February 8th, 2015, 10:46 am
It is difficult to resist the temptation to ride a car with a breeze on the smooth and thick Baikal ice, so that fluffy snow scatters from under the wheels like a fan. In sunny weather, the frozen lake simply irresistibly beckons to go out onto the ice and drive up close to the sparkling heap of hummocks or to the coastal rocks, intricately decorated in height with splash ice and whirling icicle lambs swirling by the storm wind.
ATTRACTIONS OF ICE BAIKAL
Transparent Baikal ice and sparkling hummocks are especially impressive in spring. After a thaw and a strong wind that blows away all the snow, the ice becomes perfectly polished. Stones at the bottom are perfectly visible through it in shallow water. If there is a lot of snow during the winter, there are not so many open areas of mirror ice on the lake. From the end of February to the beginning of April, most trips on the ice of Lake Baikal are made. This is an ideal time for traveling on ice: warm, you can ride, for example, on a bike in light clothes, without gloves, and even briefly undress to a shirt. The sky is blue-blue, the sky is clear, and the snow-capped mountains of the opposite bank are clearly distinguished down to the details, as if they are nearby.
In recent years, it has become popular to make long journeys from the south of Lake Baikal, from the village of Bishkek to skiing, skating or cycling. Kultuk, to the north - to Severobaikalsk.
At the end of March, the ice becomes rough, the snow deposits harden, which makes it possible to ride bicycles without special studded rubber. In general, riding a bike on smooth ice is a rather difficult activity, you just need to pedal a little harder, and the bike is guaranteed to slide to one side. The practice of carrying out tourist trips on ice on cars, snowmobiles, an amphibious vessel "Khivus-10" on an air cushion and dog sleds is quite new for Baikal, such tours began to be carried out regularly only since 2003. On the ice of Lake Baikal it is possible much faster than in summer, get to remote locations on the coast, usually accessible only from the water. For example, to get to the Baikal-Lensky Nature Reserve by boat, you need to sail continuously for about two days; in winter, all this is available within five to seven hours of driving from Irkutsk.
Winter Baikal leaves an indelible impression. At the end of winter, a powerful movement of ice occurs, and some hummocks can exceed the height of a person. The hummocky fields attract the attention of photographers with their unusual heap of sparkling ice. Mirror Baikal ice and amazing blueness on the ice blocks amaze all visitors. The exceptional transparency of the ice allows you to see the bottom near the shore and look into the blackening mysterious depths of the lake. The thickness of even thick ice is imperceptible and is determined by eye only in places dotted with cracks.
The coastal cliffs in winter are decorated with multi-meter high ice splashes sparkling in the sun. The thickness of ice on coastal stones reaches several tens of centimeters, and the height of such ice splashes on the rocks from the windward side during a strong autumn storm sometimes exceeds tens of meters. Numerous grottoes are decorated with many large icicles and ice columns. These ice sculptures are re-created every winter. Particularly spectacular splashes of ice and sokui are found on the rocks of the Ushkany Islands, on the capes of Olkhon Island - Kobylya Golova, Sagan-Khushun, Khoboy. Every year, powerful ice thrusts form exceptionally beautiful hummocks near Cape Ryty.
Sagan-Khushun - "white cape" - an extremely picturesque rocky cape, located on Olkhon Island, about 1 km long, made of light marble, densely covered with red lichen and therefore having a burgundy hue. In winter, it is impossible to drive past it on the ice without noticing. The winter road, as a rule, runs near the rocks. At the foot there is a pile of transparent ice floes, rocks to a height of tens of meters are decorated with openwork branchy icicles. In a small stone bay between the rocks, tens of meters up, every year when the lake freezes, spreading ice stalactites, similar to the branches of Christmas trees, are formed. Near the north there is an 8-meter grotto, like in the fairy tale of the Snow Queen, fantastically decorated with transparent ice icicles, stalagmites, ice crystals and patterns. All this beauty sparkling in the sun is difficult to convey in video or photographs. The icy laces of the grotto are especially effective at sunset, when for a short time the sunlight illuminates the interior of the grotto.
BAIKAL ICE
Baikal freezes every year, and roads are laid on the ice every year. With the onset of cold weather, when the air temperature is below -20 ° C, in the first 3-4 days ice grows by 4-5 cm per day. In the water area of \u200b\u200bthe lake, the ice thickness varies from 70 to 113 cm, and a regularity has been revealed: the more snow, the thinner the ice. It is believed that ice, broken by a storm when the lake freezes, is less durable than homogeneous and monolithic. But even homogeneous and monolithic ice can suddenly crack. The torn ice moves apart, in the cold the crack freezes very quickly, it is slightly covered with snow, and a dangerous trap for cars with 2-centimeters ice appears on the road with landmarks. Therefore, the crossing over ice from the mainland to Olkhon is open only during daylight hours: from 9 to 18 hours.
Ice 50 cm thick can withstand a weight of up to 15 tons, and about a meter thick - the weight of a helicopter or steam locomotive. In the history of Lake Baikal, the fact of laying a railroad track between the stations Baikal and Tankhoi in the especially harsh winter of 1903-1904 on the ice is known.
