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.

Last year on June 12, I met three Canadians, Ion, Richard and Kim in Yakutsk, Russia. They arrived on their Toyota Landcruiser, which they shipped from Australia to Vladivostok.

By the way, if you wonder about shipping to/from Vladivostok, get in touch with the best fixer I’ve ever known. His name is Yuri Melnikov, CEO of Links LTD.

If you follow my blog, you might remember I had written about their arrival in Yakutsk with attached photos and videos.

Here’s the link to that story: Canadian 4wd travellers about their 5-day trip Vladivostok – Yakutsk. They plan to made it to Magadan

We had keeping in touch with Ian since 2010, when he was planning the Siberian road trip. He said that they would drive to Magadan via the Kolyma road and get back to Yakutsk and further to Mongolia.

Ian did really really about the road condition. In the middle of June, it was pretty rainy, indeed.

Richard, in his turn, said that after the Yakutsk – Magadan run completed he would leave guys and fly back to Beijing, where he worked at that moment, and he would be replaced by Kim’s husband Henry Howard, who should be on the other end of the Road of Bones in Magadan waiting for them.

Henry Howard happened to write to me before coming to Russia as well. I remembered him as a guy with Blackberry. In his message, he asked me, if Blackberry would work in Russia’s Far East. Yep, I said, but the Canada-produced smartphone would work good with a MTS sim card. MTS is one of three major Russian mobile operators.

Henry, indeed, came to Magadan, but a few days before his wife Kim with brother Ian and fellow Richard’s arrival. So, he spent three days in Magadan. You might see what he did while being in the city established in 1937.

Henry’s thoughts about the travel b/w Magadan – Yakutsk

“The Kolyma mountains are different mountains from any mountains I’ve ever seen. They are a beautiful and huge landscape. It’s unclear to me how they were formed, as they don’t appear to be folded rock, like I am used to seeing. I try to explain Siberia to friends and co-workers and clients, but it’s impossible to describe. You have to see it to believe it.”

“I think a lot of people drive the Kolyma Highway because it’s cool to drive a tough road. The road is fun, and it’s the place (and the people) that make it so interesting. I loved the cafes; every bowl of borsch was different, and they were all excellent. The billions of white butterflies in mid June around Yakutsk were amazing. I have never seen so many in my life. It was weird to see only one type of tree over 2m tall for 1500 kms from Magadan to Aldan. But then, how does anything grow tall in those rocks? I had expected Kolyma to be more like northern Canada at 60 – 65 latitude, but it isn’t. Except that both places have endless gravel roads.”

“You live in a wild and scenic place.”

Henry is really a GOOD hobby photographer! See his photo story about the Kolyma road trip in June. Click images to enlarge and see captions.

Magadan, Russia, June 15 – 17, 2011

Magadan – Yakutsk, June 18 – 23, 2011

They started the journey from Magadan to Yakutsk on June 18 and completed on June 23.

THANK YOU, RICHARD, FOR YOUR AMAZING PHOTOGRAPHS AND FEEDBACK!

This is my question. Just really wonder, who will be those lucky guys to experience motorcycle adventure through Siberia and the Road of Bones in Yakutia to Magadan.

Meanwhile, watch the above video, browse through tons of advices in posts tagged under Road of Bones, and check the new weblog AskMagadan.com.

The featured amazing trip was done by an Austrian fellow Hansjörg Xdream Franz. Unfortunately, I don’t know his website yet, but I’ll ask him.

Last summer, Hansjorg was here with a Harley Davidson rider Doug Wothke.

Doug Wothke and Hansjörg Xdream Franz in Yakutsk, Siberia / Russia.

With some other brave guys.

See other photos in the post Photos: Motorbikers are getting ready for breaking through the old route of the Kolyma Highway (Road of Bones), Siberia / Russia.

Once I had a great wish to make a report on my and my friends’ travel to Oymyakon, Russia, along Stalin’s Kolyma Highway.

First, I created the page called A Roadtrip to the Pole of Cold, Jan. 17-22, 2010. Yep, it was two years ago. Time is passing so fast.

After while, I published the post Activity tips: What to do in Oymyakon? Part I – Tomtor.

