Pretty often I was asked about the condition of the old route of Kolyma Highway (known also as Stalin’s Road of Bones) between Tomtor and Magadan Oblast in summer, especially in July and August.

In the following videos, you can see what it was like on July 27th and 29th, 2012.

Saying tons of sincere thanks to the amazingly nice Australian family – Jon, Amanda & Lana, who travelled with their friends in Landcruisers from Vladivostok to Magadan via Yakutsk last July and August.

More about their travel you can learn from Jon, Amanda & Lana’s travel blog “Three In A Truck”

Crossing a river after the village of Tomtor, that is located near Oymyakon, the world’s coldest inhabite place in winter. On July 27th.

In this video you can see how Jon is measuring the depth of one of many mountain rivers on the old route of Kolyma Highway (Road of Bones).

This video contains many clips put together to show deep bogs and puddles that you can also experience and go through on the way to Magadan from Tomtor. On July 29th.

What was weather at that momement? Pretty hot. Between 30C and 40C.

Stay tuned! I’m about to publish dozens of their travel photographs right in this post to make more informative.

Meanwhile, you might wish to check all my posts dedicated to Kolyma Highway.

Andrey I is a prominent Russian film maker. He is the man, who helped a lot to clean Shergin’s Shaft, the world’s deepest permafrosted well created in Yakutsk, Russia, a few centuries ago. Here is the related news.

Hereby, Andrey I sent me his own story about his extraordinary descent to the bottom of Yakutsk. Praise god, his text in English.

History background:

1837. After a decade of wearisome work in the permafrost a well of 116 meters depth was dug out. Now it is known as Shergin’s Shaft.

1844. Scientific research began. Shergin’s shaft became the world’s “cradle” of science of cave exploring and permafrost studies.

1942. In unknown circumstances the cable used to descent to the bottom of the shaft breaks off. The shaft remains inaccessible for 67 years.

2009. After a long preparation and the digging the snow cork the entrance of the shaft is opened. The 3rd of November is set as the day of storm of the shaft, the attempt of the work in TV format with direct broadcast of the event.

Further, see photographs and a story written by Andrey I himself.

Text: Andrey I.
Photos: Alexey Pavlov.

Here’s Andrey I’s story:

- People seethed around the shed. Algys. Preparation for a short meeting. It was very pleasant to see close friends and acquaintances among people. Yuri Zabolev, Alexandr Solovyev, Alexandr Pakhomov, Yelena Golomareva, Pavel Kazaryan, my son Fedia with my Korean family, and of course Lyudmila Tsoy, the main organizer of the expedition.

Together with Andrey Vysokikh we entered the shed. He brought a light beacon – a light-emitting diode disc which, as he said, would help us to orient during the descent. Trying not to obstruct the preparation of this crazy decision, we squeezed in the square of the well. Andrey threw the beacon down. It dissolved somewhere in the dark.

Algys is completed, but not by the first guest. Before this it was refused several times –the entrance to the lower world should not be opened.

Together with Jenya Zolkin and Marina Kalina, we dressed in orange overalls in the bus of the republic Rescue service; put extra batteries for lantern, cameras and photo cameras into the pockets.

A couple of key words in front of the people gathered. Don’t want to talk. Just hurrying to descent, it’s always cozier under the ground (later I couldn’t help hiccupping). At last we are sent to the narrow, but official world of overalls of the Yakut rescuers, hung ropes and friendly smiles.

Zolkin was the first to go down. I was watching his face. As always, no worries could be noticed. His red “storm” overalls stood out in a bright spot among… was about to say a dozen of people “fussing” around it.

Of course, for an uninitiated person, the endless movement of arms inside a cocoon of ropes that twisted Zolkin looked like an unusual ant crowd. But having a certain experience in cave exploration, I understood better than others how professionally everything was being done.

It should be mentioned that practically there were no uninitiated people around. The inner space of the cottage that covered the entrance of the shaft was only a few square meters. That’s why it was difficult to fit the necessary equipments and group of people providing the descent inside it. From plenty of wishes boiling inside me the prevailing one was that all people who had come to watch the advertised show and were now looking forward to its start in the November frost could see that unique work.

Why it was necessary to have so many rescuers above? Two persons – Zolkin and I, were to go down to the bottom of the shaft – 116 meters deep (to understand its scale, it’s the total size of more than three nine-floor houses put on each other). It was planned that Marina Kailinina would descent for only 30 meters. We were to move in the following order: …. Each participant of the descent has two ropes: the basic and safety. This means that all in all there will be six ropes dangling in the shaft. And they must not get entangled! Everyone that holds one of these ropes, should … feel it, weaken it in time, and stop its etching downwards if necessary. Behind their backs other experts – rescuers, also carry out a very important function – it is important to watch that the ropes that unwind during the descent or gather into a bay during the ascent don’t get entangled. In fact everything is much more difficult.

Fedor secures Zolkin, Valery secures Kalinina, Andrey secures me. Together with Andrey, just like with Zolkin, we have gone to not one expedition.

Zolkin went down.

