The ultimate ATV: Snowbird 6 makes historic passage of Bering Strait; crossing water and ice - Innovative Uses Of Horsepower
Author: Diesel Progress North American Edition

As challenges go, traversing the 56 mi. frozen stretch separating the United States from Russia known as the Bering Strait has to rank somewhere near the top. While it might look simple, the passage involves crossing water, floating ice and icebergs. But earlier this year, that challenge was successfully completed by the United Kingdom-based Ice Challenger team, led by Steve Brooks and codriver Graham Stratford, in their vehicle known as Snowbird 6.

It was their second attempt. In 2001 Brooks and Stratford attempted the crossing with Snowbird 5, but the vehicle's floatation tanks were damaged while climbing back onto an ice ridge and the expedition was aborted. Vehicle design improvements were made and this year the attempt was made again with a more positive outcome.

While Snowbird 6 became the first land-based vehicle to cross a treacherous 24 mi. stretch of floating ice and open water that makes up the Bering Strait from Wales, Alaska, to the Siberia Russian land mass of Big Diomedes, the goal had been to drive from America to Russia. However, at the last minute, bureaucracy prevented that attempt.

The Ice Challenger team used a Bombardier tracked vehicle, typically used for grooming ski trails, to create what the team described as the world's ultimate all-terrain vehicle. While conceiving the original concept, the Ice Challenger team was forced to confront the four different mediums of travel; floating on water, motoring through crushed ice, motoring on icebergs and hardest of all, climbing the whole vehicle out of the water and onto the ice.