Overland to Kamchatka - ZIMNIK winter roads
 

I understand it has not been done before, but the preparations that Rainer Zietlow took are impressive: Amarok Polar Expedition: Home. Keep fingers crossed that he will make it. His team started in Moscow, is in Yakutsk today, and will drive via Pevek and Anadyr to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatka...

According to their Yellowbrick real-time tracking, the group is now close to the Kyubyume petrol station in Oymyakon District, and will reach the turn-off point into uncharted territory at Ust-Nera in the next hours: Amarok Polar Expedition: Home

Some information on their potential offroad route to Chukotka may be found on askyakutia.com: How to get from Magadan to Anadyr in summer? Via Yakutia's Kolyma | AskYakutia.com or How to get from Uelen to Magadan via Anadyr & Omsukchan? | AskYakutia.com

Worth looking at all the pages from this expedition 13 years ago led by a feisty Italian woman.
Кругосветный автопробег

These guys really pioneered this kinda winter exploration. The current guys seem to following in their footsteps till chukotka

Correction: the Amarok group is now in Oymyakon village. Would be funny if they drive the OLD Road of Bones ... :oops2:

Thank you. Very interesting, the Shparo-expedition. They shipped from Uelen to Vladivostok. Amazing: 900 l fuel tanks each car ! More on the Jewish-Italian teamleader Stefania Zini here: A Taste for Adventure

The Shparo-website lists further overland expeditions to Chukotka (google-translate):

1. Expedition Richard Chrisy, December 1994 - March 1995. In the caravan 6 "Ford", which came accompanied by Russian "Ural". The expedition reached the village. Lawrence (Chukotka)

2. Expedition Dr. Petter Johannessen, nephew of Roald Amundsen. Machinery - 4 truck "Iveco" (6x6, weighing 6 tons). Date: November 1995 - March 1996. Expedition big problems drove to the village of Cape Schmidt, Chukotka, and was transported to Alaska by air.

3. Company "Land Rover" planned way London - London - New York - London, in their cars, in December 1997 - April 1998. The transition was dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the company. For the management of the so-called "Transglobalnoy expedition" were attracted famous travelers: Dmitry Shparo (Russia), Dr. Gordon Thomas (Canada), Sir Renalf Faynnes (UK). Crossing the Bering Strait was to be carried on pontoons. The expedition did not take place because of financial difficulties.

Rainer Zietlow and the Amarok Expedition have now left Ust-Nera, to go off-road (at Burustah) towards Chukotka and Kamchatka: Amarok Polar Expedition: Home (livetracking)

http://www.amarokpolar.com/fileadmin..._w556_v001.png

For comparison, this is the route that the Shparo-Expedition took:

http://www.shparo.ru/zil_expedition/zil_transrussia.htm

http://www.shparo.ru/zil_expedition/.../zil_map_2.gif


(below: Coal = Ugolskoye; Whalen = Uelen)


Burustah - Sasyr
Sasyr - Coal
Coal - Zyrianka
Zyrianka - Cherskiy
Chersky - Pevek
Pevek - Cape Schmidt
Cape Schmidt - Whalen

^^^ ...presumably those numbers are distances between those points in Km?

do maps of the winter roads up there exist?

That is km, correct.

I am searching for a winter road map too.

Here is a series of youtube-videos of Frederick Taer's expedition, with relatively standard 4x4s, driving on winter roads to Chukotka in 2012: Chukotka 2012. Day 1. Neryungri. - YouTube

And this is their route:

http://photos.travellerspoint.com/32...kotka_2012.png

including a signpost of an iceroad:

http://photos.travellerspoint.com/32...ge_Iceroad.png

Not sure, but I think the youtube-videos end halfway (?) On their Russian website it shows they finished the trip in Chukotka as planned: http://frederick-taer.livejournal.com/

It looks like the maps on Bolot's askyakutia.com (www.rus-map.ru) show the iceroads as well (here for example Burustah to Sasir to Ugolskoye). Can someone with better Russian-skills than me help to turn to map pages 196 etc. towards Pevek and Anadyr?

http://photos.travellerspoint.com/32...ceroad_map.png

Here are the waypoints for that trip as far as Pevek. This guy made it as far as Pevek, the rest actually got to Anadyr via Cape Schmidt.

Those guys had the maps in their sat nav so they must be available in that format as well as Russian Military Maps.

