Wandering Through Siberia - Russia E7 Trip Report

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Wandering Through Siberia. A personal perspective of the Expeditions7 Russia/Siberia leg - Kurt Williams
Dates: Sept 10-27th, 2012
Attendees: Greg M, Scott B, Clay C, Andery S, Kurt W

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Tomtor, the pole of cold!

I've been back on US soil for a little over a month and just now I'm finding the time, but more importantly the clarity, to sit down and write about my experiences on the Russian leg of Expeditions7. While bouncing around Siberia we often joked that it would take a month to digest all the sights, sounds, and adventures we packed into our trip. This proved to be profoundly true - in fact 100% spot on in my case. I had taken notes along the entire trip and in the past few weeks I've pored over my pictures and added to notes here and there. However the other morning I woke to a few inches of snow blanketing the yard and immediately my mind retreated to our camp en route to Tomtor, where we woke to a similar snowy bliss. My mind was now spinning full speed with thoughts I just knew had to be jotted down before they escaped my mind, so for the past few days I've been typing like a madman at each chance I get. The trip was extremely culture-rich and I know my words and pictures won't do it justice, but nonetheless I wanted to share the experience in the best way I could. My goal isn't to offer a play by play account of our voyage, to do so would take a dozen pages and I just don't have the words to keep your attention that long. :D Rather, I want to highlight some of the experiences that were most memorable and moving for me personally.

The trip started in July with a phone call from Greg Miller. I've come to learn that a phone call from Greg will result in several constants: Land Cruisers, lots of driving and late nights. I look forward to each and every one of those calls ;). He asked if I was interested in joining Expeditions7 for a leg through central and eastern Russia, which would have us trekking through remote Siberia. I was in. The trip started like they all do, with packing. I had some good background as to our travel schedule and likely accommodations based on my participation in one of the North American E7 legs. That said the NA leg was in the summer months and its far easier to pack t-shirts, shorts and flip-flops than cold weather gear, boots, and waders all while dealing with the high baggage fees and convenience issues of packing heavy duffel bags through airports around the world. Through packing, un-packing, and re-packing I was able to confidently get all of my gear into a single checked bag and a couple of smaller carry-on's.
Cinematographer Clay Croft and I met up in SLC where we would fly together to Paris and from Paris to Moscow, and finally Moscow to Irkutsk. I think you don't really know someone until you sit next to them for 30 hours of flights and connections - I now know Clay.

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Organizing & Prepping the 78's @ Lake Baikal

We made it to our team rendezvous in Irkutsk with little incident, the most notable being a broken airplane seat (craftily repaired by the stewardess utilizing a pillow), and a nearly lost bag as we made our final flight. Lo and behold, the bag showed up and Scott Brady was there to pick us up as planned- disaster averted. As we drove back to the hotel where we would meet up with the rest of the team, Scott briefed us on the previous leg of the trip, the driving conditions, and a rough agenda for the weeks to come. Before long we were loading the troopy's and en route to Lake Baikal, for a night of rest. Our accommodations were a pair of quaint cabins with a a patch of grass and just enough space for us to sort out the contents of the trucks and ensure we had all of the needed camping goods for the remaining voyage.

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Fishing on Lake Baikal

Lake Baikal is an an amazing site, the world's oldest lake, the world's deepest lake, and it contains roughly 20% of the worlds fresh water supply. At the advice of our hosts we spent an afternoon on the lake fishing, and while we had little luck with the rods, the open air and stellar sightseeing was an opportunity I won't soon forget. In another life I would love to again visit Baikal and spend a week or more exploring its shores. I've realized the same could be said about so many of the places we visited and I hope at some point in my life that opportunity presents itself.

With some decent shut-eye under our belts and the rigs prepped for some long stretches ahead we made an early start for Ulan Ude, where Greg had arranged dinner with a American couple serving a religious mission in town. Following the dinner, Greg spoke at a local church service with the aide of a local interpreter. The rest of the team sat in the audience and enjoyed his stories and dialogue with the locals. The attendees seemed genuinely interested in Greg and his desire to complete the Expeditons7 mission, a cultural exchange I found most enjoyable.

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Greg speaking in Ulan Ude

As I've mentioned we had a lot of ground to cover, and while Scott's agenda allowed for a reasonable travel schedule throughout our trip we were all anxious to keep driving and front-load the trip with time thus allowing us a bit more flexibility when needed. Our Russian fixer & interpreter Andery had jokingly mentioned "You can't cover 1000 kilometers on Russian roads west of Moscow in a single day". A challenge perhaps? In what became a near 40-hour push we covered close to 1800 kilometers with nothing but fuel stops and some stretch breaks. With 5 drivers we had the ability to keep a fresh set of hands on the steering wheel and let a few members of the team get some shut-eye. This major push turned out to be quite advantageous, allowing us to slow down a bit on the back half of the trip. With that gained time we ended with an extra day in Magadan to visit the local museum and prep the rigs for export.