Usually they go to the ice early in the morning to catch the moment of the enchanting sunrise. The first rays of the rising sun fill the usually crystal clear ice hummocks with a mysterious golden glow. The desire to see this winter beauty beckons to the ice, away from the winter road paved on the ice to the unusual hummocks or icy rocks. But it is better, unless absolutely necessary, not to risk and not leave the winter road, and in places where steaming and cracks are possible, move with a local guide who knows the features of ice well. The difference between roads on ice is dense snow puffs, on which a car bounces like on a springboard. When overcoming frozen cracks and snow-covered hummocks, the suspension of the machine often experiences severe impacts. Only at first glance, from afar, the ice seems as smooth as a mirror, in practice it is often found that it is impossible to drive straight on the ice because of winding cracks, hummocky fields and snow drifts.
Local residents and fishermen have long and confidently mastered the ice space for movement by car. There are ice roads between the coastal villages, and where there are no roads, in most cases you can drive, better with a guide, bypassing hummocks and cracks.
In March, you can observe a rare phenomenon - powerful ice thrusts, with a water hammer, individual ice chips fly up like a cannon and scatter far over the ice. The silent balance of the hummocks crumbles with the rustle of revived ice. Ice floes are being squeezed out from under the ice right before our eyes. All this is accompanied by a continuous hum, as in an earthquake, the sound comes right from under your feet, frightening with its power. The hummocky seam of the crack noticeably moves, individual ice floes fall and crumble into small pieces. The movement of ice can be figuratively compared to the work of a millstone - as if tightly clenched jaws break ice into small crumbs. It happens that at such moments water rushes out onto the ice and in a short time covers it by 4-5 cm. After three or four minutes, everything usually freezes, and complete silence ensues.
In April, intense ice begins to melt. In a matter of days, and sometimes even hours, the car footprint completely disappears, becomes covered with water, and you have to drive through deep puddles at random, in a cloud of spray, like from a speedboat. It happens that after lunch the snow on the ice is so broken up that it is impossible to find even your morning car track.
ICE TRAPS
Numerous car tracks on the ice in all directions create the illusion of safety. However, one should not delude ourselves - no matter how reliable the ice may seem, its cunning is unpredictable. Even the roads marked with landmarks sometimes bring unpleasant surprises.
Open parinas - polynyas are visible on ice from a considerable distance, you just need to look carefully and be able to distinguish them. It is more dangerous when the steams are hidden by a thin crust of ice, and after a snowfall they are covered with a layer of snow. In this case, it is difficult to find them. If the steaming is caused by the release of deep gases, then under the ice, if it is clean and transparent, you can see gas bubbles. The steams formed by thermal waters, springs, or the inflow of warm waters of tributaries are more difficult to notice. To do this, you need to carefully examine the ice in a suspicious place and test its thickness with an ice pick or other sharp object. Old-time fishermen from these places know the local characteristics of ice best of all.
Every year, in the same places, there are cracks - a kind of expansion joints in the ice cover. They form in the same places, usually in a straight line between adjacent protruding headlands. Separate through cracks can reach lengths up to 10-40 km and widths up to 4 m, but most often cracks are from 0.5 to 1-2 m wide.The appearance of these cracks is caused by linear expansion or contraction of ice with daily temperature drops, sometimes reaching 20 -30 C per day. It is calculated that when the ambient temperature changes by 1 degree, the linear expansion of ice reaches 70 mm per 1 km of ice.
The danger is cracks and crevices 0.5-2 m wide, stretching for tens of kilometers. Many of them do not freeze all winter, periodically narrowing or expanding. Not a single crack, even the simplest one, is crossed on the move. Before each of them, it is necessary to stop and check the condition of the ice with the help of a paw - a special forged sharp lance with uneven edges so that it does not stick to the ice. Often there are cracks with thin ice, which can be easily penetrated to the water with ice. Such cracks can easily jump over cars at speed. To soften the impact, the edges of the cracks are knocked off with a paw. A meter-long gap with water is clogged with pieces of ice, the car for acceleration drives off 200-500 meters, a gate is set - a reference point for the driver, where the car will jump through the gap, then a rapid acceleration to 70-80 km per hour - and jump through the gap.
The thickness of the ice is also influenced by underwater currents, which reduce its strength. For example, in the Strait of Olkhon Gate, for this reason, there is no ice crossing. In winter, many cracks and proparins appear on the ice here. The crossing to Olkhon is marked with landmarks, regularly cleared with a grader and the thickness of the ice is checked. In different years, the ice crossing is arranged either from the Kurkut Bay, or from the mainland after the Sarma River delta. An arrow sign "Ice crossing" will help you get onto the ice in the right place.
At the end of March, when the sun begins to warm up, it becomes dangerous to drive close over the ice to the rocks, near which the ice is melting more rapidly than in the open water area of \u200b\u200bthe lake. You should also know that, despite frost and thick ice, if a lot of snow fell and it melted quickly, such ice, due to the absorption of melt water and changes in its structure, is less reliable and uniform than ice on which there was no snow.
WINTERS ON BAIKAL
Official winter roads on the ice of Lake Baikal are marked with poles frozen into the ice and numerous signs at the exit from the shore: "Permissible carrying capacity of vehicles 5 t", "Distance between vehicles 200 m", "Stopping prohibited", "Recommended speed 10 km / h", "Time work from 9.00 to 19.00 ". But usually most of the roads are paved by fishermen and do not have any warning signs. Experienced drivers always prefer to keep the trail in the right direction, and if they are going straight, they try to avoid cracks and suspicious places that differ in the grayer color of the ice from afar.