One person on this thread can best advise on satnav maps for the region. The only one I know of is http://www.navicom.ru/maps/topo/


Google Maps



Страница Виртуальных Путешественников

Thanks, Fastship, the google-map link until Pevek is very good:

http://www.4sync.com/web/get/s.dolya...a3/mapchuk.png

It is is from Sergey Dolya who was part of the same Frederick Taer expedition. Fantastic fotos of the iceroads here: http://sergeydolya.livejournal.com/t AG / Chukotka

It seems that this is the only Chukotka expedition ever to be done in standard 4x4s ...

And of course, no one made it to Kamchatka overland...

I asked Navicom - good enough they replied by return:

Good morning,

We have only the "Roads of Russia" card. This is a map of the whole of Russia. It is only in Russian language. And it's not divided into "winter" and "summer"

Best wishes,
NavicomArslanov Alexey

I think in general that these zimniks are too changeable to be mapped to the accuracy satnav's require. I read as many trip reports in this area as I can, one such reports states

In general, the cause "winter road" on the map - it is almost impossible. Each year, it is laid on a string of different ways, depending on weather conditions, and in general, the route itself is changing constantly: sweep somewhere, somewhere will water on ice, and winter road alone will make a new bend.

Expedition "Brest - Pevek." Fight with the North - HGV - Avto@Mail.Ru

The routes seem fully prepared, all the way up to Pevek, there are even UK style road signs which can be seen in some of the photos. Basically, you follow the Kolyma River. This looks like one of those places you pick your route when you get there. On google earth there are roads from Pevek to Uelen marked, finding them might be another matter! From Uelen to Anadry it looks like you're on your own, line of sight/dead reckoning with GPS or sextant.

This list of winter roads is from a Russian cycle website: Google Translate

What a stunning place though.

Thank you Fastship. Very good weblinks.

So the "Brest -Pevek" expedition is Nr. 5 on our list of drives to Chukotka, and the 2nd in standard 4x4s (Mazdas, even without special tyres).

I have My-Weather-Indicator on my PC set for Anadyr, I haven't seen it above -30c this year! Remember too that you require special permissions to enter Chukotchka:-

VISITCHUKOTKA.COM - Ethnic Chukotka

Amazing. In Sergey Dolya's expedition blog, he mentions that real temperatures in Siberia tend to be even colder than the "official" ones on the web / in the news. That was our experience too. :freezing:

"Anyway, the local inhabitants do not hesitate saying that "This is not Russia, where anarchy and its laws", and complain that the weather forecast for the central channels constantly lie: they say that the temperature of -34 * Celsius and in fact -50 *. Think they want to knock off the "northern", due to the salary, and that is after all half the salary plus."

Added the map of Taer's and Dolya's "Brest-Pevek" expedition:

http://pic.auto.mail.ru/content/docu...f14_small.jpeg

Live update on Rainer Zietlow's Amarok expedition. Looks like they have trouble to find the road, about 1.000km north of Oymyakon:

http://photos.travellerspoint.com/32...rge_Amarok.png

This can be done by bike.

For fuel and sleep, a back-up car would be helpful.

I'm surprised it has not been done yet.

nnoooooo - no backup!!! That's just not right :nono:

I've studied this for a few years now and I think I've solved all the potential problems. Range is an issue true, probably the biggest too and there are a few others but "keep it simple" is the right philosophy here.

I'm working on the cold weather protection for now but it is solvable.

:thumbup1: that's the right attitude !

Not sure if this is windproof enough: PLANAM overall (freezehouse workwear -49°C, polyester padding between two thinsulate layers) for ca. € 130, to be worn above the normal cold-weather bikewear. Don't think that down à la Canada Goose works on a bike.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...7L._SY445_.jpg

For shoes, I can only imagine BAFFIN, probably the APEX -100°C model for stability (ca. € 300):

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...SL._AA300_.jpg


Gloves: probably fur above the normal kit

Head: really don't know ...

Zietlow's Amarok expedition has now made it to Pevek. It took them 6 days from the "Road of Bones" turn-off in Burustakh near Ust-Nera, including stops for meetings with locals. The iceroad ("zimnik") seems to be well maintained and immensely beautiful, from the pictures they publish: http://www.amarok2014.ru/media/


http://photos.travellerspoint.com/32...arge_Pevek.png

Bottom left: turn-off from Transsiberian, "Amur Highway"

Center: in and out of Oymyakon, "Old Road of Bones"

Yeah – it's gotta be done hasn't it! Well done to the VW team and what stunning pictures – I'm really looking forward to seeing their route to Anadyr. It would be a completely different experience on a bike of course.