Then, people kept on asking me additional questions. Appeared many other related stories as well as the video: The World’s Coldest Road. The Kolyma Highway in Winter.

Oh, man. Now I think it would be much better to create one video with all images so to give the clue of what it is to travel to Russia’s Oymyakon, the world’s coldest inhabited place. Enjoy!

By the way, the song used in the above video is called “Sakham Sire” (My Yakutia) and performed by the Yakutsk-based rock band 103. Learn more about musicians on my other blog eYakutia.com.

PS. Good news is that I am planning to travel to the Oymyakon area again, but it will be more than a road trip. There will be reindeer sledding towards Muus Khaya Glaciers and spending nights in a tent at -50C.

This is just my way to announce that La Lupe Production’s TV Show “Climas Extremos” are now available on Spanish TV. Follow La Lupe Production Channel on Vimeo to learn schedules.

Yeah, it were them, Mario Picaso Soriano (left in the above pic) and Oriol (right), who created the Climate Extremes showing people’s live in extreme weather conditions. The first episode is dedicated to Oymyakon located in Yakutsk. Two years ago I helped them with the travel to Oymyakon. In this photo, they are in Yakutsk right after their arrival in Yakutsk.

Cool! So glad that they managed to complete all documentary episodes. Recommend to watch them all.

Con Mario Picazo viajaremos hasta Oymyakon, en la República de Saja, Siberia. Es el pueblo mas frío del mundo. Aquí el termómetro ha registrado la temperatura mas baja en un lugar poblado: 71, 2 grados bajo cero.

Durante los meses de invierno la temperatura mínima ronda los 50 grados bajo cero. Oymyakon es el pueblo más frío por varias razones. Su continentalidad, su elevada latitud, su altitud de unos 700 metros y su posición geográfica en el fondo de un valle entre montañas. Factores fundamentales para que al aire se enfríe más que en ninguna otra población del mundo.

Seremos los primeros españoles en visitar este pueblo. De la mano del simpático guía e intérprete Serguei y hospedado en casa de la entrañable Tamara, Mario estará varios días en el pueblo pescando, buscando hielo, bañándose en el río, experimentando una sauna rusa, bailando en la discoteca con las mozas, cabalgando a lomos de un buey de 700 kg llamado Miguel,…Mario sufrirá el frío más extremo que se pueda experimentar, pero lo compensará con muchos chupitos de vodka.

My favourite local band is “103.” It is a group of villages, who perform rock in the Sakha language. And I thought why not make a slideoshow with my winter pictures of the Kolyma Highway (Stalin’s Road of Bones) and their music. Take a look at what I came with.

By the way, when I and my friends started the travel (driving) on the Road of Bones on the route Oymyakon – Yakutsk in January, it was -57.3C. Pretty extremely cold. No wonder that the road is considered to be the world’s coldest road.

As far as you know, the Kolyma Highway connects Yakutsk and Magadan. The most of it was constructed by Stalin’s gulag prisoners. Yeah, it is in Siberia, Russia.

You might see my Oymyakon travel pictures on one of my pages.

Hope you like the music performed by 103. More about them you can learn on my other blog, eYakutia.com.

Here is the famous hillarious Japanese TV Show about Oymyakon (Ojmjakon), one of the coldest inhabited places in East Yakutia, Siberia / Russia.

The video doesn’t need any translation, as all can be seen in action! Yeah, that’s the fun travellers might have in the extreme cold winter weather.

Dimitri Kieffer (http://nexusexpeditions.blogspot.com/) is the Franco-American adventurer, who is listed in NYC-based Explorers Club. He is doing an NEXUS expedition around the world using human powers only. Some call such a journey human powered circumnavigation.

It was him, who walked with Karl Bushby from Alaska (US) to Chukotka (Russia). By foot. On the sea ice. Through Bering Strait. It was him, who gave me a great info on the route from Chukotka to Magadan Oblast, as he walked that way with a sledge in last winters. Check the post Dimitri Kieffer’s ultimate description of Russia’s Chukotka – Kamchatka – Magadan route. From Uelen to Anadyr, Omsukchan and Magadan.

