Travel through Transiberian Highway in the winter
 

Anybody knows if it's possible to cross Russia, by road, starting in November/2010, from Mosco to Vladivostok?

By motorcycle?
Forget it!
Temperatures can go lower than -40.C for periods running into weeks.
More than 6 months below zero.
Short daylight hours.
Look up the weather records. Here is just Chita Chita Climate, Temperature, Average Weather History, Rainfall/ Precipitation, Sunshine

My guess is a sensibly prepared and equipped car/4X4 should be OK - subject to periods when roads become impassable due to heavy or drifting snow, crashed, stranded or broken vehicles. But it is a guess!
It is a busy commercial route and there is now a tarmac road all the way but even tarmac deteriorates fast in such conditions.

Others should be able to provide first hand confirmation of what it really would be like.

mmm. Difficult, and potentially dangerous by bike, but not impossible. Just be totally prepared. :freezing:

Travelling by bike in winter has lots of benefits:

No flying teeth,
No tourists,
Amazing scenery,
Locals may be more friendly to a shivering biker,
Cakes and coffee are extra special tasty

You sure about that? Have you done it? Any reports of anyone doing it? And rather than "potentially dangerous" let's just call it "dangerous". And I'm not sure how much friendlier the locals could be?

A few have done it so it's doable, which doesn't mean it's advisable. Very, very long road so you can imagine that road conditions are very variable with snowfall and snowdrifts. Bikes ride fine on ice with studs, not so well in varying depths of wind driven snow. Not for the faint of heart.

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/davebarr/

Actually, we (me, my husband and our dog, a black labrador)are on the road in a Toyota hilux 4x4 since July/2009. We are from Brazil and we passed through all south America, USA, Europe, Morroco and now we are in Italy pretending to cross Russia in the winter. We pretend to leave Georgia, coming from Turkey, and enter in Russia from there. But, as we are making a lot of researches on the web about this and we found nothing, we are a little bit afraid to do this.

We travelled in USA in the last winter, with a lot of snow. It was a little bit hard but nothing impossible.

We really want to know mire informations and advices!

We are very thankful with your return.

Thanks a lot!

Our website is .:. Viagens Maneiras .:.

By bike?
 

It takes two weeks in summer just 'motorway' cruising at 70 mph for long long day after long long day. Daylight is up to 20 hours a day.

In winter sunrise hours can be as low as 3 hours.

We are talking about a problem free journey probably exceeding 2 months by bike, unless contemplaring riding in darkness. Potentially all in sub-zero temperatures day and night. And that's just from Moscow - it's often sub-zero all the way from France to Moscow too!

Most people along the actual T-S Highway are not the really friendly, interested, helpful folks you meet or read about in remote, deep country areas. These are only here for one purpose - profit from the road. There will always be exceptions, but consider the 'real' people you meet and get their help in a Motorway services area compared with those in a farming village!

As I said in my first post, by a well prepared and equipped 4X4 the T-S Highway should be possible.

Sadly your plans will not even start - 'foreigners' are not permitted to use land borders between Georgia and Russia. At best, these are only open for passport holders of CIS countries (a very few of the former USSR states).

From Turkey You would have to take a ferry to Russia, avoiding Georgia or cross Turkey, Iran, Turkmeninstan and Kazakhstan to get into Russia that way - or clockwise round the Black Sea via Ukraine (and other counties).

Probably (relatively) easier on 4 wheels than 2...

but I´d advice to do some very thorough research on the subject, because "Siberia"+"Winter" is a combination, that´ll require a lot of respect from anyone, who plans to do it. It doesnt only get cold, it goes beyond your imagination (especially, if you´re from a warm climate!) and underestimating the effects of it could be very, very dangerous.

If you´re coming from Europe, then it might be possible to get a taste of it along the way. But only a little - Siberia will be in another league regarding cold, plus your level of self-sufficiency (for possible breakdowns, etc.) needs to be much higher.

Anywhere a 4x4 can go...
 

2 wheels are possible, but you'll need studded tyres and probably ski's mounted off the frame for when even the studs don't make it. You'll need to a lot of bike prep, making sure you can get enough electrical power, be able to start the engine at minus-stupid temps etc. The usual solo bike range issues, plus the need to change tyres as you get to places the plod might object to studs/wear them out would make this a tough trip unsupported.