The clothing I envisage for this trip is closer to the requirements of an off planet astronauts suit such as the design studies done by NASA for future Mars missions. These suits have totally different thermal design requirements to any EVA suit yet designed due to the presence of interstitial gasses. In other words, the don't operate in vacuum where the only heat loss mechanism is radiated heat but a cold (mostly CO2) atmosphere with convection currents also. Mars is almost identical to Chukotka in terms of temperatures.


The target thermal conductivity to provide adequate insulative properties for the Mars suits is 0.005 W/mK but with electrical in-put from the bike to supply electrically resistant polymer energy could be added to the system and a higher target of 0.00761 W/m-K is satisfactory. This has already been demonstrated. The thickness of the complete system is ~ 16mm. With this kind of insulative suit, boots and helmet a winter bike ride to this place is both possible and safe.


I'm talking to a local university with design expertise in this realm but I don't have the resources to pursue it just yet. But it can be done.

:thumbup1: I like that THINK BIG approach. Thumbs up! :thumbup1:

Whoever rides there first on a bike is a superhero, no matter how.

Even by car ... respect !

I have to admit I have been doing some dreaming about this on a bike in winter aswell. Probably just a pipe dream. None the less do you think it is possible to take this to the ultimate next step and ride across the Bering Sea ice aswell?

My understanding is that technically it is not a problem, if it's a cold winter (like this year?). The political obstacles are higher. That will only work in combination with a big name, either politician, traveler or brand.

Yes - I think if you were ever game enough to try - the best would be to leave from the Russian side and go to the US side. Anyway a bit of pipedream at this stage. About -7ºC is about the coldest I have ridden in quite bearable in ordinary bike gear - I wonder how far down you can go with specialised gear.

The only other would be a similar route in summer and catch a boat up Kolyma River like the Moto Syberia guys did.

Fuel range is the biggest problem.

On the Amarok expedition fotos, the locals drive on snowmobiles at -50°C.

http://www.amarokpolar.com/typo3temp...d9c15d6ef6.jpg

Found another Moscow - Chukotka expedition, from 2006 in Ford cars (with extra crawler wheels) , here:

Moscow-Chukotka Expedition

They claim to have been the first on that route. One of them, Alexey Simakin, is now the team-leader of Zietlow's Amarok expedition.


http://www.moscow-chukotka.com/images/russiamap.jpg

Here is the Polish expedition on motorbikes that speculates about possible ways from Magadan to Anadyr in summer:

666 MotoSiberia Evil

As I understand it, they did not make it (?)

... and of course Matthias Jeschke's RTW trial that made it until Uelen in 2009 (with heavy expedition gear):

Extrem Events - Matthias Jeschke - Paris-New York

Apparently the first ever on the Southern Route:

http://photos.travellerspoint.com/32...ge_Jeschke.png

The only successful Bering Strait crossing by car, the famous Cape-to-Cape expedition by Landrover in 2008. In several steps, on the iceroads in winter and on pontoons in summer:

Cape to Cape Expedition

Route Map:

Cape to Cape Expedition

http://www.capetocape.org.uk/images/Siberia/map.JPG

Yep they did.

Russia Travel Forums - View topic - Magada-Anadyr by land?

3 x KTM GO EAST - Page 77 - ADVrider

Thanks for the links.

Amazing stuff.

Moto Siberia's route:

http://photos.travellerspoint.com/32...otoSyberia.png

Found this other Polish expedition on MotoSiberia's amazing thread:

Expedition of the Century - participants | romualdkoperski.pl

Romuald Kopersi by MAN truck to Chukotka and back:

http://photos.travellerspoint.com/32...ition_2008.png

And to complete the list: Karl Bushby's Goliath Expedition on foot

odyssey home page


http://www.odysseyxxi.com/images2/Ro...cover_page.jpg

Mikael Strandberg's "Expedition Siberia 2004" on foot - not to forget.