And here is what he says about cycling together with his lady, Gulnara Miftahova, from Omsukchan to Yakutsk in August-October 2011.

A great fellow! A great explorer to follow!

I was pretty happy to follow, help a little and meet him and make the above video. Further, please, find his current expedition facts and, certainly, 40 travel photographs!

Why is Dimitri’s expedition called “Nexus”?

It is a Latin word and means “connecting cultures.” That’s exactly what he is doing now.

He’s navigating through nations’ cultures and doesn’t do what others do. He doesn’t pass through lands at fast speed and he can really recall all names of settlements, where he had stops, and people he met on the way. A few stories for each place.

Amazing! If you would meet him, he would tell you many, many and many exciting stories about nations and cultures he saw. I have met him personally two times only and think those meetings are not enough. He is a kind of person, whom you want to listen to more and more.

Magadan Oblast – Yakutsk (Yakutia) Cycling Pictures

Nexus Expeditions Facts

Dimitri Kiefer started the human powered circumnavigation around the world in February of 2005 at the place called Knik Lake (near Anchorage, Alaska). That was the first section, that ended in Nome (Alaska) in 37 days. He completed 1770 kilometers by foot (trekking & snowshoeing).

After he had seven sections listed by ExplorersWeb:

Second Section: Nome (Alaska) – Wales (Alaska)
Feb 2006, 9 days, 115 miles 185 kilometers
Completed by foot (Trekking & Back Country Skiing)
(with Goliath Expedition – Karl Bushby)

Third Section: Nome (Alaska) – Uelen (Russia) Bering Strait Crossing
March 17-31 2006, 14 days, 5 days where swimming was required
200 miles 322 kilometers
Completed by foot (trekking & back country skiing) & swimming
(with Goliath Expedition – Karl Bushby)

Fourth section: Uelen to Egvekinot (Chukotka, Russia)
April 12- May 16 2007, 34 days, 425 miles 684 kilometers
Completed by foot (Back Country Skiing and only trekking after Vastoshisno)
Uelen – Anguema (with Goliath Expedition – Karl Bushby)
Anguema – Uelen (solo)

Fifth section:
Egvekinot to Vayegi (Chukotka, Russia)
April 15 – June 7, 2008
exact amount of trekking days still being tabulated
Approximately 600 miles / 965 km
exact number of miles still being tabulated.

Completed on foot (back country skiing, trekking with a backpack and pulling the sled simultaneously, swimming and using the sled as kayak while going down rivers).

Sixth section:
Vayegi (Chukotka, Russia) – Paren (Kamchatka, Russia)
March 11 – May 13 2010
707 km completed, 63 days.

Location May 17, 2010:
N 62° 25.040′; E 163° 05.160′
Paren, Northwestern Kamchatka
Total kilometers covered Spring 2010: 707.2 km
Manily to Paren 199.4 km

Seventh section:
Paren (Kamchatka, Russia) – Omsukchan in Magadanskaya Oblast.
Dimitri is returning in Kamchatka in February 2011 to continue trekking and skiing 423 miles (680 km) from Paren in Kamchtaka Koryak Okrug to Omsukchan in Magadanskaya Oblast. He covered this section on skis and snowshoes, while pulling a sled on tundra, considering the absence of roads in this remote part of the world. His route should take him from Paren to Omsukchan via Verniy Paren, Chaibura, Ghiziga, Evensk, Tavatum and Merenga.

This section completes the “missing link”. Dimitri: “One can drive year around from South America to South Africa on permanent roads except through the Darien gap and between Anchorage and Omsukchan – the missing link.”

Position: April 25, 2011:
N62° 30.987, E155° 46.342 Omsukchan
595 km completed.

Eighth section:
Omsukchan, Magadanskaya Oblast to Yakutsk in the Republic of Sakha.
August-September 2011 with Gulnara Miftakhova
Approx. 1760 km

Dimitri: “After Yakutsk, our goal is to travel on our bicycles southwest towards Mongolia and continue further through Kazakhstan, and through some of the Central Asian states (Kyrgystan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan), some of the Middle Eastern countries (Iran, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Israel), and some of the Northern African countries (Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Mauritania, Senegal) where it will be time to row!”

