World's Most Dangerous Places: Siberian Bridge, Risky Toilet, Highest Road | Free Documentary

this is it the infamous bridge in deepest Siberia 1600 feet long rotten wood beams no railing if you don't pay attention you fall I'm really scared it's just the same for the locals only they have to drive over it on a regular basis by car we also feel like trying that we'd travel 3700 miles to the east into Siberia a propeller plane lands in the small town of Taksim Oh every four or five days definitely a lot more pleasant than waiting at the baggage conveyor if there is an end to the world then it's probably not very fun first we do a little research around town what can people tell us about the world's most dangerous bridge out in the middle of the Siberian wilderness it's a 500 meter long ludicrous bridge that hasn't been repaired in 35 years it's really dangerous because you have to move inch by inch it's dangerous here in Russia of course look at the state of our streets here one wrong move and it's all over you won't be going anywhere but some are forced tourists the dangerous crossing on a regular basis Nikko our reporter meets one of them Alexei he wants to take us there today so this is our car for the bridge yes is it suited for this yeah it has four-wheel drive regardless will it be able to make it how many times if you cross the bridge I cross it pretty often okay let's go but why does Alexei always put his life on the line what is there on the other side of the river Nina she's definitely the love of my life my heart's made up I'm sure I won't be letting her go and she won't either a [Music] few years ago Alexei met Nina on the Internet just 100 kilometres separate the two not far away considering this is Siberia but they're separated by the world's most dangerous bridge it's about 37 miles to the bridge that's around one and a half to two hours almost two hours for just 37 miles we find out quite quickly why this takes so long and is this the renowned bridge that's Russia everything's wobbly every second planks wobbling here forcing over this fragile wooden construction is difficult this is just a small taste of what lies ahead for a team because the objective the vitam ski bridge is much higher and much longer nobody worries about fixing things around here there are some roads where you can drive at 6 miles an hour tops the engineers who built this bridge were clearly not very skilled and we find plenty of proof of that shortly before we reach our destination alexei suddenly stops what's this place this is a spiritual place of the buiiet the local inhabitants here we pray or give the gods a few small offerings that's the prototype this is supposed to give us good luck if it helps us make it live across the bridge we usually throw two rubles as a tribute in the snow and there it is the bridge over the Witham river the bridge considered to be one of the most dangerous in the world a railway bridge runs parallel to it it looks much more robust than ours the state that it's in so that's the infamous bridge yes it's well-known many in Russia know about this more than 1800 feet long over 65 feet high but just 6.5 feet wide and everything is held together by a few rusty steel tubes 33 years ago it began defying the in famous Siberian weather which goes down to minus 50 degrees for this purpose these sloping bullets were installed to help stop floating pieces of ice at the end of each winter on top of that a few rotten wooden beams can you walk across the bridge yes either on foot or by car in winter you can also drive across the river over there or where you have to find a safe path it's only possible to cross the bridge in summer I think this is pretty obvious but people have fallen down as you of course I'm really really scared and it's freezing cold the other bridge is exclusively for trains in addition most people need their car once they're on the other side and it doesn't help that only one train per day goes in each direction that's why commuters take the rickety car bridge and some in winter even if the rivers frozen over the rules simple one full step and it's over [Music] are there any precautions you need to take before crossing yeah you have to inspect the bridge closely to see where the new holes are for instance you can't leave before doing that crossing on foot a cold - four degree fahrenheit breeze runs down your back the bridge looks worse than expected can that be crossed by car before crossing we asked the bridge guard Yura he lives next door alone with his 7 docks nobody knows the bridge better than Yura he works as a weatherman and geologists and has lived here for 12 years this is a car bridge from the old days they totally neglected it especially since they built the railway bridge next to it now only three or four cars pass over it every day your issues warnings via the Internet of wind and weather make crossing impossible - the fact that the bridge is so rotten he offers a simple explanation in the middle of the river is the border between two regions and they don't cooperate that's why nothing is ever done there he gives