Expedition: Sibirien 2004

http://siberia.nu/kartor/karta_sibirien.gif

If you're collecting Pevel trips, this is the one that first inspired me:-

www.sever66.ru/?cid=2145::

Many thanks, Fastship. Very good website.

Yes, I am gathering maximum information about Chukotka / Bering Strait / Kamchatka expeditions (which are still minimal).

My car is in Magadan and I would love to continue my Murmansk-Machackala-Magadan-drive to Mys Schmidta immediately. But I don't think I'll have a 10 day time-window until the ice melts in April. Next year maybe...

Here is the route of Sever66 in 2007 up to Mys Schmidta / Cape Schmidt in a single GAZ 66 van, including a Dutch and a German participant:

http://www.sever66.ru/photos/russia_rute_1.jpg

They are in Anadyr so some wonderful pictures are coming through now.

Re. the worries we are expressing with regard to cold weather gear this URAL driver shows how he prepares for driving in -39C .... tee shirt, no gloves :thumbup1:

http://www.amarokpolar.com/typo3temp...99095866a7.jpg

They didnt make it via a land route. Initial plan was to go overland from Omsukchan to the coast, then Evensk, Gizhiga and onwards to Anadyr. That didnt work (they got to the coast from Omsukchan which was a big struggle, then could really go only a few miles up the coast - they never made it to Evensk) so they looked for another way and found you could take a barge on the Kolyma River.

They took a barge from Seymchan just off the Road of Bones up to Chersky near the Arctic Ocean - over 1000 km I believe. The road then from Chersky to Egvekinot was graded gravel (an all season road) and not a problem.

In short - the issue in summer is getting from the Kolyma Highway to Chersky near the Arctic Ocean. There are no summer roads and that section is only doable in winter. (or by barge in summer)

Great pictures indeed.

Amazing how the locals deal with the cold.

Thanks for the info colebatch.

Looks like a big adventure. In winter and in summer.

The Amaroks - now accompanied by two Isuzu Ohara caterpillars - have taken an interesting initial direction, almost circular, on their last leg from Anadyr to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatka, now completely offroad:

http://photos.travellerspoint.com/32...rge_Anadyr.png

This Russian expedition is attempting the crossing but the long way around - via the pole! They are on the ice as we speak.

Diary of MLAE-2013

http://www.yemelya.ru/img/2011/MLAE-...engoi_ENGL.jpg

Looking at the Amarok expedition, it looks like they are having a hard going. I don't think, looking at some of their photos that a bike could make headway through the two metres of snow on the post Anadyr leg. To Pevek and perhaps Uelen yes.

Thank you, Fastship. The Russian MLAE expedition is absolutely amazing. Never thought that a crossing of the Northern Polar cap could be possible with cars on wheels. And they started in March ... so late!

The Amarok expedition has now made it to the border of Kamchatka Oblast, but only with the help of caterpillar trucks paving the way. Let's see how long the last couple of hundred kilometers offroad will take.

Potential polar motorcyclists. Would you consider it cheating to make modifications at some point in your journey and to have had the parts shipped in, as opposed to have carried them in yourselves?

I ask because I've been looking at snowbike conversions like the Timbersled Mountain Horse.


Obviously you wouldn't be hooning round northern Siberia like the video, but it does show their ability out of the box to handle deep powder. The flat tray over the track could no doubt come in handy for payload, enough for the fuel needed? I have no idea.

To be honest riding the zimnik is one of those pipe-dreams I have that will almost certainly never happen unless circumstances change or someone says "Alex come and do it with us, we'll pay/we'll get sponsors." But it shouldn't stop me dreaming and if I can chip in with something I've found while Googling, I hope you'll forgive the intrusion. I know I'll be following the exploits of the person to do it with huge interest.

^^ that's not a motorbike. If it doesn't have two wheels it's something else. If it has more than two wheels it's not a motorbike.

That machine sure can go places a motorbike never will though :clap:

If those Amoroks have been towed by those tracked vehicles I'd also question if their trip is absolutely valid - but I'd be splitting hairs.

Studded tyres on those winding zimniks would be excellent riding!

Great product! This could be the solution for crossing the Bering Strait, or for the real offroad sections to Kamchatka.

On the zimnik/iceroads a standard motorbike will do it (however one needs fuel deposits).

IMHO there is no cheating, as long as you cover the whole distance on the ground. As Fastship said, even the Amaroks needed to be towed by tracked vehicles. Nevertheless a great adventure, and for tough guys only.