Driving in Russia is one of the most hair-raising experiences I've dealt with, right up there with getting nerfed by Trophy Trucks during the Mint 400. Crazy bumpy roads on narrow mountain passes, and if you're not passing, you're getting passed. Add heavy truck traffic, pedestrians, and free-range cattle. It's a miracle this country has a population. That said, while the road conditions deteriorated as we moved further east, the courtesy of drivers seemed to have drastically increased. These areas are extremely remote, an ambulance could be a day away if they would even bother sending one at all. I think the community at large realizes this sense of remote isolation and works together to make the roads a bit more tame (but still insanely crazy!) in order to achieve a common goal, getting to your destination. Scott wrote a short article on the subject, well worth checking out to get a vibe as to our experience: DRIVING IN RUSSIA.

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The overall condition in many parts of the Russian Highway in the Siberia Region

Eastern Russia is remote, like no other remote I have experienced in my life's travels thus far. While I've been in some pretty isolated areas, none had the same immense serenity that I felt in the mountains of Siberia. We could go hours without passing a single vehicle yet roll into a small mining village that teemed with activity, people walking, truck traffic, kids walking home from school - a contrast that was repeated over and over as we traveled hundreds of kilometers before lunch and then a few hundred more before dinner. How does one define remote? How about when Google doesn't even have town names or maps. :D

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There is a trail under that river

I ended up taking far more pictures than usual, it was just so hard not to want to capture everything I could. While I'm far from a professional photographer, my pictures do the job for me, they capture the story and provide me with a cue that I can later translate into full blown memory. Like they say, a picture is worth a thousand words - sometimes a few more.

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The ferry crossing of the Aldan River

Our ferry charter across the Aldan River gave us a minute to sit back and relax during the hour long crossing. The ferry was seemingly overloaded, dented, and rusty, yet it was perfectly fitting. There are several different ferry outfits operating at the crossing, and while I can't say ours was the biggest or best it surely had the most character. As an added bonus it was the only ferry left when we arrived at the launch so we were happy to have a spot on any boat at this point. There was a chance the ferries were out of service or the river swollen thus preventing crossing, so our successful crossing was a major milestone.
 

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The amazing ice crystal formations in an abandoned mine, now full of ice sculptures - aka the "Ice Mine"

Visiting Tomtor was an absolute highlight for me. One of the coldest inhabited sites on earth, the small village Tomtor strikes a chord with what I envision the "old west" being like. Our first stop was 'downtown' Tomtor which consisted of a couple of small markets and clothing stores. I spent a few minutes just cruising "Main Street" on foot, enjoying the simplicity of a life fairly devoid of the distractions many of us find in our daily lives. No traffic, no billboards, no flashing signs, no pavement... Tomtor was simplicity in its finest element. I ducked into a market and marveled at the eclectic inventory. Camp fuel, a Stihl chainsaw, motorcycle tires, alternators and frozen chickens, along with canned good varieties of all sorts. Given that they are 1000 miles over predominantly dirt roads from the nearest sizable city, it's not hard to see why the selection is so random yet fulfilling. We were prepared to camp for the evening but through the service of our interpreter we sought out a cafe or diner to catch a late lunch. Turns out the cafe/hotel had burned down the summer last and we were on our own. Overhearing the conversation a local chimed in and offered his house not only for a hot plov dinner (a rice dish with a seasoned broth) but also breakfast and a living room to camp out in as well. To the view of many, Tomtor is not exactly the most hospitable place to live. One must ford a river on the western approach or cross the worst section of the Road of Bones on the eastern approach. Isolated is a most fitting description of this humble town. To top it off, it is literally the worlds coldest inhabited place, regularly reaching temps of -50*, with a record low of -96*F. Our host, however, painted a different picture of life in Tomtor, he was "rich". Not monetarily rich, but with a solid roof over his head, a lovely family with two cute children and an ex-military tracked vehicle in the dirt yard, what more could he want? He was in his own words "The richest man in the world".

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Andre excited to show us his tracked vehicle!

Our stay in Tomtor also included a visit to the local museum which celebrates the extreme pride they have in their citizens both past and present. Tomtor served as an airport and fueling station during the transit of US warplanes loaned to the USSR in WWII. It was a sobering experience to see the wreckage of a US P-40 as part of a display at the small museum. Most impressive of all was getting special permission to go inside of a local mine, they literally had to send the power company out to turn the power back on to the mines lighting system. As it turned out, the cave was full of thick layers of natural ice crystals and super intricate ice sculptures carved by a famous Russian ice sculptor. One of the most amazing things I've ever seen. The mine breaks through the permafrost layer and never warms in the summer thus allowing the ice sculptures to last indefinitely. The pictures I have fail to do it true justice.

