Syktyvkar is a dusty outpost of a city in the frozen northern taiga, and the capital of the Komi Republic. It has all the features of a northern Russian city, complete with the grayest of tower flats and log cabins sinking into the earth within city limits. It was the first city which I took notice of on the map in my school's break room, the first far-flung place to which I had decided to go during a vacation. Yet, it didn't happen, because our school receptionist recommended that my girlfriend and I go to Ulan-Ude instead, which was rightfully the better decision- to go to Siberia in -35 degree weather for our first trip outside of Moscow. The trip to Syktyvkar was to be postponed for two years and two months. The magnificence of Altai hasn't worn off even until now, and after that trip in the beginning of January, my lust for extreme travel had been thoroughly satisfied. Those weeks would instead be spent dirtbiking and horseback riding in the snow....