Even with a guide you cannot be 100% reliable on ice roads. There are several known cases when cars fell through on permanent winter roads between the settlements of Listvyanka and Bolshiye Koty, at the cracks in the back, which begins immediately from the shipyard in Listvyanka. Much more often cars moving on the ice go under the ice at their own peril and risk. In 2002, the Ministry of Emergency Situations expedition carried out a special search for sunken objects in the summer, and only in the water area of \u200b\u200bthe Maloye Sea registered 15 vehicles that were not raised. According to local residents, there are from 25 to 50 cars at the bottom of the Small Sea.
Usually on South Baikal the road makes its way from Baikalsk to the village. Kultuk and from the village. Kultuk to the village. Marituya. There are fewer roads on the middle Baikal. Most often they drive on the ice from the village. Listvyanka in the village. Cats (18 km), from the village. Bolshoye Goloustnoye to Peschanaya Bay. Sometimes local residents, if the winter was cold, make a winter road across Lake Baikal from the mouth of the Anga River to the eastern bank. The official ferry, equipped with landmarks and signs, is organized annually between the mainland and Olkhon Island. In total, there are more roads on the ice of the Small Sea, these are mainly fishing roads to places of ice fishing, but there are also permanent roads from the village. Khuzhira, along the island and in the village. Ongurens, to the cordon of the Baikal-Lensky Nature Reserve at Cape Solnechny and further to Zavorotnaya Bay. Every year a winter road is laid on ice in the northern part of Lake Baikal between the city of Severobaikalsk and the village. Ust-Barguzin across the Chivyrkuisky Bay.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW WHEN MOVING ON ICE
As knowledgeable people say, sinking under the ice happens unexpectedly and rapidly. In a matter of seconds, the car dives with its nose and instantly finds itself under the ice. When the car fails, the main thing is not to panic and have time to open the doors. Already when submerged to 2-3 meters, excessive pressure from the outside makes it difficult to open doors and knock out glass. When hitting the glass with a hammer from the inside of the car under water, the glass bends, but does not break. Not everyone will have time to lower the glass and jump out through the window in winter clothes, overcoming a powerful oncoming stream of water. If the depth is known and insignificant (10-15 meters), it is recommended to wait for the car interior to fill with water and equalize the pressure, then the doors can be opened. There is enough time to take off the fur boots and collect the essentials documents, matches, a knife. If you manage to get out of the water onto the ice, the danger remains simply to freeze in the frost and wind, while you get to the saving warmth of a distant home. Be sure to have a knife in your pocket to get out on the ice, and a lighter to start a fire on the shore.
More often than not, overconfidence and drunk driving ruins on ice. Even experienced drivers are not immune to treacherous ice traps. In a warm winter, especially at the end of winter, cracks do not freeze, and if they are covered with thin ice and covered with snow, they become extremely dangerous for cars. In cold weather, on the contrary, they freeze almost instantly, but the thickness of the ice in such a place is insufficient to withstand the weight of the machine.
Usually, fishermen, disregarding the danger and prohibitory signs, ride on the ice of Lake Baikal in all conceivable directions. Unjustified self-confidence often ends in tragedy.
How sunken cars are lifted
Both local residents and specially trained brigades of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the Irkutsk diving company "Aqua-Eco" are engaged in lifting the drowned vehicles. You can lift a car from a depth of up to 40-50 m, depths of 60-80 m are the maximum for divers. Divers say that for some reason the cars most often stand on their wheels at the bottom, rarely turning over on the roof. And if the car does not wrinkle too much when lifting, it will remain in great shape. For lifting, divers hook the car at one point, usually at the frame or at the outpost. Then, with the help of an arrow or a self-made construction of three or four logs, frozen vertically in the form of a hut in the ice, at the top of which a block for the cable is installed, the machine is lifted from the bottom and pulled onto the ice.
Sometimes they do without an arrow, as, for example, it was with the village that collapsed opposite. Angosolka with light LUAZ. In that place, there is a shallow bank, and the depths immediately begin at 130 m, the car fell 1.5-2 meters from the edge of the cliff, in this place there is a strong underwater current and springs are beating. The ice was too thin to allow the car to be lifted in the usual way. The rescuers decided to bring a non-inflated rubber boat into the car's interior, which was then pumped through a hose from ice from a compressed air cylinder. This was enough for LUAZ to float to the surface. If the ice is thin and does not allow organizing the lifting of the car, it is taken out of the water in the summer with the help of a boat, which tows the drowned car to the shore. And already there a tractor pulls her ashore.
The Buryats get the car out of the lane using the gate. A hole is made along the diameter of the chock, a gate with a long rope is tied to the chock inserted into the hole. One end clings to the frame or outpost of the vehicle at one point so that the vehicle exits to the surface either forward or backward. At the edge of the lane, an arrow is built from thick logs or a specially welded iron structure up to 6 meters long, usually the length of the machine. The boom is installed on the edge of the ice, at an angle of 45 degrees above the water, and with the help of a winch or a gate, it rises with the machine above the ice to a vertical position, after which it rolls over onto the ice along with the machine, which is accompanied by a strong rumble when the machine stands on its wheels.
