Hi! My name is Bolot. I am a journalist. Based in Yakutsk. Ask me a question about the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Siberia / Russia, and get the answer.
Thanks to Eva Krečová, I’ve eventually watched the Long Way Round episode dedicated the Road of Bones. So many years past, but it happened now only. If you weren’t lucky to see it, just do it and consider your traveling this way. Must be a lot of fun and adventure stories.
Btw, Eva Krečová & Tomáš Holman are the Czech travel motorcyclists, who repeated the same journey along the Road of Bones in August 2009, but alone on one BMW bike and without local truckers’ help. Check their set of Kolyma Highways photographs.
Watch other parts of the episode. Keep in mind that Ewan and Charley’s biking took place in June 2004. May and June is the period, when local rivers tend to be furious and full of high waters. The safer period is August. Read more…
I have been reading the last report about Norwegians’ accident [in Yakutia/Siberia], and I want to ask you something… Is this a recent story? I haven’t found the piece of news relating to this.
Nowadays I know some people who want to make the journey to Oymyakon [the coldest place in Yakutia and the whole Siberia], only as a wish, without nothing to take it seriously. I’ve been reading different articles, and AskYakutia’s reports and I think it is not a thing for not taking it seriously. It’s very funny to see -60ºC, but another thing is to go for them.
What do you thing about this journey? It is a little dangerous, isn’t it?
Today’s top local news is totally dedicted to Norwegian adventure travelers lost allegedly in the Oymyakonsky region by the Embassy of Norway and found by the Russian rescuers. They were okey.
They appeared to be very naive travelers. They thought they would be the first who made it to Magadan by the old route of the Kolyma Highway in winter. Even experienced local drivers know that driving from Tomtor directly to Magadan that way is impossible, because it is impassable, it is covered with thick snow. Now they are forced to say they got stuck due to the breakage of their Mercedes Benz off-road vehicle. That’s the myth! Read more…
In March 2007, a few friends of mine, Yakutsk-based adventure cyclists, Marat, Maverick & Scorpion (don’t know why, but they call each others by nicks), traveled from Yakutsk to Oymyakon, the Pole of Cold. A funny thing. They documented the expedition pretty good. They’ve got a lot of high resolutions photographs, perfect videos and… Since the travel they couldn’t find time to make the full report.
Recently Marat promised me to make his report with pictures. Time is passing, but he didn’t finish his text yet. Well… While he is trying to find spare time, I decided to create my own post using some of his photos and the video done by Maverick for friends’ fun and digged out occasionally in the archive. Here is what we have by now.
Often asked about the tour to the Pole of Cold, Oymyakon. All the time the question sounds different. Some is interested in transfer rates, others in hotel rates, third persons are just wondering what to do and see in the Pole of Cold. So I decided why not just give away the description of the standard tour to the officially acknowledged coldest Siberian place?!
The Indigirka River, Oymyakon, Siberia/Russia. In some parts it is never frozen, even when the temperature goes below -50C.
The tour description was received from a friend of mine, Semen Baishev, an Oymyakon-based travel enthusiast. Actually it is him, who arranges all the travel program in the Pole of Cold for individual tourists and travel agencies’ groups. Oops, travel agencies might “kill” me for disclosing such an info :) Whatever. So… here we go. Read more…
What had been happening at 1930s on the territory of East Yakutia was really awefull. Watch the short documentary “Kolyma” made by SDMediaEU for the TV series “Siberian Impressions.” Terrible feelings after watching the video. Especially the scenes with human bones. But we can’t do anything about it. That’s history and the worst part.
Thanks to my writing about Yakutia for international readers, I have a unique opportunity to communicate with very interesting people. One of them is Rob Lilwall, a travel cyclist of London. Five years ago, he decided to embark on the journey of his life.
Bored of his work as a geography teacher in England, Rob eventually packed his panniers and took his bike for an adventure. He flew as far from England as possible. To Magadan. That was where he and his old school friend, Al Humphreys, hit the Road of Bones. It was the end of September and the beginning of a Siberian winter. At that point everything seemed perfect.
That’s great news. Czech OFF SIBERIA adventure motorcyclists Tomáš Holman and Eva Krečová, who are traveling across Russia on one BMW bike, allowed me to post their travel photos taken on the Road of Bones this summer. They rode from Yakutsk to Magadan via the old route Kyubeme – Tomtor – Kadykchan (Magadan Oblast).
So… Two UK adventurous bikers of the Sibirsky Extreme travel motorcycle expedition have just ridden the Kolyma Highway. They had left Yakutsk on Thursday afternoon and arrived in Magadan on Sunday evening. 2100 km, 3.5 days, and 7 tyre changes! What did they say about the federal road?
The road was a little better than the Vilyuisky Trakt, but only a little better. There were still long gravelly sections, the odd sandy patch.
