Expedition

Is it crazy to drive from Yakutsk to Oymyakon in winter?

December 28, 2011

road to oymyakon

Thought I wrote much about driving from Yakutsk to Oymyakon, but still questions are coming into my mail box. Here is the last one with many repeated questions. It arrived from a journalist who wants to do a report for a German car magazine about driving in a real winter. He says he needs a car.

“Is there any rental car company that rent cars for self driving? Or what are the major car dealerships in the city (German brands very welcome like Mercedes, BMW, Volkswagen, Opel, Porsche, Audi; or Volvo, Fiat, Renault… – or do you only drive Japanese cars?). Also I like to know the problems using a car at minus 45 degrees. Can you stop the engine? How do you keep the petrol liquid? What about the tires? I am thinking to drive from Yakutsk to Oymyakon. Is that possible? Very dangerous? Crazy? How long does it take? Huuh, so many questions, but you probably know the answers…”

Find my answers to this man’s questions: Read more…

How much does it cost to travel from Yakutsk to Oymyakon, the world’s coldest inhabited place?

November 24, 2011

Travel to Oymyakon, Yakutia, Siberia, RUssia

Ok. Here is my answer to the most frequently asked question last days, “How much does it cost to travel from Yakutsk to Oymyakon?”

Hope you remember that Oymyakon is the village located almost 1000 km west off Yakutsk and considered to be the world’s coldest inhabited place.

Read more…

Dimitri Kieffer about his cycling from Omsukchan (Magadan Oblast) to Yakutsk (Yakutia) via the Kolyma Highway #Siberia #Russia

October 8, 2011

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! Read more…

The Road of Bones (Kolyma Highway) by the Scottish MAD Expedition. Magadan – Yakutsk in September, 2011

September 21, 2011

The Kolyma Highway, Road of Bones, Magadan and Yakutsk. Road condition in September 2011

Yesterday I said bye to the Scottish travellers, who are making the MAD Expedition from Magadan (Pacific Ocean) to Scotland (Atlantic Ocean) on their own Landrover Defenders. They drove the Kolyma Highway through Ust Nera on September 13-18, 2011.

They are a group of friends from the Scottish city of Glasgow. Stuart, Richard, Gaven, Graham. They do long-distance driving travels regularly. Last time they made it from London to Kazahstan. This time they are here in Siberia on the way home.

Their mission is not just to have fun on the road, but also fundraising for charity. Check the list of charity funds they are supporting. Good friends with good intentions!

Ilya Kovyakin, the host of AskMagadan.com, helped them with cutsom clearance at the sea port in Magadan, Russia. Check out his website later to learn more about the specifics of custom paperworks.

The Scottmen’s travel delayed for more than a month. Initially they planned to start their road trip in the late July 2011, but their shipping company made a mistake in papers, so the cargo with the off-road vehicles stuck in Seoul on the way to Vladivostok and Magadan. It wasn’t the Russian custom service, that postponed their trip.

These four Scottish travellers prepared themselve to ride in the conditions of hot summer weather. In July they asked me, what the current weather was. I said, “+36C and +42C.” They were shocked to hear such news.

After a month, in the early September, the situation was totally different. The temp in Magadan and Yaktusk was already +10C, all trees turned in yellow colors. Moreover, it’s more colder on the road, especially in mountain area. When arrived in Yakutsk, guys said they were camping at -25C… at night.

Ok, no more words about the road conditions and weather reports. Let’s watch travel pictures taken by Scotsmen on the way from Magadan to Yakutsk.

Read more…

Benjy Davenport, of Cornwall2Capehorn, +free Wi-Fi in Yakutsk, Russia

September 7, 2011

Benjy Davenport finally made it from UK to Yakutsk, Russia. He and his Landrover Defender in front of the Government of the Republic of Sakha-Yakutia.

Benjy Davenport finally made it from UK to Yakutsk, Russia. He and his Landrover Defender in front of the Government of the Republic of Sakha-Yakutia.

Last Friday Benjy Davenport, who is doing the long trip from London, UK, to Cape Horn in South America, finally made it to Yakutsk. His driving on LandRover Defender to my city took more than one year.

Yes, that’s how long his journey was. He was supposed to come in August 2010, but a crazy drunk driver hit his landy in the Ukrainian city of Kharkov and Benjy was forced to return home for the total reconstruction of the car. He resumed his journey this year’s April.

So, who is Benjy Davenport and why he is doing an epic charity fundraising expedition?

Here is what he says himself:

My name is Ben Davenport. I’m 28 and live in the South West of England in Cornwall. Last year I embarked on a solo expedition in my Land Rover, attempting to drive from London to Cape Horn in South America. My route was to take me through Scandinavia via NordKapp, across Europe, Russia, The Central Asian “Stans”, Mongolia, across the Pacific to Alaska and then down through Canada, The United States, Central America and South America to Tierra del Fuego.