If it is warm outside, the car raised from the bottom is towed without draining oil and fuel. If the temperatures are low, it is necessary to prevent the freezing of water that could get into car units. To do this, the engine oil, brake fluid, fuel and axle oil are immediately drained. All filters and candles are replaced.
This is how the process of pulling the car out of the ice looks like:
ICE ROADS OF BAIKAL
There is such a profession on Baikal - ice captain. These are real "ice wolves" who know practically everything about winter Baikal, its ice shell, underwater currents and winds. The main task of ice captains is to choose a road on the ice of Lake Baikal so that it is as safe as possible for movement by motor transport in winter. On Lake Baikal there is a so-called "League of Ice Captains", which in the winter season determine the location of winter roads on Lake Baikal and are engaged in driving caravans across the ice of the lake. The basic principles of movement by motor transport on the ice of Lake Baikal were laid by Alexander Yuryevich Burmeister in 1964. Once in a difficult ice situation, he survived himself and led the people out. Since then, he has been systematically studying the ice conditions in the northern and middle parts of Lake Baikal. His observations formed the basis for a unified system of safe passage in the difficult navigational conditions of Lake Baikal. League of Baikal Ice Captains - e-mail: [email protected]
Here are the most popular car routes along the winter roads laid on the ice of Lake Baikal:
1. Expedition on the ice of Lake Baikal "Big Ring"
The route lasts 5 days: Irkutsk - Elantsy - Maloye More - the coast of the Baikal-Lensky reserve - a hitch in the Zavorotnaya bay - Chivyrkuisky bay - Irkutsk. The distance is 1200 km, including 750 km on the ice of Lake Baikal.
The format of this route can be as follows:
First day. 260 km on asphalt, 60 km on a good gravel road, 60 km on the ice of Lake Baikal. Visiting shaman serge and ancient rock paintings. On the way, lunch at the "Buryat Cuisine" cafe. Accommodation at a tourist base in Zama or at a tourist base on Olkhon Island. Russian bath. Festive dinner.
Second day. About 200 km on the ice of Lake Baikal. Olkhon Island: sightseeing on rocks and icy grottoes. Travel on ice to Cape Khoboy and seal caves. Crossing the Small Sea with a guide. A picnic at the sacred Cape Ryty, where powerful, many-meter hummocks are formed every year. Visit to the seal cave at Cape Sagan-Moryan. Overnight at a hut in Zavorotnaya Bay.
Third day... Crossing Baikal. A trip to the hot springs in the Chivyrkuisky Bay in the Zabaikalsky National Park. The famous Ushkany Islands are a favorite rookery of the Baikal seal. In the evening, a Russian bath with brooms and swimming for those who wish in the ice hole.
Fourth day. Fishing for grayling. The hole in the coastal hummocks will be hollowed out in advance with a peshny. The bait is poured - a drill. If you sit quietly and look into the hole, you can see how the grayling swims and how he takes the bait. This is one of the most exciting winter types of fishing. Fresh fish is prepared at the place of ear or splitting.
Fifth day. Early departure and return to Irkutsk.
2. On the ice to the Peschanaya bay
3. To the ice grottoes of the Small Sea
The trip can be carried out in two days with one overnight stay in warm conditions either on Olkhon Island (Bencharov's estate), or at the Yenkhok individual recreation center (Tonky Cape, western coast of the Maloye More). The total mileage is 750-800 km. The trip is interesting by visiting the ice grottoes, which are visible only from the boat in summer. Bicycles or snowmobiles taken with you will serve as an excellent safe additional transport for excursions; they can be safely used outside the winter road, moving near rocks, for example, Cape Khoboy (336 km from Irkutsk), which is quite difficult to drive up close by car due to the large number of cracks and hummocks on ice.
A winter road is laid from the mainland to the island in winter, marked with landmarks and road signs. All winter, cars, including heavy trucks, pass through it.
The road (250 km) from Irkutsk to the coast of the Small Sea takes 3.5 hours. You can refuel in Bayandai and Elantsy. In Elantsy it is necessary to fill at least one can of gasoline into the stock. In the village Elantsy, there is a cozy cafe "Olkhonskiye Vorota" (after the gas station, to the right of the road), where it is advisable to have a snack before going on the ice.
Before reaching the MRS (45 km from the village of Elantsy), you need to turn to the Sakhyurt base to the Kurkut Bay or to the river. Sarma at the "Ice Ferry" sign. Through binoculars, the ice track with ice sticks and road signs is clearly visible. The road is regularly cleared by a grader and is easy to spot. The road is laid annually in approximately the same safe place, 15-20 km long. The hummocky areas in front of Olkhon Island are cut off with a bulldozer, so it is comfortable to drive along the ice road even in passenger cars. In the Olkhon Gate, where the distance to the island is much shorter, the crossing is not made because of the underwater currents in the strait, as a result of which the ice there is heterogeneous in thickness and poses a danger to cars. Near Cape Kobylya Golova, a cracking is also formed annually, starting from a large steaming near the cape itself. Cape Khorin-Irgi is separated from the Kobylya Golova peninsula by a sheer crevice to the very surface of the water and resembles a horse's head from a distance. In winter, this crevice is filled with ice taller than human height. The heavily ice-covered cliffs of the cape attract attention from afar, but it is not recommended to drive close to them, especially closer to spring, when intense ice begins to melt near the steep cliffs. Ice splashes - sokui are formed on the rocks when the lake freezes. Ice splashes due to the frequent autumn wind here at Cape Kobylya Golova are the largest on the Small Sea.