It’s my turn now. I remembered the way I looked at Zolkin, and artistically assumed a dignified air myself. More “like a showman” to be exact. That’s a special condition when it is necessary to pull yourself together in a certain way. On the one hand you should remain who you are, and on the other hand you should turn into an all-seeing 360 degree eye which sees you from aside as well. The eye should not only see but also it should make comments. There is one feature in the style of “life” program leader. When you say a sentence about what’s happening on the screen, you should already formulate the next sentence and plan variants of the following comments though at that moment you don’t know yet what will happen next.

The carbines clicked on my safety system, and I felt cold breath from the square embrasure of the well. There I heard Zolkin’s message that said that he had stopped in the 20th meter and was waiting for me to move down.

I checked the lighting device for a small finger-type camera which I was hanging in my right hand. On the way down this will be the main camera to illustrate our movements to the bottom of the shaft for the spectators that have gathered above, in front of a plasma screen. The screen is hidden from frost in the salon of a bus in a funny way. The flashes of reporters’ cameras began working. They disturb a lot when you need to pull yourself together during the very culmination moment and define the general degree of readiness of all system that you consist of – “cave explorer – TV presenter – operator.”

Continuing to work “with face” I tried at least for a second absolutely distract from the happening – there won’t be another second. In this situation I usually close my eyes and automatically try to work out any emergency situation, but now I did not have such opportunity. In our case the situation was complicated by the fact that we had not train this program of descent. The most important thing was not to disturb one another in the shaft. I was hardly concerned about how I would film it – I completely relied on the muscular memory gained by experience.

Journalists would frequently peer through the door. It very much looked like a preparation of cosmonauts before the flight. The hands of professionals check on you the strength of the belt, the conditions of knots, and the safety of closing of carbines…

“The main danger is the walls and two rusty metal cables going down just to the center of the shaft… I am hanging near one wall and Jenya is hanging near the other. His rope should not disturb me. In case of inevitable rotation round the axis we should never forget – it is forbidden to touch walls and the cables!”

It’s stupid to ask me if I was worrying. I always worry. Fear helps in extreme situations very much – it mobilizes attention. At last I felt Karpovich’s clap on my shoulder, and trying not to get lost in ropes I clumsily climbed over the protection (the oxygen cylinder suspended from below especially prevented the movements). I put my feet on the walls of the shaft and moved down. After some seconds I was already hanging among the roughly cut tunnel of dirty-yellow ice. Karpovich one again made sure that everything was right and my body together with the oxygen cylinder slowly slid down.

Now I was going through the dug ice cork that used to keep the Shergin’s shaft isolated from the outer world for about three decades. I wanted to go down as soon as possible, the place where everything remained as it was made with human hands in the first half of the 19th century. The ice cork filled the upper thirty meters of the well from the flow of melted water – nobody had taken care of the shaft during the last years. According to our project a special group of workers – alpinists was making a hole in the cork for about two weeks before the SSSS.

At last I went down the ice walls gnawed with instruments. There were smooth forms with ice stalactites around.

It started!

In any event I endlessly value the first impression. The special value of such feelings is that together with their whole unpredictability they also astonish by the currents of their number. It was just this way here. Even with my experience I was fascinated with the singularity of the surrounding for a second, and pushed the lever of the trigger device with my thumb of the left hand harder than it was necessary. As a result I fell down uncontrollably for a couple of meters. That made me sober. I went another ten meters and stopped. I had to wait for Kalinina.

I fixed the trigger device and started to study the surrounding world. I was surrounded by four walls of the wooden well felling. It was evident that the wood had survived wonderfully. It was difficult not to notice two rusty cables as very unpleasant neighborhood in the distance of a stretched hand. Timbered walls together with the cables (and the two ropes of Zolkin) were going down to the darkness, where in about twenty meters the lanterns were flickering on Jenya’s helmet.

The scientific supervisors of the expedition Rudolph Chjan and Lev Li asked him to take some soil and wood test all along the shaft. Evidently that was what he was doing at the moment. In such cases I feel jealous to my friends – they can act “as in real life.” And I have to film it “as in real life.”

We could hear voices quite above us. I looked up. The usual world was already left in the previous life. The opening in the ice stopper through which I had entered the new reality now seemed not so large. It was bordered by ice flows and stalactites. The dense yellow color of the ice added them extra singularity. I lit this beauty by a “chandelier” of three lamps fixed on the helmet. The additional lantern that was connected with the “finger camera” into one set created a game of light in my right hand. I was filming while illuminating the space.

I made a few versions of comments of the happening saying the text to the same “finger camera,” and let myself look around in admiration to analyze the possible development of events – Kalinina was not seen yet.

Admiring the beauty a cave explorer must model possible dangers.

Now the threat number one for Zolkin (he could not see the threat from the depth and it was difficult for him to orient in case of something) were the ice stalactites. If Kalinina breaks one of them by mistake – Jenya will become a target for ice blocks of about 30kg. Cables were threat number two. Their outer side had turned to dust, and only God knows what was inside. Just break one of them in about my level, and it could cut Zolkin while falling down.

I looked down. Light rays of Jenya’s lantern kept moving. He confirmed with his shout that was gathering tests from wooden walls.

Above, among the stalactites, Kalinina suddenly appeared and stopped… in the most inappropriate place.