If you could easily retrofit such a device to say a big GS en-route just for the snowy parts it would be good but I can't see that being practical or realistic - but if it could...

I think I have seen land rovers temporarily adapted to tracked motive power.


The system fitted to a KTM 690 looks great. Perhaps some of our Finnish members could translate?

Kelkkalehti 2013 #001 - Snowbike - KTM 690 Enduro R + Timbersled Mountain Horse LT 137 - YouTube

Or the Fords of the 2006 Moscow - Chukotka expedition

Moscow-Chukotka Expedition

http://photos.travellerspoint.com/32...ord_tracks.jpg

Their Yellowbrick is reporting an inaccurate position; their last report is from Ossora but the map says they are still haven't crossed the Kamchatka border.


On reflection, Axelbrit's suggestion of using that Timbersled is the only way you could emulate this Amorok or similar route. For most of the route it seems you could stay on two wheels but from what experts say, the deep snow of the rest would be impossible on a bike.


Just thinking out loud – it would entail carrying the Timbersled rig on the bike in addition to everything else you need to carry. At the required juncture, you would swap in the Timbersled rig then carry the wheels, swinging arm and other bit & bobs and away you go.


The Timbersled rig only weighs about 30kg but is bulky. The tunnel on it does provide a convenient place to mount the now redundant wheels, swing arm etc.You can see a picture of what you take off on the relevant PDF on their site.

It only fits chain drive bikes so that means a KTM 690R, possibly a 950R so water-cooled.

It's not impossible.

Either their Yellowbrick tracking device is broken, or it was left behind accidentally. Hopefully not in an abandoned car. :oops2: One of the Amaroks (looked like Zietlow's) needed bigger repair, as visible on the fotos.

Can't contribute on the bike equipment question, but a one-car-escort would definitely help ... for food, fuel, the Timbersled, warming up and as an emergency shelter. As of Anadyr (or the US-Alaskan side), a caterpillar vehicle could take over the escorting.

P.S.: I'll be driving that car anyway :-)

It's a pity that the Yellowbrick tracking has not been working in the most important (= totally offroad) section of the Amarok Expedition:

http://photos.travellerspoint.com/32..._kamchatka.png

Timbersled are just one maker, although seemingly the biggest, there's also FrozenMoto:

http://frozenmoto.com/images/galleri...2012/img27.jpg

They have an innovative track system which can change shape to suit different snow conditions, from hard packed to powder snow. I'd thought about a three part trip, part one is on wheels, part two would involve swapping the rear wheel only to give a half-track, before transitioning to track and ski.

The two big questions are transporting the spare components and transporting the fuel, a back-up vehicle sounds a must.

Hey Axelbrit – thanks for putting me onto these things, I'm a little more convinced that using these things is the only way to emulate that Amorok route. In fact, I think a bike with those things are more capable than those balloon tyred four wheelers.


I found another maker ( Welcome to 2Moto ) it's hard to judge which is the better rig but here is a write up of the 2moto one: 2Moto Snow Bike Motorcycle Review - Motorcycle USA These rigs open up whole new horizons for bikes to explore where no bike has gone before – new life, new civilisations etc, etc..

As you say it remains to be seen if the rig could be transported on the back of the bike, then the two wheels etc when it's swapped in, it needs further consideration.


Back-up vehicle is completely out! It's just not correct. In my previous planning for this trip I've estimated that the longest sectors are ~600km so local fuel could be obtained. Pushing the boundaries for a bike though and I reckon those tracked bolt ons would cause high fuel consumption.


Other thoughts – you need a big, powerful bike but with a good power to weight ratio; I think my 950R could be fitted with a track. Only use the bolt on track where the zimniks are absent so that would make it just a small part of the whole trip. According to reports from the Amorok expedition some zimniks will no longer be maintained with more and more communities up there being abandoned completely.


Anyone else wants to chip-in with their thoughts?

My understanding is that locally they have only Diesel (?)

IIRC the MotoSyberia had a leg of about 1300kms where there was no fuel stations. They pre-organised a truck to carry some for them, but they also managed to find some on the way also from locals and I think a mine. They only went to Anadyr.

All those ski-mobiles would run on petrol.

Various snowbike riders report that fuel consumption can be almost double but then they are boondocking round the mountains, not riding for economy (and reliability!). Undoubtedly fuel consumption is going to be a major consideration when choosing the bike.