us one final piece of advice before we cross hope dies last [Music] our team and Alexei face the 1870 feet long bridge and the Siberian cold maximum speed six miles power and then an involuntary stop I have to check everything that's up ahead I don't know what state it's in today I'm coming with you okay but be careful even when getting out it's a game of inches snow smooth wooden planks and to make matters worse no handrails you can't just drive you have to inspect every plank for months negative degree weather and icy wind make even the footpath dangerous everything's covered with snow here we have to be careful there could be holes everywhere always inches from the edge we hope to have not accidentally passed over a hidden hole we start again an excise experience is only partially helpful with every car that passes it gets worse and worse especially when trucks drive over it they make a real mess this is exactly what will do us wrong now again we have to stop fortunately no uncoming traffic because there's no clear right-of-way rule if you are less far you have to return for fairness alexei noticed just in time the broken spot in the middle of the bridge we cannot continue driving in this direction but alexei has to go on the other side absolutely but how turning is impossible here we can't continue we can't carry on now we have to drive in Reverse we get to drive in reverse because we can't get any further no great 980 feet in Reverse over the most dangerous bridge in the world over and over again the ties get stuck in the snow despite the dangerous wind we have to drive most of the time with the door open the bridge was built in 1984 in Soviet times since then the main thing has always been getting across somehow Safety's secondary it has had no maintenance in 33 years crossing in Reverse life-threatening but Alexei gives it his best we didn't make it but that was pretty much the most intense ride I've ever been on man [Music] to go with us to the other site a quick call to his girlfriend today it will be a little later there are no other punches the only alternative is the brittle eyes of the river that too is dangerous at this time of the year holds and the ice can break under the car [Music] while Alex azo struggles forward our high-tech camera drone fights the freezing wind big time a river will flow here again but nine months a year there is snow and ice instant bearing that in mind we risk crossing over the Whitham River hoping that the ice cover won't crack made it after long and risky crossing we finally arrive from the other side the most dangerous bridge in the world didn't take us to the other side but at the end of the day and without coming to any harm we did make it to our destination the house of Alex's girlfriend he can finally hug his future wife what does Nina think of his risky journey at the beginning I was always very worried about him now I'm more okay with it he loves these routes the roads the extreme danger nevertheless alexei has grown tired of the risky trip over the Whitham River our dream is to live together to build a house in another city and of course to have children that's the biggest dream of all and how many well two or three yes but tomorrow alexei must first go home on the other side of the river and then surely back and forth a few more times where there's a will there's also a way even if it leads over the most dangerous bridge in the world the most dangerous toilet in the world it's also quite difficult to reach along Floyd and countless hours by car are just the beginning of an adventurous search for clues we are in Xi'an were in southern Russia near the border region with Kazakhstan China and Mongolia the village of chingar lies at the foot of the altar mountains we rely on a tour guide recommended to us by locals h berg grew up here and knows the area like the palm of his hand is the ascent to the toilet dangerous the Altai mountains are no laughing matter they can be dangerous there are rocks and cliffs everywhere so you shouldn't drop your guard since we're total amateurs he suggests we hike on a horseback instead of on foot we took extra riding lessons for our objective the most dangerous toilet in the world he's had enough this way we'll never arrive the professional has to intervene the 19 year old regularly guides tourists through the all time antics but tours to the most dangerous toilet aren't the most common 3 horses belong to addre and they are his everything the 19 year old has been riding since as long as he can remember as expected he knows how to handle them unlike a reporter Nico I'm really scared things gradually get uncomfortable on the steep path bad memories are awakened because this is our second attempt to visit the most dangerous toilet on our first we had much bigger problems than a stubborn horse five months ago the same place just not the same weather on the contrary little did we know what kind of challenge traveling to the world's most dangerous toilet represented we're set to meet with mountain guide Maxime and ask art in the shop have you heard of the toilet yes I've been