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  #1  
Old 10 Aug 2008
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Advice for travel through Russia
Hello folks,

I'm ramping up the planning for my RTW trip starting next year, and I could do with all the help I can get I think.

I'm wondering what kind of weather I'm likely to encounter as I cross Russia, probably entering from Ukraine in May, across to Mongolia for June/July, and I'm keen to have a go at the road of bones.

I realise this question branches into all kinds of others. I've looked into transport from Russia, across to North America, and it looks like Vladivostok is a more viable option than Magadan. However the appeal of the road of bones is very strong.

Anyway, to start with, can anyone shed some light on the climate I'm likely to encounter, so I can buy my sleeping bag! Is a -15 degree centigrade bag over the top?

many thanks
Last edited by Baron Bolton; 10 Aug 2008 at 17:03. Reason: spelling :-)
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  #2  
Old 10 Aug 2008
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Hey Baron,

Couple of quick comments, in regards to a bag I'd take a 0 to -5 bag, tops. You can always wear all your clothes to increase the warmth and if it actually did get to -15 you'll be looking for a cheap hotel rather that your freezing tent!

Also, I would definitely bring a synthetic fill bag rather than down. IMHO the opinion that rain and wet will be the biggest issue that you face rather than pure cold and man made fibers provide some warmth when wet, down not at all. The downside to synthetic bags are that they don't pack down as much so use up more space.

In regards to transport to North America, you should really think of Korea to Vancouver or Seattle as your most likely option. At the end of the day I woudl guess that 9 out of ten bikers end up shipping this way due to various factors suchas timing/cost etc. They have restarted direct flights from Vlad to Anchorage this summer which provides another option again, but the estimated cost from someone that was there and looking at it seemed quite prohibitive for most budgets. Can't remember the exact estimate, but they were charged for two segments, first to Kamchatka, and Kam to Anchorage.

Hope that helps, have a great ride.
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  #3  
Old 10 Aug 2008
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Cheers
Thanks Mountainman, that's a good start for my investigation.

I figured I might need a warmer bag for the Russian leg of the trip, but it makes sense to head for a hotel if it's silly cold I guess. Is this advice based on your own investigation, as I see you're planning to head to Russia..?

The option of synthetic Vs down seems to divide opinion. I had thought I'd move to down, after travelling with my North Face synthetic bag.
I reasoned that it can't be that hard to keep a sleeping bag dry, but maybe this is mis-guided.
It's either going to be in an Ortlieb bag, or in my (hopefully still) water-proof tent.

Shipping info greatly appreciated, I was slowly coming to a similar conclusion. Do you know if you can ship from Magadan to Korea? Also, any ideas on total cost to ship from Russia to N.America?
Is my desire to try the road of bones stupid, and what time of year is best?
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  #4  
Old 10 Aug 2008
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I would say that -5 would be fine as long as you're done by the start of September. I had a light snow fall in western mongolia at the end of Aug.

Also, a sleeping bag can easily get soaked by tent condensation as well as sweat so +1 synthetics. Also can be stuffed down as opposed to rolled, and if you do drop into a river it's not the end of the world.
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  #5  
Old 11 Aug 2008
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I would also recommend synthetic instead of down.

Regarding temps: I just finished a trip across Russia from Chita to Anapa (Black Sea), beginning end of May, ending end of June. It was pretty chilly out east, and there were several inches of snow on the road b/n Chita and Ulan Ude a few days before we got there; by the time we arrived, it was probably in the mid-fifties (Fahrenheit), and there was still quite a bit of snow on the sides of the road in the passes. From Ulan Ude to maybe Tyumen the weather was generally in the mid-sixties and cloudy/rainy. By the time we got to the Volga region (around Saratov), it was pretty warm (low eighties or hotter) and sunny.

Hope that helped.
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  #6  
Old 11 Aug 2008
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Excellent, thanks Martin and Motoreiter. I wasn't aware down had to be rolled, and I think that would start to grate after a few weeks,

I think I'll go for a -10 bag, and hope to have a cosy nights sleep even if 2009 turns out to be a cold year. Still not 100% decided on down/synthetic, but there seems to be a growing argument for synthetic here.
Have you had problems with down, or always chosen synthetic?

Specific temperatures related to Russia are useful, I'd figured it would be colder.

Any suggestions for specific sleeping bags or makes? Obvious variables being important; warmth, weight, size, cost.
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  #7  
Old 21 Jan 2009
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I'm doing a similar route this summer. My first RTW. Through Turkey and Stans into Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Russia down to Vlad.

I'm building a Google map. See here. I placed some markers along the South-east Russia route with statistical climate information based on WorldClimate

What scares me most is the amount of rain during Jun Jul Aug... The hottest months of the year are also the wettest.

I don't know what is worst. Wet or cold? I'm riding a V-Strom DL 1000. Mud is not my favorite playground.
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Old 21 Jan 2009
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Poor Circulation
Blue 88,
I just wanted to tell you that I made the mistake of clicking the link at the bottom of your post. That was about 6 hours ago. I won't make it to work tomorrow.
Thank you. It's been great reading it all... Good luck with the book.
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  #9  
Old 25 Jan 2009
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Baron,
I'm going to be in Turkey around May and in Kazakhstan and Mongolia during June July... Hope to see you on the road...
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  #10  
Old 31 Jul 2011
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I know this is an old thread but didn't know where else to post this.

I stumbled on this web site: New Vladivostok-Sakhalin-Kamchatka Ferry Line Opens This Fall || News || Russian Transport Daily Report

With this info: New Vladivostok-Sakhalin-Kamchatka Ferry Line Opens This Fall

The regional authorities decided to give the green light to a new cargo and passenger ferry line, to connect Vladivostok, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The new ferry line should be open by this fall. There has been an agreement to transfer a ship from the Baltic Sea to Primorye that could operate the ferry line.

I've sent an email to find out if it's up and running but no reply so far. If anyone knows more about this I'd like to know please.
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