Various questions spring to mind:
· Where are you starting from? Shipping or riding the bike in.
· How would you transport the track and ski on/behind the bike?
· How will you keep the bike warm overnight to prevent the oil from sludging?

Snowbikes have only fairly recently appeared on the scene in their current guise which means the manufacturers are still producing batches out of workshops rather than having full production lines, but this is probably a bonus for the expedition rider as you could talk to the designers/producers to hopefully build something suited for expedition travel.

If it were me (and unless someone offers sponsorship that's unlikely) I'd look at keeping the track unit on the whole time, changing the front end only between studded tyre and ski, perhaps fabricating a cradle on the ski so the wheel could remain in place. Why keep the track unit in place? Because I think tweaking the tracks, maybe carrying two different tracks in and changing once off the zimnik. One track I would profile so that the treads were thick and low, tapering towards the outside to give a tire like shape and studding the treads. Hopefully on the compacted zimnik this would give the control and speed of a bike with studded tires while reducing the weight penalty of having to transport in the track unit and the rear wheel. The second track would be the more traditional spade shape better suited to soft, deep snow.

Looking at the available track units the Timbersled has simplicity on it's side, the FrozenMoto's shape-shifting track seems better suited to the ice-roads. The 2Moto doesn't appeal, I don't know why but the design seems over-complicated I can't see what it offers compared to the other two. I'd make my choice based on the ratio of ice-road to off-piste.

Hopefully leaving the track unit in place solves a lot of issues and gives more room for the fuel you'll need to carry along with all the survival and expedition gear you'll need along with the extra large tent and sleeping bag you'll need to stop the engine freezing.

So that leaves bike choice, the difficult balance between simplicity/reliability/power/weight/economy. I imagine weight will be a key issue considering the load to be carried, what's the bike with the best economy to weight ratio?

Some good ideas there. Using a bike, given the time & visa constraints I'd fly to Yakutsk and finish in Magadan or Petropavlosk. Follow the routing of this Amorok expedition as far as Cape Schmidt but then go to Uelen and Cape Dezhnev, the eastern most point. From there toward Egvekinot and again pick up the general routing of the Amaroks.

From now on I'm calling it a “half track”! Your suggestion about retaining the front wheel in situ is well worth exploring, I think it would be possible to fix the swing arm/wheel to the track tunnel and transport it.


Oils can flow down to -40c and lower, 0W-40 snowmobile oils are available for these climates. My first choice of bike was a BMW GS simply because it is air cooled but the half track would dictate a water cooled bike so temperatures below -40c would be pose a frost damage risk. Starting can be achived using ultracapacitors which work well at these temperatures.


I have a KTM 950 S.Enduro R and love it to bits so that would be my first choice if using a half track, it's capable of carrying the heavy fuel loads required. A 690R would be my next choice.


I'd take a Tentipi, another rider could carry the Eldfell stove but otherwise travel light.


I don't have the resources to do this trip at the moment either but where there's a will.

This journey is incredible. :clap:

They are in Petropavlosk. :thumbup1:

Fantastic achievement :clap:

Now let's see who does the same trip on a bike ? :scooter:

http://photos.travellerspoint.com/32...ropavlovsk.png

Biggest challenge ever ... on foot ... hope Karl Bushby can finish it !

I wonder how I might get those Yellowbrick way points so that I could import them into google earth or OS?

How about contacting Rainer Zietlow directly (email on his website) ?

According to his yellowbrick, he just landed back home in Frankfurt / Germany.

The final pictures on his Amarok Expedition - blog are amazing.

Just got info on "The Ice Run":

https://www.theadventurists.com/the-adventures/ice-run

Looks like a good training session for iceroad biking.

On Ural bikes from Irbit to Salekhard.

In 2005, Japanese adventurer Hiromasa Andow accomplished this amazing route on winter roads - on a PUSH BIKE:

http://www.tim.hi-ho.ne.jp/andow/fareast/report/map.jpg

Source: Siberia Bike Tour Winter

... and my List of Russian Ice Roads here:

ZIMNIK - Ice Roads in Russia - Gentleman Adventurer

Difficult to find this on the web. Further information is :welcome:.