there is it well known obviously why because it's up in the mountains in a remote location we are on our way in the very first hour of the ascent temperatures dropped to a freezing minus seven point six degrees Fahrenheit how many times have you brought tourists around 15 times I don't keep track Maxime seems to know a shortcut and checks if the eyes of the frozen river is thick enough to cross we rely on our tour guide and follow him through the deep snow [Music] sorry but no one's ever tried harder to get a toilet selfie I'm perfectly sure of that the Auto Republic is sparsely populated we started in Chi Yan Gurt on our tool we'll have to travel around twelve miles and an auto to difference of five thousand five hundred seventy feet to make it the most dangerous toilet in the world on the top of character ik but the hacen becomes mission ascension what looks like a nice walk on the snow is the real ordeal at temperatures of now minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit we have just finished three miles it'll be dark in an hour our situation up here is becoming increasingly worrying it's fine you can do it we'll save a lot of time if we take this route bhaiya honey was by what's so good about it I'll fall down come on I'll help you I'll take your backpack you don't understand my shoes are size 13s and our way almost 220 pounds every step is hell I slipped with every step don't panic stay calm meanwhile we have strong doubts about Maxine's abilities as a mountain guard has he underestimated the situation cinematographer Yuri can barely walk he can't feel his toes anymore the camera batteries have stopped working in the icy temperatures we can only film with our phones I can't stand this anymore we'll never do this but it was too late to turn back to the night we wandered through the snow as if by some miracle we eventually found a wooden hut a goatherd gave us shelter and some hot tea our cameraman Yuri had severe frostbite on his toes after we've been able to warm up overnight the relief was great the next morning because Yuri was doing better despite the pain he is our lifesaver arca he took us in and fed us last night without him we wouldn't have survived out here I was in bed when I suddenly heard screaming in the night I looked out to the window and saw them in the blizzard we interrupt a visit to the toilet and take cameraman Yuri to the hospital with his injured foot back in summer and our second attempt to reach the toilet at least the weather conditions are much better this time [Music] so back there is the hut that saved our lives last time lucky that they managed to find it because there's less than one inhabitant per square mile in this region people let alone tourists seldom get lost here and they certainly don't do so on the way to visit a toilet have we survived the worst odds are still much more ahead of us we've passed the worst already three-quarters of the way to the bathroom is behind us no comparison to the horror trip we went through in January today it's sixty point eight degrees Fahrenheit and thus fifty degrees warmer than at that time nevertheless there's always something worth complaining about it's incredibly far in the meantime my butt hurts a lot as well there are no more trees at seven thousand eight hundred feet above sea level cameraman Yuri is also glad the toilet is already inside we're almost there I can already see the mountain top at last and look how far we've come we've reached the destination of our exciting journey despite serious research we never thought this ascent would be such a challenge for our team the highest weather station in Russia is located on the summit the notorious toilet at 8500 feet above sea level is as a matter of fact the outhouse of this lonely station we meet the person who uses this toilet meteorologist Dima do tourists come here too yeah that happens they usually only come to shoot photos so there's a toilet but where does Dima buy his toilet paper once a year a helicopter lands with food and other supplies for the meteorologists Dima has been working here for five years where the station's like these are always in remote locations to compare the extreme readings with those of normal weather stations in addition it also serves as an important hub for air traffic providing data to different flights I've heard it can be really dangerous when there's too much wind and you want to go to the bathroom sometimes strong winds prevail here especially in winter the wind is crazy and you still go or do you wait it out if you've got a go you've got to go how did you come up with the idea of building a toilet on a cliff there are rocks everywhere here so you can't just dig a hole and so they built the toilets over the edge actually Dima works here with two colleagues but they're currently on their week-long annual leave visiting their families in the valley before going to the most dangerous toilet in the world reporting eco is a bit scared only a few boulders serve as a counterweight not exactly reassuring nevertheless the quiet location with its breathtaking view seems to be