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The Mask of Sorrow at our entrance to Magadan

Our final destination, Magadan, is Toyota-town. Given the regions vast distance and rough transit from the commerce trades of western Russia and Europe, the majority of their vehicles are imported from foreign countries over the ocean. Japanese market models of nearly every make seemed to be amazingly popular, including a literal plethora of Toyotas and thus a treasure trove of Land Cruiser varieties. An intersection nearby our hotel made for absolute epic Land Cruiser spotting: 70, 73, 74, 76, 78, 80, 81, 90, 100, 105, 200's. My kind of place.

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Loading into the container at Magadan

Clay and I visited a local 4x4 shop not far from our hotel. While they spoke no English and our Russian was limited to yes, no, and thank you, it was fun to see what they had in stock and what kind of pricing they have on items I'm intimately familiar with, a habit I've come to do whenever I travel. From there we spent half a day unloading, cleaning, inventorying, and repacking the trucks for their long ride to Australia. With the gear sorted and the trucks cleaned, it was time to say goodbye to our stallions and load them into the shipping container Scott had arranged months previous. One by one we squeezed them into the container and watched as the shipping company's employees cribbed and strapped them for the ride. With the doors shut behind us the trip's end became more of a reality.

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Posing at the Magadan 4x4 shop

With a few hours left to spare in town before our departure, I took the opportunity to catch a taxi to the local Toyota parts dealer, yes I'm that nerdy. When one typically thinks of a Toyota dealership you think of a well-lit parking lot full of new models along with a giant building housing sales, parts and service - not in Magadan. Our cab maneuvered through the streets of town, finally arriving at a bland concrete apartment building no different than the hundreds of others we had passed. However, this one was different - on the ground floor was a Toyota marquee with a small man-door inviting customers in off the sidewalk. They don't sell cars, just belts, hoses, springs, clips, nuts, bolts, rivets, plugs, caps, bumpers and roof racks. This place had everything you could need for a Toyota all crammed into a building the size of a small coffee shop. I know I'm totally geeking out here but it was super cool and neat to see how it works outside the US with a market of nearly exclusively JDM import rigs.

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Toyota Parts Dealership in Magadan

Magadan and the surrounding city are by and far a place I would love to visit again, Scott and I joked about a return to the Road of Bones and Tomtor, this time via 2-wheels. While I wasn't quite ready for this adventure to be over, I had family, work, and a Baja 1000 race to get home to so it was wheels up and we were headed stateside. Our flight home was far more efficient as Greg generously arranged a flight from Magadan to Anchorage and then from Anchorage to SLC. Rather than a near 48 hours of combined flight time and layover traveling home west through Moscow, Paris and beyond, we had a 9 hour combination with two quick flights. By the following morning (including the time changes) I was greeted by my wife at the airport and I've been longing for some wild Russian driving since. :D

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Greg, excited to be back on US soil after a long trip away

What about my team mates? One couldn't ask to be part of a more solid crew, each with resolute talents and abilities that complimented not only the trip but the team in general. With our backs up against a 30-day travel visa, a shipping container, and flights home waiting for us and the trucks in Magadan, the itinerary was law. Greg (Lead Driver) is the official 'Ironman of Expedition'. Greg can drive, and drive, and drive, and then get up in the morning and drive some more. He is a tried and true Land Cruiser aficionado with an insane appetite for exploration and adventure travel. Scott (Expedition Leader), is a logistics czar, I would rank him at the level of ninja, perhaps higher. His prep for our travels was second to none and it proved nearly flawless over weeks of travel in one of the world's most remote regions. Clay (Cinematographer/Photographer), undoubtedly my choice for 'Claymate of the Year', has an undying, invigorating zeal for getting the shot. Our interpreter Andrey was a lifesaver of more facets than I would have expected before the trip, from handling police checkpoints, traffic 'incidents', and menus to our long talks about communist and post-communist Russia, guns, and rare 4x4's. I would jump at the opportunity to travel with any of this crew again in a heartbeat, bona fide pals.

Before I forget, I've got to thank all those that made this opportunity possible. First and foremost my lovely bride, who keeps talking to me even when I sneak off for adventures. A big thanks to Greg for inviting me along this epic trip, I truly do appreciate the opportunity to be such a part of this neat adventure. Scott, thanks for having me along, for crossing the t's and dotting the i's, your a true professional at what you do. Clay, your an A+ travel companion and I look forward to future adventures. Andery, without you we would have starved, literally. Lastly, a big thanks to all my customers whom were patient during my absence, Olly, Chris and Josh rocked the shop while I was gone but there were many of you that waited so patiently for my return. Thanks, thanks, thanks!