Here's a couple more good ones

Anabar Road ... From Udachny north to the Arctic Ocean. (From Udachny south to Lensk is an all season road)

From Verkhoyansk there is also a ungroomed winter road to Tiksi on the Arctic Ocean

If you are looking for your next cool winter ice road project, I suggest this ....

Irkutsk - up Baikal to Severobaikalsk, then Ust Kut, Lensk, Mirny, Udachny, Olenyok, Saskylakh, Anabar. Thats real reindeer herder territory.

http://eyakutia.com/2011/02/pictures...iberia-russia/

Thanks a lot, colebatch. I've added these to the list.

Great suggestion re the Anabar road!

"Entertaining" trip report about the Ice Run here by Red Thread Adventures:

Red Thread Adventures: February 2013

Two more incredibly tough winter bycyclists on Russian "roads".

http://www.lonelytraveller.de/sibiri...-sibirien.jpeg

Lonely Traveller: lonely traveller

http://photos.travellerspoint.com/32..._Cyclist_2.png

Andrey Finochenko: Andrey Finochenko winter cyclist

Superheroes !

Still looking for the first one to Kamchatka on a motor :scooter: !

I am dreaming about it a lot (maybe too much), just to Uelen.

I watched a video on guy that did Canadian Ice Roads on a KLR do to about -30ºC. Interestingly he was dressed a lot lighter than I thought would be be needed. Cheap down jacket under a Snow Machine Suit, with a light overcoat.

Still got really cold, but after watching it, it seems to be much more achievable than I thought.

I guess the thing is would have to wait until Jan/Feb or do earlier when it not quite as cold?

After all the research I've done now, I would agree: the road to Kamchatka (or at least Chukotka) by motorbike is more achievable than initially thought.

The yearly Ice Run on URAL bikes is a good example for the conditions.

People have even done it on foot, and on bycycle. Sleeping outside without a tent :freezing: !!! (however in a good sleeping bag)

That is all outside my comfort zone. I prefer going by car.

The best season seems to be March, IMO.

For clothing, on a motorbike, I'd go entirely for military surplus:

Bunny boots, white (or Baffin Apex)

ECWS Gen. III
layer 1, long underwear, highly breathable, polypropylene
layer 2, long fleece underwear
layer 3, N3B parka & bib (or Planam freezehouse wear)

extra layer: windproof snow camo

Total cost ca. € 200 only (or up to € 500 with Baffin/Planam)

A custom made glove on the handlebar will help.

For my purposes - and from past experience, in the car - I have reinforced my trousers (bib) with 6mm EVA, cut out from an isolation mattress, and sewn into the back and the knee areas.

Waiting for winter ... :smiliex:

The only thing that would worry me about March is either a late winter (extra cold) or early spring (risk of break up on ice roads). But judging by your trip last year the super cold is something you worry about too much.

From talking to locals I know the weather in the far north of the US and Canada isn't quite a predictable as it used to be. Last winter started and finished really late and this year looks to be the same (still pretty hot in Labrador and Newfoundland at the moment).

I was thinking at least in November/December you might have to wait a few weeks longer for the rivers to freeze over but then you don't have to worry about an early break up or super cold weather.

But the research and reading goes on.

and early thaw in march isnt a risk above 60 degrees north ... many ice expeditions go in early april, as the temps then are a more mild -10 degrees C.

Even if you have a couple of warm days of +2, or +3, it isnt going to melt anything. The ground and the packed snow are still going to be -15, -20. They have had 150 days down as low as -55. Thats a lot of thermal inertia to overcome ... it takes a lot of hot sunny days just to warm them up to zero. Even once they eventually get to zero, it takes a lot of energy to melt compacted snow, like you would find on a graded road

mmm thanks for that Walter - that is food for thought. Early April = lots more daylight, less snow storms and -10ºC is not that cold in the scheme of things.

Thanks for posting that link about Hiromasa Andow's epic 8,600km bicycle trip through the actual route I wanted to take on a motorbike! It just goes to show what is possible. What a fantastic achievement. Mr Andow also shows that there indeed is a summer route from Pevek to Cape Dezhnev through the mountains that isn't obstructed by rivers or swamps. Getting up there in summer may be the problem though.




When the Amarok polar expedition did this route earlier this year they demonstrated how difficult the route could be for vehicles but if Mr Andow can do it on two wheels it surely can be done on two wheels with an engine. The Timbersled system will overcome the deep snow the Amarok's encountered east of Pevek nearer the Ocean.