very stable since the toilet has been here around since 1939 it can't be worse than the ascent this thing is so askew anyways you guys have to go out now well then good luck meanwhile we enjoy the breathtaking view [Music] so after all the effort here I've really earned my selfie with the infamous toilet for reporters needs this toilet will do the title most dangerous toilet in the world is completely justified because the journey to this place was probably the riskiest walk to toilet we have ever witnessed [Music] the S theming the gravel track nabela the most important thing up here stay on the trail the further up the faster the temperature drops if you're stuck you're stuck without help on his way our reporter will be catching his breath more than once oh the air how far will we go on the highest road in the world Berlin two weeks earlier [Music] our reporter Marco has only a rough idea of what to expect silk but he's preparing rigorously mastering the highest road in the world requires special altitude training two months of it everyday without these exercises Marco wouldn't stand a chance even by carp because at over 16,000 feet above sea level the human body works at half of its normal capacity I need a break because at certain points you just can't breathe you can't breathe the training room is enriched with nitrogen this reduces the oxygen content and that roughly simulates the air conditions in the Himalayas people with low tolerance get into trouble starting at six thousand five hundred sixty feet and Marco has to be almost three times as high two months later the first stop the city of leh in the north of India from here it'll be about 50 miles to reach the highest road in the world in the NuBra Valley even here reporter Marco and interpreter Mahone's are at eleven thousand four hundred feet above sea level lay is one of the highest cities in the world therefore the two first have to wait here for two days to get used to the oughta to difference attitude often causes nausea shortness of breath and dizziness as a precaution Marco and mahant are out in search for oxygen tablets and go looking for a pharmacy this shop is both a grocery and a pharmacy if one in the morning one in the evening and it's a lot of water you it takes out a lot of water so you have to replace your water retention we meet the man who's ready to take us on the highest road in the world farmer Asha his mission to buy food for his home village in the NuBra Valley I shall still needs hostess and cement for a new house being built in his village and hay for the horses then we get going the dangerous mountain route leads from Lai 37 miles to the north always north to the car Jeong pass the highest point of the route also called Death Zone then 19 months further downhill to ash Schulz village in the NuBra Valley actually there are only 55 miles ahead of us but the journey takes a whole day if everything goes right it is already knew from seven o'clock in the evening onwards it's too dark to travel on the mountainous Road but after a couple of miles we can't go ahead there's an army convoy up ahead that means there'll be a long traffic jam here knowing his way around I shall try to avoid the heavy traffic by cutting through a small parallel street if he doesn't it will be too late to proceed we are out of the city and can finally hit the road the conditions are good for now everything coming up will be an uphill battle we're to reach 6500 feet within the first two hours the road is so narrow that only one car can pass at a time and it's already a pretty steep way down they tend to hit the gas in the bends here then another problem our reporter did not expect it's gonna have to keep camera in sight and why and because the Union will not allow to shoot we have to shoot with a hidden camera first actually the road is still in India but it's on the border with China and Pakistan and it's a military security zone since the other two countries both have claims over this area time and time again there are violent skirmishes little check the permit yeah yeah passport and documents yes yes yeah should I come with you oh no no no no [Music] since the military isn't the biggest fan of foreigners throughout this area I shall prefers to go alone India has the second largest army in the world nearly 1.5 million soldiers and most of them are stationed here in the border region due to the unstable political situation Asha has been gone for over 20 minutes slowly we begin to fear that there are bigger problems this is military territory the soldiers can deny us permission to travel further without even giving us a reason but a shell does manage to convince them half an hour later we have their clearance now we have to hurry up even more in addition the sky is clouding over up above us as soon Road is closed and we'll have to go all the way back meanwhile we have reached the zero Degree mark yeah you know under heaven only performance the higher you get the steeper it gets except that here unlike back home there are barely any guardrails if a vehicle starts to slide that's pretty much it