You can stay overnight in the village. Khuzhir in a hotel, private estates or forestry. For help with accommodation, you can contact the information center in Nikita Bencharov's estate, they will always help with accommodation. In winter, there are practically no tourists, and it is easy to find an overnight stay in the village, even without prior arrangement.
In the evening, before sunset, you can walk on ice around the famous Shaman-rock near the village. Khuzhira.
On the southern side of the Shaman Rock, with a certain degree of imagination, you can see the image of a dragon with a head and a tail. In the morning of the next day, you can continue your journey across the ice of Lake Baikal to the northern tip of the island, Cape Khoboy. The exit to the ice is located to the right of Cape Burkhan or immediately from the pier, depending on ice conditions. It can be clearly seen from above. The road to the north is not marked with landmarks. Basically, it is rolled by fishermen, so roads on the ice, like in the Mongolian steppe, sometimes fan out. The principle of movement is the same - to keep rolling and not go without a rut. Cape Sagan-Khushun and Cape Khoboy, which have grottoes, ice splashes on the rocks, and Cape Khoboy, and powerful ice thrusts with large hummocks, will be worthy objects to visit.
To Cape Sagan-Khushun on ice from Khuzhir 35 km, from Sagan-Khushun to Cape Khoboy another 4 km. On the way, you will definitely meet fishing Kamchatka - fishermen's camps with tents and cars. Cape Khoboy is the northernmost cape on Olkhon Island, inaccessible in summer due to a bad dirt road (4-5 hours from the village of Khuzhir), and in winter it will take no more than 40 minutes to travel across the ice of Lake Baikal.
It is sometimes difficult to drive close to Cape Khoboy because of the difficult ice conditions, and the last hundreds of meters you have to walk on foot. From the side of the big Baikal near the rocks, almost every year, large vertical shafts of broken ice form, which are even difficult to climb. There are many large hummocks and fresh cracks. There are two grottoes at the water level on the northern side of the cape. One of them goes 21 m under the rock, and you need a flashlight to visit it. Like all grottoes of Lake Baikal, formed by the wave-breaking process, it has a sufficiently large entrance hole in which you can stand at full height, and a gradually narrowing passage, to the end of which you can only crawl. All along the grotto is overgrown with ice and icicles. The entrance, which has a palisade of ice pillars of different diameters, is especially effective.
In addition to the grottoes of Cape Khoboy and Sagan-Khushun, grottoes are known on the mainland of the Small Sea: on the Kurminsky, Aral, and Khaltygey capes.
From Cape Khoboy the road goes along the ice of Lake Baikal to the mainland Cape Rytom and to the Baikal-Lensky Nature Reserve. From there they go to the Ushkany Islands, Chivyrkuisky Bay, to the north of Lake Baikal.
An extended version of this route is a car ride around Olkhon Island, which can be completed in 4-5 hours, carefully avoiding cracks and ice steams on the northeastern part of the island near Mount Zhima.
Turquoise ice, whole hummocks of bright, turquoise ice at the northern tip of the peninsula.
1. We headed for the northern point of the Holy Nose.
2. Cape Upper headboard.
3. The coastal part of the cape is allowed for educational tourism, then - the zone of the reserved regime. But today we were not going to conquer the mountains of the Holy Nose, we were more interested in ice.
4. We stopped near an almost fresh crack. The ice on Lake Baikal is constantly in motion. Somewhere it opens up and a crack turns out, and in another place the ice sheet goes to another, and as a result, a hummock is obtained.
5. At first it was somehow scary to stand at a fresh break, then we got used to it. This place is quite deep, this is no longer Chivyrkuisky Bay, but the real Baikal.
7. In the direction of the peninsula, such a picture is visible. Such ice - all the way to the shore. Solid hummock. I can imagine what strength is needed to take and crush kilometers of an ice field! I think it happened when the ice was still thin, about ten centimeters. Pressed, crumpled, and he froze.
8. And here the hummock is bigger, with ice floes 30-40 centimeters thick.
9. Walking on hummocks on Lake Baikal is quite dangerous.
He talks about his trip to Baikal.
I visited the ice kingdom of Lake Baikal even before it became a mandatory program for photographers in Russia in March. It was quite a long time ago, I really want to go again and shoot a little differently. Looking back, you see in many ways the potential for a more interesting shot. But the past cannot be changed, we all learn something and become better.
Baikal, especially in winter, is difficult to describe in words. This is a completely different world, the world of ice and wind. The ice stretches to the horizon and is so transparent that you are afraid to step on it. When, having overcome hummocks, you get to the rocky outcrops and enter the ice grottoes, making your way among the ice stalactites, where many-meter ice splashes have frozen, bristling with a fan of ice needles, you cannot remain indifferent to all this. Beneath your feet are the blackening depths of space - seeming chaos, in which order is born. And in the evening, when the temperature difference begins, the lighting is dimmed and a symphony of ice begins. If you get close to the cracking crack at this moment, you can see how the ice floes are squeezed out from under the ice. All this is accompanied by a continuous rumble, like the sounds of an earthquake. Any connoisseur of beautiful or unusual winter Baikal will make an indelible impression.