Clothing and textile technology has advanced considerably since Hiromasa Andow's adventure in 2005. The system would have different requirements and properties for a motorbike but I've done a lot of research into clothing systems suitable for bikes and have a top university willing to work with me on producing and testing a state of the art system which would enable this trip in safety.



Mr Andow definitively demonstrated the concept of “simpler is better.”

Possibly, although the advantage to the bicycle over the motorcycle is that you can strip off the luggage and carry it easily. Not something you can do with 200kg of Timbersled equipped motorbike.

Then again, the ski-bike should ride up and over obstacles that would defeat a bicycle. As an aside you can get a kit to convert your pedal bicycle into a half-tracked, half-ski machine, just like the Timbersled system.

As Alexlebrit suggested bicycles are much more versatile that motorbikes simply due to their weight. Don't underestimate what they are capable of. When it comes to really tough situation a bicycle isn't slowed to much less than someone on foot. A motorcycle can be stopped by many obstacles that are not much of a concern on a bicycle. On tough tracks a bicycle isn't necessarily any slower than a motorcycle when actually riding.

Of course the situation can be improved by lightening a motorcycle, but there is only so far you can go while still keeping the motor. Just don't expect that because a bicycle can do it a 4wd can.

I tried the search function on the HUBB but didn't find anything about Shinji Kazama which is surprising given what he has achieved on motorcycles.

Among other adventures, he was the first to ride to the North Pole (1987) and to the South Pole (1992) on a motorbike.

In 2010 he even went pole-to-pole, mostly on a motorbike: http://www.free-press-release.com/ne...284035090.html

Although he didn't take the route through Siberia, he could certainly teach us a trick or two about riding in those very low temperatures.

Shinji Kazama's cold weather gear doesn't look that extraordinary on this picture taken at the South Pole (by Frederick McDougall on Shinji Kazama's motorcycle trip ). He must be a very tough man!

http://www.southpolestation.com/triv.../skicycle0.jpg

Dalton in Winter
 

1976 was the year I happened to live in Fairbanks, AK, also in January 76 a guy rode the Dalton and back in a R60/2 BMW - no side car. The lowest temps encountered were -60 F. I saw the bike once. In addition to using 5 W oil. He used army surplus Arctic clothing e.g. bunny boots. To reduce the tires flexing and breaking, they were overinflated. I can't remember the figure but it was something like 60 psi. No electric vest back then and no windshield that I recall. The biggest problem he encountered and overcame was the face shield freezing. He overcame this by plugging up his nose and breathing through a skin divers snorkel which he modified such that it extended to the middle of his back under his coat. That was an epic ride. The guy died recently. He ran a BMW shop in Fairbanks for a living. Dave

Interesting technical solutions. Especially the snorkel ! :thumbup1:

I wonder if these KAMAZ truckers would accept to "escort" bikers on the East-Siberian iceroads: KAMAZ truckers prepare for Arctic winter roads in Yakutia, Siberia Russia | AskYakutia.com

I had the same difficulty finding info about the great Shinji Kazama when putting together some background info together about his world record altitude rides on the northern and southern approaches to Everest in the 1980s. What I did get is featured here:

http://www.andesmotoextreme.com/p/altitude-review.html

Very interesting compilation, colebatch!

And congratulations for your world altitude record!

It is surprising that there is so little coverage in mainstream media about extreme motorist challenges (and sportsmen like Kazama - or Zietlow).

There is a link on wikipedia about high-altitude roads: Extreme points of Earth - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Good German TV-documentary here about "Heroes of the Cold" riding Yakutian winter roads.

Part 1: Neryungri to Oymyakon

Russlands Helden der Kälte (1/2) Fahrt ans Ende der Welt [HQ Doku Teil 1/2] - YouTube

Part 2: Oymyakon to Chersky (and small coastal village of Pakhodka)

Russlands Helden der Kälte (2/2) Brummipannen und Rentierfest [HQ Doku Teil 2/2] - YouTube

Updated my list of ZIMNIK - Ice Roads in Russia with this beautiful trip report from Krasnoyarsk to Evenkia Video - Evenkia | Dikiy (featured in National Geographic magazine) ... and dog sled races between Kamchatka, Chukotka, and across the Bering Strait to Alaska.