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Hmmmmm? I'll let Clay and Scott explain this one :D

Interested in knowing more about the Expeditions7 story? Check out the website: Expeditions7.com

Also, Greg put together some fabulous YouTube videos on the various segments of the trip:

Expeditions7 Photo Shoot
Expeditions7 Still Shots
Expedtions7 North America Segment II
Expeditions7 Iceland
Expeditions7 Siberia

And that is that... questions? :D
 

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A few more pics I figured you might enjoy:

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My first proper Russian meal

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Scott & Greg pose with the rigs at a stellar Siberian overlook

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A perplexed Clay?

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View along a seldom used Siberian trail

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Perched on the edge of an overlook

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Stuck in the muck!

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VDJ78's looking the part

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Scott making plans for the river crossing ahead

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Our hotel for the night, the inside offered more promise than the outside.

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Sleeping mode inside the E7 Troopies

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Detouring through the thankfully shallow river at a failed bridge along the highway, not an uncommon site.

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Scouting Road of Bones maps at a geologists office

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The Tomtor market, chainsaws, Sprite, motorcycle tires and canned fruit - What else could you need?

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Entering the "Ice Mine" in Tomtor

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Our gracious tour guide in Magadan, offering great insight at their local museum and the Ice Mine

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Wolves!!! - At the Magadan Museum

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No Hitler! - At the Magadan Museum

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Motoring along the snowy trail
 

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Meeting time over the Aldan River

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Andery doing what he does best, making us laugh

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A cafe along the road, turns out its also a UAZ parts dealership too

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Language barriers are easily pierced with pictures of Land Cruisers. This gentleman was excited to show off his BJ73

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A proper camp dinner by Chef Clay

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Waking up to a snow covered camp

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Argggghh thar matee!

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Loading into the containers
 

1leglance

2007 Expedition Trophy Champion, Overland Certifie
Very nice to hear from a regular guy who went on one of these Mega Media trips...thanks for giving us the emotions and your perspective.

30 day travel visa had to be brutal for all the things you wish you could have seen.
1800 k's in 2 days, ouch man, pure ouch.

I can only imagine the bond you all must have now and the people you met must have made some serious impressions on you.

Question...do you want to return to the area to see more or was a fast trip like this enough? With so many of us having limited travel time & budgets it would be good to hear your thoughts on duplicating this type of trip or what changes would be recommended.

Thanks again and I look forward to anything else you can offer us armchair viewers.
 

BritKLR

Kapitis Indagatoris
Absolutely incredible!

Congratulations on such an opportunity and thanks for sharing.

BritKLR
 

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30 day travel visa had to be brutal for all the things you wish you could have seen.
1800 k's in 2 days, ouch man, pure ouch.

I guess one has to balance wants with needs. We needed to get from A to B within the 30 day VISA and I think we all wanted to spend a bit more time in place or two. That said I feel we did it justice in terms of absorbing the local culture and seeing the places that truly would be missed. Quite honestly the 1800 click push was actually a highlight for me, it was a challenge and an adventure and we did it in the right place, i.e. I don't feel we sacrificed anything by pushing hard those days. We pushed hard quite a few days, but we burned the candle at both ends and made the best of each opportunity. This is often my pace of travel, when my wife and I visited Australia a couple years ago with some friends of ours, we explored all day and caught overnight flights to the next destination, it works for us and we can roll on pretty limited sleep for a month or two. I just returned from 10 days in Baja, MX. 4500 miles round trip including a race in the middle :D, fast paced is often my pace. I make up for brevity in duplication, i.e. I'd rather have 4-5 fast pace trips to the Swell over waiting a few years to spend a week there, make sense? Now, assuming you had 3 months to spare and could navigate the Russia VISA for more time, it won't be wasted.

Question...do you want to return to the area to see more or was a fast trip like this enough? With so many of us having limited travel time & budgets it would be good to hear your thoughts on duplicating this type of trip or what changes would be recommended.

Would I go back if the opportunity presented itself? Absolutely, the place is amazing. However I wouldn't go back because I missed stuff on this rendition rather there are some new places I would like to visit and some places I would love to re-visit. Scott and I joked about returning to Magadan this time on 2-wheels for a loop of the Road of Bones, I'd entertain that in a heart beat. In the meantime I have a bunch of other places on my hit list, Alaska, Paris-Dakar, Africa, etc... more I think of it I have a long list :D

Thanks again and I look forward to anything else you can offer us armchair viewers.

Thanks Lance, I was really excited to share the trip with everyone. If there is anything else you were curious about, please don't hesitate to ask.
 

TangoBlue

American Adventurist
Thanks Kurt -- that was a great report and super pictures. This even tore me away from the Niners-Saints game!
 

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