“Of course, the exact route will be determined as we progress, partly depending on geopolitical conditions.”

Dimitri plans to complete the entire expedition by 2016, upon reaching Knik Lake, after having circumnavigated the globe via human power.

Meanwhile, Dimitri is in Yakutsk, the capital of the Republic of Sakha-Yakutia, Russia. This Sunday, Oct. 08, 2011, he will continue his expedition to Nerungri. This time he will be cycling alone, without Gulnara. Wish him luck and a safe journey!

As you know, Yakutsk, the capital of the Republic of Sakha-Yakutia in Russia’s Siberia, is based on the frozen ground known mostly as the permafrost. What’s that? It means the ground the city stands on is penetrated by ice. Actually, it is the mixture of dust, soil and ice.

See the above video made inside the undeground tunnel used by Yakutsk Permafrost Institute (the only one alike in the wold) and get an idea of what I am trying to tell. In this vid I like most of all those huge frozen snowflakes. If you had be lucky enough to go down inside, please, do not crush snowflakes, as it took decades for them to became so awesome :)

Previously, I wrote much about Yakutsk Permafrost Institute. The last post was called Yakutsk Permafrost Institute: Why did climate changes not affect permafrost in Yakutia?

Check also other posts mentioned in the list Similar Posts in the bottom of the current post.

Have a great day and give me your Like and RT, if you like the video :)

What does biking on the Road of Bones in the late September look like? The answer is in the following video and pictures.

Enjoy adventure!

Last year it was pleased to see Mick MacDonald and his fellows. They arrived in the middle of September and it was already snowing on the road.

For more info check out CompassExpedition.com and LondonToMagadan.com.

By the way, the Compass Expeditions tour was included in the National Geographic’s “Top 50 tours of a lifetime” list, making Compass the “only” motorcycle tour company on earth to be included in this list.

An Australian hitchhiker Casey Handmer (on the left) with Vadim, a biker of Anadyr.

A year ago, July 28, in Yakutsk I met Casey Handmer, who said he was on the way to Magadan. Asked, how he was going to make it. Hitchhiking was his answer.

He was not the first one, who travelled the Kolyma Highway (Road of Bones) by that mean. So, I didn’t worry much, but I should actually.

Watch the below video! In the places, Razvilka and Kyubyube, he walked alone on the road. You know what?! It was not a good idea. Praise god, he didn’t come across brown bears, especially curious cubs and their furious mom.

Razvilka (in the middle of the part Khandyga – Kyubyume) and the whole part after Khandyga are the place where brown bears are reported to encounter on the way in summer.

After his Road of Bones trip, Casey wrote the WikiTravel article “Kolyma Highway”.

Find tons of info on the Kolyma Highway in my previous posts tagged under Road of Bones and Kolyma Highway.

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.

Canadians just arrived to Yakutsk from Vladivostok. They spent 12 days in Vladivostok waiting for their Toyota Landcruiser from custom clearance, and they spent 5 days on the way with camping along the route. Yes, they were really tired.

A week ago, I received the sms on my mobile. It said, “Hi, it’s me, Ian. I got my car from the custom service. Now I and my friends are starting the trip to Yakutsk…” I was like, “Who is Ian?..” Then I thought, if he knew my mobile number, he must have kept in touch with me via AskYakutia.com… and I was right.

I checked my email box, typed his name in the search box and found Ian Veinot‘s message dated April 7th, 2010. A year ago! He wrote:

Hi..Thanks so much for posting all of the information you have so far. I just want to clarify one thing…Is the all weather road from Yakutsk to Magadan a separate route to the Road of Bones? I would like to travel the Road of Bones next year but would like to start in June so am hoping to use the all weather road starting in Yakutsk before returning from Magadan in mid-June on the Road of Bones when the rivers are hopefully lower. Thanks for any advise! Cheers.

My answer was short:

If you go by the new route of the Kolyma Highway, i.e. through Ust Nera, you can do it in June as well. This part is in good condition in the course of the whole summer. If by the old route via Tomtor, in late July and August only because of rivers.

My god! I remember, a few months later, he was also asking me, how to clear the car at the Russian custom. I recommended to forward all custom-related inquires to Walter Colebatch from SibirskyExtreme.

