Amazing experience ... lots of questions

How cold was it inside the car?

Did you make it to Tomtor then turn back or just went direct to Ust Nera from Kyubeme?

How did you deal with the cold?

Did you keep engine running continuously till Magadan?

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We kept the car running continuously (including at the gas stations), except for 2-3 hours in Yakutsk, where it was parked in the heated hotel garage. The temperature inside the car was not a problem, although we gave most of the heater warmth to the motor, instead of the passenger cell. Only the feet, especially on the passenger side, tended to get cold, even in the -100° C Baffin boots. Was probably below zero there, add the inner moisture and immobility factor.

We wore our full thermo clothing inside the car, plus down sleeping bags as a seat-cover / wrap-around (a functioning seat-heater would have been very helpful).

It occasionally became a little colder, when the window needed to be opened, in order to smoke a cigar. A price we happily paid

One does adapt to the temperatures. Ust-Nera at -55° C felt colder than Kyubyume at -62° C, for whatever reason (moisture?). At -30° in Magadan sunshine we thought, hey this is getting warm.

In Kyubyume, late after midnight, we did NOT turn towards Tomtor (150 km), as we would have lost our escort friend, we didn't really have the time for a 300km+ detour, and we felt that we already had all we wanted (especially the really deep temperature experience). Driving to Tomtor is not a problem. In fact, one of our guide contacts (Slava. Excellent !) was there with a small tourist group that same day.

What I really regret is not having stopped to take the foto of the Oymyakon Rayon monument (it looked like a big thermometer (?)).

And with more time, I would have liked to explore the abandoned town of Kadykchan, seen the dung cobra snake monument in Yulba, plus looked for the "airplane-stuck-in-the-house" ...

Last small regret, I should have bought the better thermo clothing in Siberia.