Baikal is a wonderful and interesting place in our vast territory. The lake is of tectonic origin, located in a basin and surrounded on all sides by mountain ranges and hills. The deepest lake on the planet, 19% of the world's fresh water reserves. Due to low mineralization, the water and ice are so transparent that the visibility can reach up to 40 meters. 336 rivers and streams flow into Baikal (and these are only permanent ones), and one flows out - the Angara. An unusual experience when visiting such places, when dry figures of geography and history come to life before our eyes.
In March, a strong and stable ice cover is established on Lake Baikal, when you can drive a car on the ice (but you always need to be careful and careful), and the temperature is already becoming more comfortable for a long stay in the air.
View of the snow-covered steppe expanses of Olkhon.
In the southern part of the island there is a steppe with sparsely standing lonely trees. After a frosty night, they were all covered with sparkling frost.
Olkhon has a variety of landscapes: there are beaches with dunes, and dense forests with rare larch trees, spruce forests, rocks, swamps.
View of the hummocks that formed during the movement of ice.
The frozen water area of \u200b\u200bLake Baikal is also a skating rink for lovers of winter activities. But often the ice is so hard that even sharpened skates won't cut it.
One of the symbols of Baikal and Olkhon Island is Shamanka Rock.
Hummocks, cracks, ice floes, snowdrifts give the lake endless variations in pattern combinations.
Despite the ice thickness of several meters, which can withstand the weight of the car, fishermen drill holes to catch omul, a Baikal endemic.
In the depths of the frozen lake, you can find traces of strange life forms.
The colors of the ice are striking in their variety, you always want to take a closer look at all the details and features.
Ice floes create whimsical graphics of shapes and lines.
One of the beautiful classical views of the island is Shamanka Rock.
In addition to the ice of the frozen lake itself, splashes on the coastal rocks are also very interesting. They are formed as a result of the freezing of water thrown by waves onto a cold surface, when the ground is already frozen and the water is not captured by the ice crust.
In the predawn twilight, the ice reflects the colors of the dawn, only the black streaks of cracks create the effect of a broken mirror.
Even in winter, frozen in ice, Baikal breathes. Deep explosions are heard, the creak of cracks, the crack of breaking ice. If you listen closely, this is a full-fledged melody performed on unusual instruments. The ice tension is so high that when the temperature drops, with each step, cracks branch out from under the feet like lightning. The ice of Baikal is so similar to the earth's crust that seismologists use explosions to model and study earthquakes.
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Ice hummocks are very interesting, where when cracks are pressed onto the surface, ice fragments are squeezed out. Often hummocks form whole fields, where a backfire crack usually passes - an expansion joint in the ice cover, which does not freeze due to the compression and expansion of ice and can reach up to 4 meters in width, having a huge length of 20-30 kilometers.
Live illustration for the expression "Ice and Fire".
From above, cracked ice looks very different than when you stand on it. The twists and turns of cracks, the play of color, the dynamics of lines are mesmerizing.
It is also interesting to consider the structure of the ice. They are very diverse. Here inclusions of air bubbles form a "molecular lattice".
Shaman among the broken ice, which was squeezed along the coast.
There are many small islands in the water area. Which you can drive up to in winter.
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It is difficult to resist the temptation to ride a car with a breeze on the smooth and thick Baikal ice, so that fluffy snow scatters from under the wheels like a fan. In sunny weather, the frozen lake simply irresistibly beckons to go out onto the ice and drive up close to the sparkling heap of hummocks or to the coastal rocks, intricately decorated in height with splash ice and whirling icicle lambs swirling by the storm wind.
ATTRACTIONS OF ICE BAIKAL
Transparent Baikal ice and sparkling hummocks are especially impressive in spring. After a thaw and a strong wind that blows away all the snow, the ice becomes perfectly polished. Stones at the bottom are perfectly visible through it in shallow water. If there is a lot of snow during the winter, there are not so many open areas of mirror ice on the lake. From the end of February to the beginning of April, most trips on the ice of Lake Baikal are made. This is an ideal time for traveling on ice: warm, you can ride, for example, on a bike in light clothes, without gloves, and even briefly undress to a shirt. The sky is blue-blue, the sky is clear, and the snow-capped mountains of the opposite bank are clearly distinguished down to the details, as if they are nearby.
In recent years, it has become popular to make long journeys from the south of Lake Baikal, from the village of Bishkek to skiing, skating or cycling. Kultuk, to the north - to Severobaikalsk.
At the end of March, the ice becomes rough, the snow deposits harden, which makes it possible to ride bicycles without special studded rubber. In general, riding a bike on smooth ice is a rather difficult activity, you just need to pedal a little harder, and the bike is guaranteed to slide to one side. The practice of carrying out tourist trips on ice on cars, snowmobiles, an amphibious vessel "Khivus-10" on an air cushion and dog sleds is quite new for Baikal, such tours began to be carried out regularly only since 2003. On the ice of Lake Baikal it is possible much faster than in summer, get to remote locations on the coast, usually accessible only from the water. For example, to get to the Baikal-Lensky Nature Reserve by boat, you need to sail continuously for about two days; in winter, all this is available within five to seven hours of driving from Irkutsk.