It is necessary to make a small retreat here. Marina Kalinina (besides directory talents) is a top-quality operator. But she didn’t have a slightest experience in cave exploration. However, during the SSSS we needed a second operator to film me and Zolkin from above. That’s why it was decided to lower marina for 30 meters after training and instructing. But in such an unpredictable descent even endless instructions will never replace experience. That’s why her system of descent and ascent was organized in such a way that it didn’t depend on Marina’s actions. Even if she failed, the rescuers would take her above without her own participation. In such situation I was once again loyal to Karpovich’s and Zolkin’s professionalism. They explained Marina that any person despite the courage and bravery may lose control in an extra extreme situation. During our descent to the Shergin’s shaft it is 50kg of weight that flies down and wipes everything in its way. Marina agreed. She is without any doubt a good fellow. And
she deserved the state of record-holder for participation in the expedition of SSSS. But it was later.

And now, she was slowly rotating on the rope in ten meters above my head between the stalactites and the metal cables. I confess that at some moment I held my breath – it’s not possible to stop the movement grasping the air. “After a second her feet will touch the cables….” But Marina stretched vertically and her feet fell along the cables without touching them. “Now it’s the stalactite’s turn….” It seemed to me that Jenya also was feeling the silence that hang over him. But I had to take my look away from the rotating Marina in order to look down. Marina’s feet flied near the stalactites no less carefully. It became quieter. After some seconds she at last stopped and started to film.

When she was going up I saw in her face such misery that only a real tramp is able to feel.

Jenya and I went down. I was filming and commenting what was happening. But after a while I realized that the image had stopped to broadcast above (besides the two cables a TV cable was also connected to me). I had to stop and change the batteries in the main block of the camera, but in vain. I started to feel uneasy. However, in any case, I was automatically “acting” the role of the TV presenter and operator for certain time.

Now I could concentrate more on getting impressions. However, it seemed that it was the surrounding space that was absorbing you. It was very unusual to move down, down and down constantly in that spot of the earth where any aspiration to the center of the permafrost is connected with unbelievable difficulties. Jenya and I were shouting to each other all the time. Everything was going right.

We passed the boundary of about 50 meters. The wooden support ended. Now the well became wider into a vertical barrel of the roughly cut shaft. I stopped.

Like before, my closes neighbors were two rotten cables which I disliked more and more. But the general atmosphere around became completely different. There were no other attributes of civilization around except the cables. I was swaying on the rope among the roughly dug vertical cave with the diameter of about three meters. This cave was stretching down … “to the lower world,” I admitted to myself.

From 15 meters down Jenya called me to move on. We continued moving.

The surrounding surface of this gulf didn’t seem to be permafrost but it seemed endless. I was eager to find a confirmation of it in the light spots of the lanterns. I remembered Lev Li’s request to mark places where old measuring instruments were set.

In 1844 Russian scientist A.F. Middendorf arrived to Yakutsk. The shaft was used for scientific research under his supervision. Horizontal blast holes of two meters length and thermometers were set in every 15 meters on the walls of the shaft. Nobody had looked for them since that.

Some places looked similar to the description of the blast holes, but no more than that.

“God, how could people come down here in some troughs that were tied to a wooden gate with a cable?”

Before entering the shaft I hang a tablet with detailed scheme of the whole vertical cut of the shaft ob my thigh: sandstone, slate, sandstone, slate… I had forgotten about the tablet. I was on another planet.

Zolkin’s voice interrupted my idyllic amazement. We stopped again. The depth is about 60 meters (two nine-storeyed buildings).

It was time to wear the masks of the oxygen masks. The matter is that just on the eve of the descent a very wise man (alas, I don’t know his name, but he really saved Zolkin and me) expressed an idea of checking the gas structure in the lower part of the shaft trunk. The quick analyze showed that it is not possible to go down this unique well without oxygen equipments. Besides, the deficit of oxygen during the years of civilized life of Yakutsk in the bottom of the shaft there was also harmful gas concentration threatening life.

Now the movement down was accompanied with “grunting” in any breath and “snorting” in any exhalation. However, I had got used to it during the underwater shootings. Remembered the people that once had come down here in troughs. Now they could not succeed in it.

People are made in such way that if something separates his face from the surrounding world, the world immediately becomes different. Unfamiliar. Now I was going down already in the space – cave space, and not in another planet.

I was destruct from lyrics by a piece of wall which was illuminated by the rays of all my lanterns. 73 meters in depth. A flat clod of about one and a half meters had separated from its main mass for some reasons and was hanging weakly. In such situations it’s sensible to act with the principle: “If you are not able to struggle the danger, you better not to think about it.”

I kept on going down, but the above mentioned principle would not work despite all my efforts. My head was itching under the helmet. “Calm down. In this way you may even attract misfortune.”

Now Jenja could not shout me anything in the oxygen mask and I looked down myself. It seemed to me that the light beacon of Andrey Vysokih was already clearly distinguished through Zorkin’s dark round silhouette who was ransacking on the walls by his lantern.

Now I could not take my eyes off that at last approaching dream – off the bottom of the Shergin’s shaft. Despite the oxygen mask which was limiting the view, the pioneer Zolkin was clearly seen. He was standing … in the scatterings of ice splinters.

