer he was only dressed for a short trip and had no winter clothing with him. He also had no equipment of any kind and no weapons to fight off any bears or wolves that may try their luck.

He had several dogs with him, but after a short while they got bored of walking and ran off into the wilderness. Fortunately, Egor was familiar with the land and knew where to find food, which consisted mostly of berries and mushrooms.

He crossed both the Pokhodskaya and Khalarchinskaya tundra without any accidents or running into predators, but towards the end of the month the weather changed quickly and heavy snows and rain set in. The bad weather ruined his sweater which he was forced to abandon, and a fog caused him to walk in circles on his feet which were starting to develop bad frostbite.

Luckily he stumbled across an abandoned fisherman’s hut next to a small river. He found some food and managed to get a fire going, he also found a small radio, though it was only able to receive and not send a signal. From his newly acquired radio, he learned the date, which was October 9th, just over a month from when he first got lost.

5 Days later the owner of the hut, a Dmitry Sleptsov decided to do some week-end angling when he came across a very rough-looking Egor Tarasov. He immediately called the authorities using his satellite phone and Egor was taken to the Central district hospital.

Apart from some minor frostbite and a loss in weight, he was in surprisingly good condition. The total distance of his journey is around 75 miles if done in a straight line, but the many lakes and rivers in the area along with him walking in circles during fog would put the total mileage closer to 90. He later said in an interview:

“I was going forward with a positive mind, I knew somewhere deep inside that I will be found in the end. Now I feel better, just slightly frostbitten. When I had been walking I was thinking about my family, my wife, children, and grandchildren…

‘I walked on because I felt must do so. It seemed to me that I was not alone, that someone or something was next to me. It supported me too.”