CRYPTOLINK: Searching for Russia's ‘Loch Ness’

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Elgygytyn Lake. Despite its extreme northern location, the lake has never been covered in glaciers — suggesting the presence of some unknown, primordial, life traces in its waters. Source: Petr Tikhomirov / Panoramio

The dive made by Dmitry Schiller’s team into the icy waters of Lake Labynkyr on February 1, 2013 could qualify for the Guinness World Records. The team members dived to the bottom of the polar lake at the coldest time of year, in Russia’s coldest region.

The dive has already prompted a blaze of publicity in the Russian media, not to mention the repercussions it has borne. Rumors abound that parts of the skeleton and jaws of a huge animal were found on the lakebed, with the help of camera technology.

The members of the Russian Geographical Society team have since denied this claim, but “Nessie Fever” was unstoppable. Both scientific and pseudo-scientific exploration teams have set off in pursuit of a Russian Loch Ness Monster all over the country.

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