“This is not the bottom… A part of the chopped ice fell down while the workers were digging the ice cork. There are about two meters to get the real bottom. We’ll try to dig.”

My feet felt support… more exactly its image. The moon. Landing on the space of cave exploration.

My weight plus the weight of the oxygen cylinder made my feet sink till ankles in the porridge of tiny ice splinters near the beacon of Andrey Vysokih. “Speleonaut” Zolkin was standing opposite me. His wide smile was seen through the glass of his oxygen mask.

I am afraid of victories. In that moment of absolute delight we always wait for something … I didn’t finish thinking about it when little stones fell down from above. Zolkin knew it better that me that it was a bad sign – something bigger may follow them.

“This is that very flat clod that had exfoliated in 73 meters!” – hit me in my head.

Zolkin and I stuck to our walls without talking. But instead of the expected blow we heard a typical whistle from above. That’s how a rope or a cable sounds quickly moving in the air.

“Even worse! The iron cable!” Zolkin was thinking the same.

After some seconds something hit my shoulder badly and everything became quiet. Yes, something had torn above, but it was not one of the rusty cables but a telephone cable which was not so massive.

In such a wonderful “relaxation” I had only one thought – to take photos (my camera was not working for a long time already). I took out my checked underwater “Olympus”, pushed the button to switch it on as usual … but nothing happened. My other attempts didn’t change the situation. The fourth attempt coincided with a sound – signal of oxygen cylinder warning that I had only emergency oxygen supply.

“How comes? We didn’t even manage to dig a little. That very historical bottom of Shergin’s shaft is so near, right under us!” but it hit me slowly that this was not the main problem.

Zolkin quietly pronounced in the handheld transceiver: “Evacuation.”

At last I looked above. What I saw was the finishing item of the image of the space surrounding me. The tunnel with rough cut-down walls was stretching up. Then there was darkness from which cables and ropes were hanging. It was difficult to say how far this darkness was. A star was shining in the darkness – this was how the far exit to the common world looked. I wanted to shake my head – what a delusion?

The rope stretched and we started to go up. According to Jenya, he had enough oxygen, and he was going to follow me. I took off my feet from the icy bottom and swam up. I swam up, trying to “grunt” the oxygen more economically. I swam, but I wanted to fly. But you cannot get away from the reality. As the rescuers later told me, they immediately understood that something extraordinary had happened. That’s why everything was mobilized on the fast ascent, maximum fast but without fuss.

During the years of work in extreme situation I have always tried to have everything to depend on me. I am a single worker. But here nothing depended on me. However, even if I had special equipment for independent lifting… even then nothing would have depended on me. Even if I had unfastened the oxygen cylinder I could not, without oxygen, climb up using my muscular strength more than one hundred meters – 37 floors.

It became harder to breath. When brain doesn’t switch off, it starts to intensively work out some key thought. My brain started to count these nonexistent floors, comforting its owner that they are becoming less and less.

It became quite harder to breathe. I had to suck out the oxygen.

“I can catch a lungs squeeze.” I could no more breathe economically – my lungs were exhausted. But the piece of light above still looked like a star.

‘I guess there are around 80 meters left. The oxygen is over.”

My consciousness was struggling with the panic, and was trying to analyze. “If I descant the rest of the oxygen from the cylinder – the lungs squeeze is inevitable, and that’s it. If I tear off the mask, I can get poisoned with gases but there is still a chance. I tore off the mask. The lungs as if straightened.

‘I must not lose consciousness. If so, I can touch and tear off the cables.”

The way upwards was strange. My body was working by itself, it was strenuously breathing, though there was little oxygen left, that’s why it was breathing strenuously.

The frost blew. I looked up. In fact it was warmth – smiling Karpovich was looking at me from above,

P.S. I express my deepest respect to the employees of Security Service of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) without whom the expedition to the depth of the permafrost would not take place, or would be over pitifully: Evgeny Vasilyevich Barishev, Valeriy Bogomolov, Fedor Okhlopkov, Andrey Karpovich, Evgeny Zolkin,Yuri Fedorov, Alexey Sudinov, Dmitry Urgin, Roman Krutihin, Dmitry Krasnyh, Roman Vasilyev.

Note: Majority of last questions is related to what I have already written and posted on this blog. My reply preparation work is mostly about finding related posts and giving links to them in email answers. It might be one of reasons I don’t update AskYakutia.com often. So… what do I want to say? Feel free to use the search box on the left sidebar freely. That’s what I do…

The above note is not related to a question received from Singapore:

Hi,

Im from Singapore and I’m visiting Russia this summer.

I was told that Yakutsk is a city of a strict passport control and to visit this city, I am supposed to have an invitation issued by local migration authorities. Can I check if this is true and it’s necessary for me to get the invitation? I am actually intending to stay with a friend and Im flying in to Yakutsk from Ulan Ude.

As i am currently trying to prepare to get my visa, do i need to include this invitation from Yakutsk before i can apply for the Russia visa?

Thanks.

My answer is right after the link:

Indeed, local migration service does love to check foreigners for available correct Russian visa.