While a fair few people have done such expeditions, what makes my solo trip that bit more challenging is that I’m afflicted by Noonan’s Syndrome… Don’t worry ! You aren’t the only one not to have heard of it !!

In short, he travels to raise funds for Newlife Foundation and British Heart Foundation. If you are active donators, you can help him to help others. Learn more about his charity at Cornwall2Capehorn.com

Meanwhile, he is determined to follow his mission, “40 borders, 50,000 miles, 1 landrover, 1 driver, solo.”

Further, please, see more photographs from our meeting in Yakutsk, Russia. Read more…

Photos: Motorbikers are getting ready for breaking through the old route of the Kolyma Highway (Road of Bones), Siberia / Russia

August 15, 2011


An American chopper Doug Wathke and an Austrian BMW rider Hansjorg.

Yesterday I received an sms from Doug Wothke, who said he arrived in Yakutsk… on a Harley & Davidson motorcycle. It was late night. Right after midnight. He wrote he was looking for hotels to stay. For some reasons, all of them were full.

Hotels were full, as the republic’s big events are coming these weeks, including international economical forum dedicated to infrustructure development in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). They didn’t know that, and, frankly saying, that was not the point to mention even. Finally, they found so-called mini hotel (a sort of a guest house).

Today I have met him and he was not alone. There was an Austrian biker named Hansjorg on a BMW and one Russian Max on a KTM from Tynda, who said he catched up his group of Moscovite bikers going also to Magadan… And, yes, there was an Moscow-based American BMW motorcyclist Tom Reiter, a friend of Walter Colebatch’s. As far as you know, Walter is the UK motorbiker, who had explored Siberian roads (www.SibirskyExtreme.com) for others.

So… today, instead of two expected bikers, Doug and Tom, I saw 9 motorcyclists, they are 2 Americans, 1 Austrian, 6 Russians. They were changing tires and preparing their bikes for a long ride to Magadan.

See more photographs of today’s meeting. Read more…

Canadian 4wd travellers about their 5-day trip Vladivostok – Yakutsk. They plan to made it to Magadan.

June 13, 2011

Canadian 4wd travellers about their 5-day trip Vladivostok – Yakutsk. They plan to made it to Magadan.

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.

Read more…

Dimitri Kieffer’s ultimate description of Russia’s Chukotka – Kamchatka – Magadan route. From Uelen to Anadyr, Omsukchan and Magadan.

May 8, 2011

Dimitri Kieffer on his Arctic walking expedition from Alaska to Chukotka, Russia.

Dimitri Kieffer on his Arctic walking expedition from Alaska to Chukotka, Russia.

From time to time, I get really frustrated about being the answer machine and doing research works at requests. Aaaah, but I do not complain at all, as to give answers and insights into Yakutia and neighbouring regions is my passion…

Thanks to the Ask Yakutia weblog, I have aqcuainted with a lot of people around the world. Lately, many of them moved within my email inbox from the “Requesters” category to the “Friends” list :)

This month, for instance, brought two great adventurers. Both of them are fellows of the Explorers Club.

It is Karl Bushby, the author of the highly praised “Giant Steps” book. He is mentioned in the prevous post “Karl Bushby, the UK explorer, about his walking from Bilibino (Chukotka) & Srednekolymsk (Sakha-Yakutia), Russia’s Far East.”

The second great one is Dimitri Kieffer, a Franco-American explorer, who completed together with Karl Bushby the famous Bering Strait Crossing Goliath Expedition from Nome (USA) to Uelen (Chukotka / Russia) in 2006. So, more info on Dimitri and his achievements can be found on his page http://nexusexpeditions.blogspot.com/

So what am I trying to say by this long entry?..

It was Karl Bushby, who gave the explaination of how to get from Srednekolymsk to Bilibino by a car using winter roads. It’s the way that goes through Yakutia’s Kolyma.

Finally, Dimitri Kieffer gave me the ultimate description of his winter walking journey from the farest point of Chukotka, Uelen, to Magadan (read the Kolyma Highway, the Road of Bones, that connects Yakutia’s Yakutsk and Magadan Oblast).

Dimitri said, “Here was my route over multiple winters… Uelen – Anadyr- Krasneno – Vayegi (all in Chukotka) – Slautnoye – Kamenskoye – Manily – Paren (aka Urs Paren) (all in Koryak Okrug of Kamchatka) – Verniy Paren- Giziga – Evensk – Tavatum – Shiroka River – Galimy- Omsukchan (all in Magadan Oblast) and then you are on a permanent road to Magadan…”

Read more…

Karl Bushby, the UK explorer, about his walking from Bilibino (Chukotka) & Srednekolymsk (Sakha-Yakutia), Russia’s Far East

May 4, 2011

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

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. Read more…

Is it safe to drive the Road of Bones, the world’s coldest road, in November?

March 11, 2011

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

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.

Read more…

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