Three wheels cures the range and tyre issues but you still need kit suitable for the temperatures and a lot of bike prep. As the OP doesn't mention sidecars, I'd point out here that an outfit is a completely different vehicle that just happens to share a lot of mechanical bits with a bike. The "fly to Vladivoskok and buy a Ural" or "weld an extra wheel on the KLR the week before you go" ideas we've seen before are not IMHO good ones, I've know far too many solo riders who's brains just aren't wired in a way that lets an outfit work for them.

I would suggest you shouldn't start with the trans-siberean if you don't know the details of the above. You need a season of winter rallies like the elefant, then a season unsupported in Scandanavia/Northern Canada/Rockies etc. Half the issues at these temperatures are down to automatic reactions, remembering to plug in the heated visor, knowing how long it takes you to take the battery off and bring it indoors, learning not to leave your gloves on the seat, always knowing where the spare keys are so you can refuel without stopping the engine, knowing the techniques required to get a freezing stiff tyre off the rim to fix a puncture etc. etc. Learning this while there is imminent danger of freezing to death is not IMHO a good idea, far better to learn it near a ski resort coffee shop.

Andy

Transiberia
 

Respect ! What a project, but you are taking a big bite. I have some experience of artic conditions on 2 and 4 wheels, also with dogs and ski’s. You need expert advice on preparing your vehicle, and yourselves, there are websites for overlanders, but I don’t know which are serious/realistic. Someone from this site will be along shortly to point you in the right direction. Please listen to their advice.
Other points are that there are not many hours of daylight, you will be driving in a tunnel made by your headlights, not that there is much to ”see”, and there may be some confusion as to where the road is. Most man-made plastics become very brittle when the temperature has fallen off the thermometer, a lot of your Toyota and other equipment is made of plastic. Prepare for worst case scene with frostbite/hypothermia; to know what to do, and when to do it, is the key to survival when things fall apart.
On the plus side, the famous mosquito swarms of the arctic tundra, which can drive you mad in summer/autumn, are hiding, waiting for summer and fresh blood. The Northern Lights, Aurora Borealis, is often spectacular and otherworldly when you are far from light pollution.
I wish you both good luck, and safe travels
Peter, in Oslo

Russians will drive the road in winter in normal cars ... but their vehicles are winterized. They have metal spiked tyres, they have antifreeze to deal with -40 degrees. If its below -40 then they dont turn the engines off. I know in Yakutia they will run the engines in cars for up to 3 months non stop.

While average temperatures are probably -25C along the main Trans-Sib route, cold spells do occur and in those you can expect to see -40, or even -50C.

You need to make sure your car is prepared for that. If you have a breakdown, you can freeze in your car, tho in reality a broken down car in winter will see other traffic stop - not to help fix the car, but to get you to the next village where you will have to work out how to go back and get and then fix your car.

Agree its dangerous. Not much to see apart from whiteness in the short daylight hours, and blackness the rest of the time.

I know the paraplegic Dave Barr has done it on a bike a decade ago ... he wrote a book on it ... 'Riding the Ice'.

Never heard of anyone else riding it in winter on 2 wheels.

This needs to be corrected - you can enter Abkhazia from Georgia (if they give you a visa) and then enter Russia from there, though not the other way round. The trick is getting an Abkhazian visa. You need to apply online. Make sure you don't tell them you intend to go to Russia. Not everyone gets through, but it is possible, I entered Russia in my Hilux through this border in April this year. The other borders between Georgia 9and Azerbaijan) and Russia do seem to be closed to all but Russians, Azeris, Georgians and Armenians.

Nice to hear someone is doing the same trip in a Hilux. I've been on the road for 3 and a half years in mine, and I'll be driving around the Urals in Decemberish. I'm a little nervous about driving in winter (don't have winter tyres), but nor do all Russian cars. Having 4WD really helps though.

Daniel

I spoke last august with Hubert - Timesless rider in Oasis guesthouse (great guy and i think he should be now going to Africa as thats what he last told in email) and he drove last november to Mongolia though transiberian highway with his sidecar motorcycle.

I wouldnt anyway suggest it to anyone who is not experienced rider expecially in winter temparetures and who is not experienced to survive in winter and cold climate.

Personally I wouldnt see riding that road with 4x4 Toyata Hilux so big thing (Maybe one thing is that i come from Finland and we are pretty used to cold climate, winter, snow and ice) Ofcourse you also have to have all winter camping equipment to keep you warm if car breaks down and you have to wait someone to give you help so again you have to have experience of winter conditions.