As I see, the mentioned visit purpose is private. You are going to stay at a private place, it means you must have a private Russian visa, where the purpose will say “гостевая” (guest/private). This visa might be issued on basis of the invitation issued by a local migration service at the request of your inviting person.

Just ask a local friend to not be too afraid and apply for a Russian guest invitation.

You can have also another option. It is a tourist visa, but in this case you would need to purchase a tour from a travel company or stay in a hotel. The visa is issued pretty fast.

Here in Yakutsk, one travel company www.planetyakutia.com can issue such invitation (in the form of travel voucher & confirmation). Ask your friend to address this mentioned company as well. In Russian it is called NTK “Yakutia”.

Actually, if you see a travel company that offers tours to Yakutia, you can get a tourist visa support from that company.

Just be adviced that your visit to Russia must correspond to its real purpose.

One of the most frequently asked question in regards to the Republic of Sakha-Yakutia, that occupies 1/3 of Russia and 1/2 of Siberia + the Far East, is, of course, “Where online to download region maps?”

Always in my reply, I sent links that I could recall at once. Praise god, there is the list now.

Recently, Artem Petukhov, a friend of mine, who runs his local Adventure Club blog in Russian, has compiled the list of maps available online for free download.

If you are an active traveller – motorcyclist, 4wd driver, mountain trekker, hiker, whatever, you might wish to check out the following maps:

1. Geodesic bitmapped maps.

2. Industrial maps in West Yakutia.

3. Moto roads maps.

4. Detailed maps of cities and districts.

5. Digital (GPS) maps for Navitel / Navitel Navigator. The link to the zip file. Yakutsk, districts: Megino-Kangalassky, Khangalassky, Kobyaysky, Lensky, Namsky, Mirninsky, Vilyuysky, Neryungrinsky)

Artem recommends also to use the SAS.Planet soft.

If you consider the listed maps are useful, please, share this info with your friends. Thanks!

Oh, by the way, don’t forget to browse through previously published posts under the tag Maps.

From Yakutia through Magadan Oblast to Chukotka

Chukotka Expedition Vehicles

This week famous Russian blogers, photographers and designers, embarked the winter off-road expedition from South Yakutia (Nerungri) to Chukotka (Mys Shmidta).

On March 07 they were already in Yakutsk. In two days in Oymyakon. Yesterday in Ust Nera. Currently, they are heading to Magadan on their pretty glamour 4wd vehicles.

You can read their random travel reports on their online resources, for instance, Sergey Dolya Blog and Artemy Lebedev Blog.

You might wish to follow these twitpeeps: @dolyasergey, @nub1an, and @frederick_taer.

One of latest requests:

What are the people of Yakutsk called in English? Yakuts? I’m an editor working on a novel with a Russian character who mentions Yakutsk.

Even in Russian, no special name exists for the people living in Russia’s Siberian city of Yakutsk.

Usually, when we are away and want to identify ourselves, we prefer to say that we are Yakutians. This is the name for all people living in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).

Very often foreigners mix up… When they mean Yakutia as a region, they call it as Yakutsk. Let’s clearify the situation and keep in mind a few facts:

1. The Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) is a region of the Russian Federation located in East-Northern Siberia and the Far East. Yep, it’s the biggest Russian region. Yakutia is a short name of the republic. So, people living in Yakutia are called Yakutians.

2. Yakutsk is a city and the official capital of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). People living in Yakutsk City are Yakutsk residents (yes, just residents.)

3. Yakuts is nationality. Yakuts or Sakha are native people that have been living in Yakutia for many, many, many centuries ago. It’s commonly believed that Yakuts belong to the Turkic group of nations, originated in the Altai area.

In my case, I can call myself in three ways. I am a Yakut (Sakha), cause it’s my nationality. I am a Yakutian as I live in Yakutia. Definitely, I am currently a Yakutsk resident, that’s my city! :))

The Lena River in Yakutia, Russia

Questions from a guide book writer regarding the construction of the AyAM railway to Yakutsk and a bridge across the Lena River:

In your opinion, when do you think the AyAM train to Yakutsk will be ready? My best guess is not before the Sochi Olympics in 2014.

When the AyAM is complete, it will just go to Nizhny Bestyakh, right?

Somebody told me there will also be a train station in Yakutsk. Why do they need a train station in Yakutsk? Is there another train line being built on the west side of the Lena River, or will there be a bridge across the Lena somewhere?

And here is my reply:

Well, the railroad end is already on the opposite bank of the Lena River, but there must be a lot of engineering works done before the first cargo train’s arrival (promised in 2013) and more additional works for the first passenger train to come. So not so soon.

Currently, Yakutia’s government works on getting funds from the federal center for constructing the bridge across the Lena River, but Moscow changes its mind all the time. No one is sure yet. Morelikely, Nizhnij Bestyakh (on the opposite bank) will be a Yakutsk railroad station in the beginning. If everything will be clear with the bridge construction, there will be the station on our side. If not, in N. Bestyakh.

No other bridges exist across the Lena River. No plans either.

Milosz Augustyniak on the Road of Bones in Yakutia, Russia, in June 2011

Previously I described the condition of the Kolyma Highway (known also as the Road of Bones) in June. As you know, the Kolyma Highway (M 56) connects Yakutsk and Magadan. The significant part of the road, precisely Khandyga – Magadan, was built by labour workers of Stalin’s gulags.