again and again motorists are for deadly accidents because they swerve off the road another danger to keep in mind oncoming traffic the road is practically a one lane road before every Bend the driver has to honk because you can't see if there's a truck or a car coming the other way above all truck drivers tend to overestimate their driving skills leaving the rest almost off the road our team has gone past the 3200 feet altitude mark there's no time to lose but having said that Marko and his interpreter will soon have to take a break to get used to the new altitudes yet again otherwise the risk of collapsing would be far too great we reach our resting area the last stop before the so-called Death Zone it's probably one of the highest canteens in the world at 14,000 700 feet above sea level here the human body can only absorb 65% oxygen it's also 26.6 degrees fahrenheit but it feels like minus 4 degrees thanks to the icy winter pit interpreter mahant struggles with the unfamiliar temperature as well it never gets cold in his native South India we're eating [Music] the team wants to gather its strength one last time an important tip at this altitude eat light food if the meal is overly rich the body would be too busy digesting the food and that consumes energy that it can't afford to waste up here many don't get along with the altitude then there are the winding and bad roads people panic it makes the heart beat faster which in turn makes things even worse we still want to fill up our water supply drink a lot of water set the pharmacist because altitude sickness is comparable to body dehydration but it's easier said than done we wanted to buy water yeah was this a problem we can't buy any water it's all frozen for and in this freezing cold car it wouldn't melt any quicker we have to make do with what we have slowly but surely we reach the Death Zone and the weather is only getting worse it's pretty cloudy I think it'll start to snow soon if that happens we'll have to wait here for three to four hours we can't continue until the military has cleared the road to sleep at this altitude would be pretty much the worst idea possible as long as we are sixteen thousand four hundred feet up the oxygen content will only be 60% and it's 14 degrees Fahrenheit close by the Pakistani border at the dozens of military bases a shell has to give way again and again for the heavy trucks it is only one point eight miles to the highest point of the highest throat but they're using all of it don't drive so close to the edge the possessor I see almost all year round that's why most accidents happen on this section mud and rubble it really shakes you up and it's stinks of gasoline because gasoline can't burn properly here since there's very little oxygen in the air shortly before the highest point of the road there's an emergency you see district we decide to help each other to be up high this long as dangerous and up here you have to stick together but our first attempt fails suspension is not so high this way the body is touching the ground this when the tire will not rise there is no service here that could help only lose gravel from under the snow the effort further complicates breathing oh the air the highest point is now only a few hundred feet away but the street is ice smooth in many places we can only go on by foot 15 minutes later some colorful flags mark the highest point we are seventeen thousand nine hundred eighty feet high the human body can absorb only fifty percent of the available oxygen at this altitude and it's a freezing five degrees Fahrenheit the sensation however is much colder due to the strong wind it's about minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit our reporter Marco is finally reaching his breaking point seventeen thousand nine hundred and eighty two feet here we are and here's a bit of protection from the wind I'm a bit lightheaded as well you shouldn't stay here for more than twenty minutes even if there's the so-called oxygen cafe for emergency at hand we prefer to continue because we haven't done the hardest bit yet may its color white white blue hands that means lack of oxygen not a good sign from now on the road goes downhill that too is risky many become overconfident on the way down and pay for it Marco is at his limit the Mountaineer a shell makes the altitudes seem like nothing it was pretty smooth but we did it half an hour later a village before dark achelle has transported the important food safely his wife is happy until next month which is when her husband will have to go again on the highest road in the world

Channel: Free Documentary

Views: 981,150

Keywords: Free Documentary, Documentaries, Full documentary, HD documentary, documentary - topic, documentary (tv genre), most dangerous places in the world, most dangerous places, world's most dangerous, dangerous places, most dangerous bridge, most dangerous toilet, highest road, highest street, most dangerous roads, dangerous bridge siberia, worlds highest road

Id: TxsWg1DmwXY

Length: 39min 1sec (2341 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 25 2020