Winter Baikal leaves an indelible impression. At the end of winter, a powerful movement of ice occurs, and some hummocks can exceed the height of a person. The hummocky fields attract the attention of photographers with their unusual heap of sparkling ice. Mirror Baikal ice and amazing blueness on the ice blocks amaze all visitors. The exceptional transparency of the ice allows you to see the bottom near the shore and look into the blackening mysterious depths of the lake. The thickness of even thick ice is imperceptible and is determined by eye only in places dotted with cracks.
The coastal cliffs in winter are decorated with multi-meter high ice splashes sparkling in the sun. The thickness of ice on coastal stones reaches several tens of centimeters, and the height of such ice splashes on the rocks from the windward side during a strong autumn storm sometimes exceeds tens of meters. Numerous grottoes are decorated with many large icicles and ice columns. These ice sculptures are re-created every winter. Particularly spectacular splashes of ice and sokui are found on the rocks of the Ushkany Islands, on the capes of Olkhon Island - Kobylya Golova, Sagan-Khushun, Khoboy. Every year, powerful ice thrusts form exceptionally beautiful hummocks near Cape Ryty.
Sagan-Khushun - "white cape" - an extremely picturesque rocky cape, located on Olkhon Island, about 1 km long, made of light marble, densely covered with red lichen and therefore having a burgundy hue. In winter, it is impossible to drive past it on the ice without noticing. The winter road, as a rule, runs near the rocks. At the foot there is a pile of transparent ice floes, rocks to a height of tens of meters are decorated with openwork branchy icicles. In a small stone bay between the rocks, tens of meters up, every year when the lake freezes, spreading ice stalactites, similar to the branches of Christmas trees, are formed. Near the north there is an 8-meter grotto, like in the fairy tale of the Snow Queen, fantastically decorated with transparent ice icicles, stalagmites, ice crystals and patterns. All this beauty sparkling in the sun is difficult to convey in video or photographs. The icy laces of the grotto are especially effective at sunset, when for a short time the sunlight illuminates the interior of the grotto.
BAIKAL ICE
Baikal freezes every year, and roads are laid on the ice every year. With the onset of cold weather, when the air temperature is below -20 ° C, in the first 3-4 days ice grows by 4-5 cm per day. In the water area of \u200b\u200bthe lake, the ice thickness varies from 70 to 113 cm, and a regularity has been revealed: the more snow, the thinner the ice. It is believed that ice, broken by a storm when the lake freezes, is less durable than homogeneous and monolithic. But even homogeneous and monolithic ice can suddenly crack. The torn ice moves apart, in the cold the crack freezes very quickly, it is slightly covered with snow, and a dangerous trap for cars with 2-centimeters ice appears on the road with landmarks. Therefore, the crossing over ice from the mainland to Olkhon is open only during daylight hours: from 9 to 18 hours.
Ice 50 cm thick can withstand a weight of up to 15 tons, and about a meter thick - the weight of a helicopter or steam locomotive. In the history of Lake Baikal, the fact of laying a railroad track between the stations Baikal and Tankhoi in the especially harsh winter of 1903-1904 on the ice is known.
Usually they go to the ice early in the morning to catch the moment of the enchanting sunrise. The first rays of the rising sun fill the usually crystal clear ice hummocks with a mysterious golden glow. The desire to see this winter beauty beckons to the ice, away from the winter road paved on the ice to the unusual hummocks or icy rocks. But it is better, unless absolutely necessary, not to risk and not leave the winter road, and in places where steaming and cracks are possible, move with a local guide who knows the features of ice well. The difference between roads on ice is dense snow puffs, on which a car bounces like on a springboard. When overcoming frozen cracks and snow-covered hummocks, the suspension of the machine often experiences severe impacts. Only at first glance, from afar, the ice seems as smooth as a mirror, in practice it is often found that it is impossible to drive straight on the ice because of winding cracks, hummocky fields and snow drifts.
Local residents and fishermen have long and confidently mastered the ice space for movement by car. There are ice roads between the coastal villages, and where there are no roads, in most cases you can drive, better with a guide, bypassing hummocks and cracks.
In March, you can observe a rare phenomenon - powerful ice thrusts, with a water hammer, individual ice chips fly up like a cannon and scatter far over the ice. The silent balance of the hummocks crumbles with the rustle of revived ice. Ice floes are being squeezed out from under the ice right before our eyes. All this is accompanied by a continuous hum, as in an earthquake, the sound comes right from under your feet, frightening with its power. The hummocky seam of the crack noticeably moves, individual ice floes fall and crumble into small pieces. The movement of ice can be figuratively compared to the work of a millstone - as if tightly clenched jaws break ice into small crumbs. It happens that at such moments water rushes out onto the ice and in a short time covers it by 4-5 cm. After three or four minutes, everything usually freezes, and complete silence ensues.
In April, intense ice begins to melt. In a matter of days, and sometimes even hours, the car footprint completely disappears, becomes covered with water, and you have to drive through deep puddles at random, in a cloud of spray, like from a speedboat. It happens that after lunch the snow on the ice is so broken up that it is impossible to find even your morning car track.
ICE TRAPS
Numerous car tracks on the ice in all directions create the illusion of safety. However, one should not delude ourselves - no matter how reliable the ice may seem, its cunning is unpredictable. Even the roads marked with landmarks sometimes bring unpleasant surprises.