In posts where I mention the road condition in June, I write that it’s possible to drive the Kolyma Highway in this month, but if to go via Ust Nera. The route via this settlement is a major way and maintained all a year around.

The road through Tomtor is not reconstructed. Moreover, there are no bridges over rivers, that tend to be full of high waters at this period. Keep in mind that late May is the period of ice river melting and spring flooding. Therefore, in June, rivers are still full of waters. So, if you’ve got motorbikes and off-road vehicles, you can try the old road, but more likely you’ll be stuck on the part Tomtor – Magadan Oblast.

On the contrary, the new route via Ust Nera is the only way to be used in June. Last years, it has been improved by road workers pretty good. Broken bridges were reconstructed. If there were gaps, they were filled.

But… Don’t forget June might be rainy. It means that the part Churapcha – Khandyga might be etremely muddy… good enough for off-road 4wds only. In the mountain area, between Khandyga and Ust Nera, some small brooks (with no bridges over them) might become as real mountain rivers, that appear right after rain storms. One option is left in such cases. Wait a few hours for overfulled brooks to get to their normal small sizes.

Ok. Words enough. Watch the video done by the Pole guy named Milosz Augustyniak, who completed his hitchhiking from Yakutsk to Magadan alone in June 2011. Everything you will see in it.

Here are three videos of biking the Road of Bones via the Ust Nera, precisely on the route Yakutsk – Khandyga – Ust Nera – Magadan. They might serve as the answer to the question What is the condition of the Kolyma Highway in summer.

Oisin Hughes is a BMW motor biker from Dublin, Ireland. For a few years, he was riding a BMW motorcycle around the world through 27 countries and over 40,000 miles.

Last summer he visited Yakutsk, my city, and continued his journey to Magadan via the famous Kolyma Highway and then to Vladivostok, South Korea, Canada, USA and back home to Ireland.

Recently, he has completed his e-book “Not Dead Yet.” Its Kindle Edition is now available on Amazon. Apart from it, he uploaded a series of videos to accompany the book.

Above you can watch one of them dedicated to the start of his Road of Bones biking… Hmmm, in the presented video, you can see me. In reality, when I have good hair cut, I look much better… :)))

Oisin Hughes was also mentioned in the list of motor bikers, who traversed the Road of Bones last summer. Btw, he was the first motorcyclist. Check it in the post Flashback: 2010 Motorcycle Adventure Season on the Road of Bones, Yakutia/Siberia.

More Not Dead Yet videos on Oisin’s channel.

Read Oisin’s book Not Dead Yet.

All posts about the road tagged under Kolyma Highway and Road of Bones.

Jonathan Cafe offers Wi-Fi Access for free.

Thanks to Vasily Kirillin, we’ve got this updated info on Wi-Fi access points in Yakutsk, Siberia / Russia, as of Apr 28th, 2011.

Vasily writes, in Yakutsk, where is the most expensive Internet (1MB=~2 Russian Rubles), Wi-Fi is a luxury that is not offered in all places. Nevertheless, there is a recent increase in the number of those organizations that offer their customers Internet access via Wi-Fi on a fee basis and only a few for free.

Below see the full list of Wi-Fi access points.

Free Access:

CoffeeHouse “Jonathan” and NoodlesHouse “Kiko” (password: PAROL) – Yaroslavsky str.,

Night Club “Dracon”

Café “City-Life”: have to ask the waiter for username and password

University Network: ONLY students and stuff of the University; you can get access in the room #551 KFEN from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (should bring your student ID card and a laptop). Please note the restriction – 50 MB of external communication per day.

Internet Card Purchase Required:

Bowling Center “Muus Haya” – Petrovsky str., 13

Café “Da Vinci” – Lenin Avenue, 8

Café “Dali” – Lenin Avenue, 37

Café “Eli-Pili” – Kirov str., 13

Café “LatteMate”

Café “Library” at the University Campus

Café “Shokolateriya” – Peter Alekseev str., 4/1

Grill-Bar “Chicago” – Yaroslavsky str., 13/2

Hotel “Lena” – Lenin Avenue, 8

Hotel “Liner” – Gagarin str., 10

Hotel “Ontario” – Sergelyaksky Highway, 13 km

Hotel “Polar Star” – Lenin Avenue, 24

Hotel “Saysary” – Lermontov str., 62/2

Hotel “Sonata” – Gubin str., 39

Hotel “Sterkh” – Lenin Avenue, 8

Hotel “Tygyn Darkhan” – Ammosov str., 9

Marine College – Vodnikov str., 1

Medical Center – Sergelyakhsky Highway, 4 km

Mini-hotel “Northern Lights” – Kirov str., 31/1

Night Club and Restaurant “Jet” – Lomonosov str., 45

Residence of the President of Sakha Republic (Yakutia) – Sergelyakhsy Highway, 11 km

Restaurant “Irbis-2” – Kirov str., 4

Restaurant “Polar Star” – Lenin Avenue, 24

Restaurant “Tamerlane” – Lenin Avenue, 8

Restaurant “Tygyn Darkhan” – Ammosov str., 9

Steak House “Capital” – Kurashov str., 22

Trade Center “Kruzhalo” – Ammosov str., 8

Yakutsk Agricultural College – Poyarkov str., 15

Yakutsk Airport (VIP Room) – Gagarin str., 10

Yakutsk Airport (Waiting Room) – Gagarin str., 10

Yakutsk Economics and law Institute – Dezhnev str., 16

A presentation picture of the Museum of Gulags located in Khandyga, Siberia/Russia

Last two days I spent at 2011 Sakha Travel Exhibition in Yakutsk. It is an annual event held during the first weekend of April. I attend the exhibit just to find new travel enthusiasts from various regions of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).

