A few weeks back, we visited one the coolest – and coldest – places in Russia: Lake Baikal in Siberia. Its hard to get your head around the fact that 20 percent of all the freshwater on the planet is contained within its basin – and that, when you are out on its crystal clear blue ice, the bottom of the lake is more than 1500 meters below you. Not feet. But meters. That’s, like, deeper than many parts of the Atlantic Ocean. We went to shoot two stories. They run a marathon from one side of the lake to the other every year and I’ve always been struck by the atmosphere around the event and the adventurous people it attracts. Then we travelled north to Olkhon Island, where the landscape changes and so does our focus. There, it’s a clash between man and nature, where an influx of tourists is threatening to harm the pristine environment that draws people there. Moreover, there is deep mistrust and resentment of government efforts to try to handle the issue, creating a bitter fight over this unique natural wonder. The marathon story, with beautiful shots by our camera guy Dima Kozlov, runs this week. Then, in early April, Olkhon Island.
Dima brought his drone ! 
Strikingly clear ice is Baikal’s trademark 
Our CBC team on the lake 
Hovercraft is how you get around on Baikal in the winter. 
Near the shore, the ice piles up into incredible clear blue ridges.
