Adventure travel affords exciting experiences to remote locales without requiring the extensive preparation or rigor of an expedition.  

Take a side trip to Star City, the training center for Russian cosmonauts outside of Moscow.

Sail Arctic waters on the Yamal or the Kapitan Dranitsyn, Russian icebreakers that explore a remote and little explored part of the planet during the summer months.  This region is home to walruses, seals, polar bears and countless breeds of Arctic birds that nest on hundreds of islands in the Arctic Circle.  The Yamal's destination is the North Pole, while the Kapitan Dranitsyn sails throughout Franz Josef Land, the northernmost islands of Russia.

Get more than a taste of arctic adventure in Svalbard, an island between Norway and the North Pole, during the Spring when it is daylight for 24 hours a day.  There you can learn how to mush a dog sled, snowmobile to an ancient glacier and trek into a glacial cave.