This time I was lucky to meet Mr. Ivan Igoshin from the settlement of Khandyga. He knows almost everything about history of GULAGs in Siberia, as he is the founder of Yakutia Gulags Museum. Right, it is located in Khandyga, where he lives. You can see him in the picture with a tower. Besides, he is a leader of Khandyga Travel Club.

I wanted to meet him for many years. At last, I acquanted with him today. I was really lucky and, yeah, you might be happy about it as well. At least, I hope so :) We decided to cooperate! Woo hoo!

Museum Address: 30 Karpov Street, Khandyga, Yakutia/Russia, tel. +7 (41153) 413-95.

Chernyj Prizhim on the Kolyma Highway, so-called Road of Bones, in Yakutia, Siberia, Russia

I have written a lot about ways between Yakutsk and Magadan, Yakutsk and Oymyakon. Actually, both are the same. They are on the Kolyma Higway, known also as the Road of Bones or M56. I thought it’s time for requests to stop coming. All posts on this theme are filed under Kolyma Highway and Road of Bones.

Instead, I started receiving very specific questions. Love them all. They are specific as their authors are not regular people. Last two messages arrived from companies that focus on extraordinary expeditions. One was from explorers, who do so-called cold climate journeys. Another from the TV show, that arranges and broadcasts breathtaking off-road driving.

Two requests are related tightly to Oymyakon and the way to this place. Actually, questions sound the same.

1. Will the road from Yakutsk to Oymyakon be open in November?

The road will be open, but everything depends on the condition of ice roads on rivers. There are three rivers on the way to Oymyakon from Yakutsk. The Lena River near Yakutsk, the Aldan River before Khandyga, and the Kyubyube after the turn from the Kolyma Highway to Oymyakon. The last will be frozen for sure. About the rivers Lena and Aldan read below.

2. Will the rivers be frozen in November so that we can safely drive across?

October is the period when rivers start freezing. Ferries on the Lena and Aldan might work till the end of this month. In Novermber ice cover on rivers is getting thicker. Last 10 days on these rivers are safe for cars, however, they are not as such for heavy trucks. Officially ice roads are open in December, it means the ice cover is thick enough for any kind of transports, including overloaded lorries.

But… no one knows, what type of surprise the climate may bring. November weather can be abnormal, as it was last time. Warm (between -20C and -30C) in the beggining and extremely cold by the end.

The second half of Novermber is safe for off-road vehicles. By that time, a river in the Oymyakon area might be already frozen. Nevertheless, it is highly recommended to drive very carefully and check the condition of an ice road before driving through.

Related post: Is it possible to cross the Lena River near Yakutsk in November?

3. What temperatures are expected in November?

For instance, in late Novermber in Yakutsk we had -47C, in Oymyakon it was colder. Usually it is between -30C and -40C in Yakutsk and between -40C and -50C in the Oymyakon valley (with three villages, Tomtor, Uchugei and Oymyakon). You should know that the lowest temperature in that area was actually registered in Tomtor.

4. How much daylight do you get during November?

Let me recall. In the beginning of Novermber, daylight last from 9 am till 5 pm, in the end it’s already between 10 am and 4 pm.

5. Is it possible to rent a helicopter to fly along the Road of Bones?

As some says, if you pay, everything is possible :) Unfortunately, to rent a helicopter (MI8) is not cheap at all. One flight hour rate veries between 140,000 RUB and 160,000 RUB. Keep in mind that distances are huge. Flight from Yakutsk to Tomtor airport with one refuel stop at Teplyj Kluch (Khandyga) airport takes around 3 hours on one way. Plus you should pay his way back, that’s additional 3 hours. Total rented time is 6 hours for 960,000 RUB.

IMHO, to rent a heli is not reasonable. You wouldn’t save much time. It’s much, much cheaper to rent a car for the whole trip and one way may take 21 hrs. Besides, you can see more details of the historic Road of Bones.

How to rent a helicopter? There is one company that is always ready to fly with travelers. It is Polar Airlines. Mentioned rates belong to that air company. To reserve the flight, it is required to forward a written request to its office.

A never-frozen brook in the Verkhoyansk Range, East Yakutia, Siberia

One day I received two inquiries regarding drinking water in Yakutsk. The first one arrived from India saying, “What about your food habits (including drinking water)during winter?” The second request was asked by an American teacher, who was writing a paper on the use of drinking water in the Siberian city of Yakutsk. The latter contained more questions that the first one had.

Below see questions and my answers.

