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.
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. Read more…
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.
Often I was asked, if I have the updated information on business and investment opportunities. Yes, I have one, but in the form of the official Republic of Sakha-Yakutia investment guidebook.
Follow the link “Read more” to find the updated region economy information with infographs and photographs taken by Yakutia-Sakha News Agency and, certainly, download the English version of the investment guidebook with the full list of available regional investment projects.
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…
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. Read more…
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.
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…
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… Read more…
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.
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…”
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