One year past, Ian arrived in Yakutsk, as he promised, in June. It happened yesterday, June 12th, 2011.

Further, please, find out the video with his story about the way Vladivostok to Yakutsk, learn what type of problems he had with his car custom clearance and see what made tired travellers happy in Yakutsk.

In this video, Ian is telling, who they are and how the trip from Vladivostok to Yakutsk was.

Lately, Ian explained what type of the problem they experienced, while clearing the Toyota Landcruiser off-road vehicle in the Russian port-city of Vladivostok. Their shipping company, that delivered the 4wd from Australia, made mistakes in papers. Here they are:

1) The car owner’s name was misspelled in papers.
2) The total weight (in kg) was indicated wrong. 6 K instead of 2 K.
3) The list of stuff inside the cabin was wrong as well. Some items were not found in the list.

How come? Ian and Richard said, “Stupidity!” A few moments later, Ian said, “Or, maybe, the shipping company operator was a pregnant female and she was about to give birth…” Richard added, “Yeah, actually she didn’t care much about information she wrote in the form…”

All the above details were already said in the Chicago grill bar. You should see how happy they became, when they started eating grilled meat. Below, just one of those happy images :)

Canadians in the Chicago grill bar.

Ian explained why they were happy. Just imagine. They spent 5 days on the road. They didn’t stay for nights in hotels. They were camping. And they were dirty. In Yakutsk they were hosted at my friend’s private place, got showers and became clean, and found a chance to enjoy well-cooked meat.

This morning they are leaving for Magadan. Hope everything will be fine. They plan to make it via Ust Nera. In Magadan, Kim will meet her husband, Harry, who will replace Richard on the way back to Yakutsk through the old route of the Road of Bones. Richard, in his turn, will get back to Beijing, China, where he works.

UPDATE:

Canadians made it to Magadan via Ust Nera. After they returned the same way. Ian said they didn’t dare to try the old route through Tomtor, as rivers on that way were full of high waters. It was in June 2011.

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.

Karl Bushby, of 21st Century Odyssey, in Yakutsk, Yakutia, Russia

This is Karl Bushby (www.odysseyxxi.com), who has been doing the epic journey back home to London from Puntas Arenas (Chile), the most sourthern point of South America. He has been walking around the world for 14 years. Alone. Unsupported.

When he walked from Chile to Alaska, he wrote the famous book “Giant Steps.” When he crossed the Bering Strait from Alaska to Russia’s Chukotka, he made a documentary for BBC Channel.

Further, find more info, and two videos.

This year he returned back to Chukotka and continued his Arctic part from Chukotka’s settlement of Bilibino to Yakutia’s village of Srednekolymsk. 35 days in the Arctic tundra.

Yesterday, I was lucky to meet the man, who is walking around the world, in Yakutsk, the administrative center of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), and take him for a walk… a short walk. When we strolled from his hotel, I recorded a sort of the video interview. Watch it.

The first video is about the 5th stage of his 21st Century Odyssey expedition. He tells how the Russian visa limits his journey, why his Arctic part from Fairbanks to Yakutsk lasts 5 years.

The second video gives a great description of the way (existing winter road and road condition) between Chukotka’s settlement of Bilibino and Yakutia’s village of Srednekolymsk. By the way, in that video he gives the answer to the frequantly asked question “Is there a road between Kolyma and Chukotka?”

So… It seems Karl will spend next two years (partly) in Yakutia, Siberia/Russia. Next winter he is coming back to complete the part Srednekolymsk – Yakutsk. Afterwards, he’s planning to go south, to China and next to Mongolia.

Today he departed for Moscow and then to LA.

PS. More parts of the video interview, I hope, will appear soon in this post. Stay tuned. Hope also to make the same chat in next winter.

UPDATE:

Here is a new video:

This time he talks about his meeting a polar bear, a wolf and video footage for his new adventure documentary.

UPDATE: Chukotka as well as Yakutia’s Nizhne-Kolymsky and other Arctic regions require the special entry permit issued by the Russian Federal Security Serive. It’s important! Keep this thing in your mind, when you start thinking about Russia’s Arctic.