One winter in December, when the river "got up", it formed dense ice, the weather brought a surprise - a sharp warming to plus temperatures for a long time, which provoked a very rare phenomenon - a winter ice drift!

He is dangerous because the winter weather will sooner or later take its and the river still freezes, but with huge hummocks or, what else could be worse, in a state of congestion.
The worst happened - due to the ice drift ice jam appeared, the water level began to rise sharply and there was a threat of flooding of settlements. It was decided to blow up the head of the congestion.

I got to the helicopter at the last minute, for a very long time the lists were approved who would be on board. I was very worried before the flight, but nothing terrible happened, even on the contrary immediately got into the taste, began to shoot everything!

https://pp.userapi.com/c637226/v637226366/3ea3c/6epCWN1Xhzo.jpg

We had to fly from Kotlas along the river Severnaya Dvina to the village of Aristovo - there was a head of a congestion, to lay the explosives, to blow up the congestion and fly back.
My task is to take pictures!

The city of Kotlas, Arkhangelsk region.
https://pp.userapi.com/c637226/v637226366/3ea5a/c-6yN95qsa8.jpg

https://pp.userapi.com/c637226/v637226366/3ea78/RHDveJmpfD4.jpg

The Northern Dvina River. With the weather, we were not very lucky, it was always snowing with rain.
https://pp.userapi.com/c637226/v637226366/3ea8c/WjMcVINPlsk.jpg

Suburban village.
https://pp.userapi.com/c637226/v637226366/3eaa0/ltrokm2NvGg.jpg

The Udim River.
https://pp.userapi.com/c637226/v637226366/3eab4/G19qvajufh0.jpg

Abandoned church on the river bank.
https://pp.userapi.com/c637226/v637226366/3eadc/CGelj0TGpXM.jpg

Somewhere here the border of the Arkhangelsk and Vologda regions.
https://pp.userapi.com/c637226/v637226366/3eaf0/4vIo7vnhmQE.jpg

We fly up to the city of Krasavino, Vologda region.
https://pp.userapi.com/c637226/v637226366/3eb0e/pWOJAM53y_s.jpg

https://pp.userapi.com/c637226/v637226366/3eb22/l8aE1rkjTJI.jpg

Northern Dvina and the island.
https://pp.userapi.com/c637226/v637226366/3eb54/jFT-nuAEvBU.jpg

The river is almost everywhere clean, except for the congestion near the village of Aristovo.
https://pp.userapi.com/c637226/v637226366/3eb86/-1_db6h_v04.jpg

We landed on the shore, and rescuers flew to lay explosives.
https://pp.userapi.com/c637226/v637226366/3eba4/yLafjEdPUio.jpg

On the wreck was already waiting for a rescue team on an air-cushion ship.
https://pp.userapi.com/c637226/v637226366/3ebae/Zk1soNS6JpU.jpg

https://pp.userapi.com/c637226/v637226366/3ebe0/-9z2k7WXLB0.jpg

https://pp.userapi.com/c637226/v637226366/3ebea/KEWvwGmT0R0.jpg

The charge is laid. We wait. Explosion!
https://pp.userapi.com/c637226/v637226366/3ebf4/1w2cp3Nz-IY.jpg

Nothing moved ... we fly back to the airport, because the light day is coming to an end. Tomorrow they will decide whether to bomb the river again ...
https://pp.userapi.com/c637226/v637226366/3ec26/Ua-0S8-xG4w.jpg

https://pp.userapi.com/c637226/v637226366/3ec44/WZb-vIrcJmo.jpg

https://pp.userapi.com/c637226/v637226366/3ec62/vikl4GXwoTg.jpg

It's interesting to see from a height to those places where I used to be.
https://pp.userapi.com/c637226/v637226366/3ed02/tAAnzAGchLU.jpg

https://pp.userapi.com/c637226/v637226366/3ed20/9MM9guTlOtY.jpg

A large holiday village.
https://pp.userapi.com/c637226/v637226366/3ed98/oOn9RKDRlLs.jpg

And again Kotlas.
https://pp.userapi.com/c637226/v637226366/3edba/pl-x32iJiu0.jpg

Emotions from the flight go off scale! Who knew that in the spring I would have to fly more than once and shoot already rampant spring flood...
The river was no longer blown up and left to freeze in a state of congestion, which led to a severe flood in the last 20 years! Who is to blame for this? Whether the authorities are to blame for not having moved the wreck, having spared explosives, or whether nature has played a cruel joke ... this year again we are waiting for the floods, let's see what will happen.