Q: I was wondering where you get your drinking water in Yakutsk, and if you have any pollution. Also, do you guys have ground water? I am asking this because my topic for Science is Yakutsk!

A: Well, residents of Yakutsk City prefer to drink boiled filtered water. It is not because of pollution. The reason is that filters are not used in the city’s water supply systems. Villagers use water from rivers. In the winter, they melt ice cubes from rivers’ ice cover.

Ground waters are not used, permafrost is pretty deep here. A couple of centuries ago, one merchant, Fyodor Shergin, tried to dig the well and get to ground water, but eventually his well became the world’s deepest ice vertical tunnel. It’s known as Shergin’s Shaft now.

More info about that attempt you might find in the “Descending into the world’s deepest shaft in the permafrost zone” post. Besides, ground waters are not demanded, as there are many rivers and lakes around.

That’s all what I can say for now. It’s a pretty short info, as I am not a scientist and unable to provide more profound facts for your writing work. You’d better come to Yakutsk and collaborate with republic colleagues. Think, this is more efficient way to obtain unique and highly interesting information.

Q: How much water the average person uses, and if Yakutsk has any water issues?

A: It is hard to say how much water city residents consume. Let’s take my family (2 adults and 2 little kids) as an example. We order two big bottles of drinking water (each 25 litres) and that’s enough for 5 days only. It comes we use 10 litres daily. This water we drink and use for cooking.

Have no idea how much other families consume. Certainly, it will depend on their purposes of such water use. Some uses DIY-filtered waters for cooking and drinking, a few would prefer to take waters right from faucets. Some loves drinking waters a lot…

But I think 10 litres might be considered as the average.

No big problems with water supply. Look at the map and you will see that there are a lot of rivers in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and there are many private companies that are ready to supply waters from them. Some businessmen start even thinking over exporting still water to China, but it is more like an idea to exercise on.

Dwellers of Yakutsk complain mainly about the absence of good filtering equipments used in the city water supply system.

A ferry on the Lena River near Yakutsk on Nov. 15th, 2010. Photo by Alexander Li, Yakutsk Vecherny Newspaper, Vecherka.Ykt.ru

Is it possible to cross the Lena River near the Siberian city of Yakutsk in November? This is a really good question. The answer is Yes and No. Everything depends on weather, precisely, on the condition of the ice cover on the Lena River.

November is the period of transition and so-called freezing-over. It’s time for the Lena River to get frozen, acquire ice cover thick enough for the use of ice river roads.

Keep in mind, there are no bridges over the Siberian river of Lena at all. The river might be crossed by ferry (in navigation period) or ice roads (in winter).

As I mentioned in the last year’s post When will ice roads be closed in Yakutia in spring? (btw, I recommend to search the website archive to dig a lot of info given already on FAQs), ice road is officially open, when ice cover on the river is more than 50 cm for light cars and more than 70 cm for trucks and heavy vehicles.

When this moment happens, State Motor Vehicle Inspectorate gives its permission for drivers’ crossing the Lena River. By this moment, all works on ice roads must be finished. Check eYakutia’s A Belgian TV documentary about ice roads on the Lena River in Yakutia, Siberia to see how ice road workers do their job.

Official ice road opening might be announced in the late November (very rarely) or in the early December (most likely). Till that moment, crossing over ice is not recommended, as it is considered to be risky.

When does the ferry across the Lena River stop working?

This year winter wasn’t in a hurry.

Actually it arrived in October already. In the late September there were heavy snow falls in various regions of Yakutia, for instance, in Nerungri and on the Road of Bones in the eastern part of the biggest Siberian region, but extreme cold weather arrived in the end of November only.

The midst of November 2010 was pretty mild in the area of Yakutsk. Like -20C for a couple of weeks. So the river was not grabbed with ices totally and entirely. That’s why the last ferry work day was November 15th, 2010. Check Alexander Li’s ferry winter photographs above.

The usual situation on the Lena River near Yakutsk in November

End of October or the first week of November = last days of river ferry work.
The middle of November = the dead period, no crossing at all (if anything urgent, locals use regular helicopter flights over the river, arranged by Polar Airlines especially for that period, flight ticket is around 2000-3000 rubles per person).
Last week of November or early December = ice roads officially open.

UPDATE, Dec. 17, 2010: This year the ice road on the Lena River near Yakutsk was officially open since Dec. 15, 2010. Within the territory of Yakutia there are 20 active river ice roads.

I see that the world is pretty much interested in people’s life in the Siberian coldest places such as Oymyakon (Ojmjakon) and Verkhoyansk (Verkhojansk)… and an idea arrived…

I have friends who live in Oymyakon and Verkhoyansk. Both villages compete for the title “The world’s coldest inhabited place.” In Yakutia locals do not pay much attention to where it is much colder, because everywhere it is cold, extremely cold. Even Yakutsk is currently experiencing -47C.

Well… If you wish, you can leave your questions about life in the cold condition and I will ask all of them to my friends in Oymyakon and Verkhoyansk.

Do you want to know, how they cope with the cold, how they keep their houses warm, what winter clothes (cold weather outfits) they use, how long daylight lasts and many other aspects of their daily life?

Use the comment form to leave your questions…