Open parinas - polynyas are visible on ice from a considerable distance, you just need to look carefully and be able to distinguish them. It is more dangerous when the steams are hidden by a thin crust of ice, and after a snowfall they are covered with a layer of snow. In this case, it is difficult to find them. If the steaming is caused by the release of deep gases, then under the ice, if it is clean and transparent, you can see gas bubbles. The steams formed by thermal waters, springs, or the inflow of warm waters of tributaries are more difficult to notice. To do this, you need to carefully examine the ice in a suspicious place and test its thickness with an ice pick or other sharp object. Old-time fishermen from these places know the local characteristics of ice best of all.
Every year, in the same places, there are cracks - a kind of expansion joints in the ice cover. They form in the same places, usually in a straight line between adjacent protruding headlands. Separate through cracks can reach lengths up to 10-40 km and widths up to 4 m, but most often cracks are from 0.5 to 1-2 m wide.The appearance of these cracks is caused by linear expansion or contraction of ice with daily temperature drops, sometimes reaching 20 -30 C per day. It is calculated that when the ambient temperature changes by 1 degree, the linear expansion of ice reaches 70 mm per 1 km of ice.
The danger is cracks and crevices 0.5-2 m wide, stretching for tens of kilometers. Many of them do not freeze all winter, periodically narrowing or expanding. Not a single crack, even the simplest one, is crossed on the move. Before each of them, it is necessary to stop and check the condition of the ice with the help of a paw - a special forged sharp lance with uneven edges so that it does not stick to the ice. Often there are cracks with thin ice, which can be easily penetrated to the water with ice. Such cracks can easily jump over cars at speed. To soften the impact, the edges of the cracks are knocked off with a paw. A meter-long gap with water is clogged with pieces of ice, the car for acceleration drives off 200-500 meters, a gate is set - a reference point for the driver, where the car will jump through the gap, then a rapid acceleration to 70-80 km per hour - and jump through the gap.
The thickness of the ice is also influenced by underwater currents, which reduce its strength. For example, in the Strait of Olkhon Gate, for this reason, there is no ice crossing. In winter, many cracks and proparins appear on the ice here. The crossing to Olkhon is marked with landmarks, regularly cleared with a grader and the thickness of the ice is checked. In different years, the ice crossing is arranged either from the Kurkut Bay, or from the mainland after the Sarma River delta. An arrow sign "Ice crossing" will help you get onto the ice in the right place.
At the end of March, when the sun begins to warm up, it becomes dangerous to drive close over the ice to the rocks, near which the ice is melting more rapidly than in the open water area of \u200b\u200bthe lake. You should also know that, despite frost and thick ice, if a lot of snow fell and it melted quickly, such ice, due to the absorption of melt water and changes in its structure, is less reliable and uniform than ice on which there was no snow.
WINTERS ON BAIKAL
Official winter roads on the ice of Lake Baikal are marked with poles frozen into the ice and numerous signs at the exit from the shore: "Permissible carrying capacity of vehicles 5 t", "Distance between vehicles 200 m", "Stopping prohibited", "Recommended speed 10 km / h", "Time work from 9.00 to 19.00 ". But usually most of the roads are paved by fishermen and do not have any warning signs. Experienced drivers always prefer to keep the trail in the right direction, and if they are going straight, they try to avoid cracks and suspicious places that differ in the grayer color of the ice from afar.
Even with a guide you cannot be 100% reliable on ice roads. There are several known cases when cars fell through on permanent winter roads between the settlements of Listvyanka and Bolshiye Koty, at the cracks in the back, which begins immediately from the shipyard in Listvyanka. Much more often cars moving on the ice go under the ice at their own peril and risk. In 2002, the Ministry of Emergency Situations expedition carried out a special search for sunken objects in the summer, and only in the water area of \u200b\u200bthe Maloye Sea registered 15 vehicles that were not raised. According to local residents, there are from 25 to 50 cars at the bottom of the Small Sea.
Usually on South Baikal the road makes its way from Baikalsk to the village. Kultuk and from the village. Kultuk to the village. Marituya. There are fewer roads on the middle Baikal. Most often they drive on the ice from the village. Listvyanka in the village. Cats (18 km), from the village. Bolshoye Goloustnoye to Peschanaya Bay. Sometimes local residents, if the winter was cold, make a winter road across Lake Baikal from the mouth of the Anga River to the eastern bank. The official ferry, equipped with landmarks and signs, is organized annually between the mainland and Olkhon Island. In total, there are more roads on the ice of the Small Sea, these are mainly fishing roads to places of ice fishing, but there are also permanent roads from the village. Khuzhira, along the island and in the village. Ongurens, to the cordon of the Baikal-Lensky Nature Reserve at Cape Solnechny and further to Zavorotnaya Bay. Every year a winter road is laid on ice in the northern part of Lake Baikal between the city of Severobaikalsk and the village. Ust-Barguzin across the Chivyrkuisky Bay.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW WHEN MOVING ON ICE
As knowledgeable people say, sinking under the ice happens unexpectedly and rapidly. In a matter of seconds, the car dives with its nose and instantly finds itself under the ice. When the car fails, the main thing is not to panic and have time to open the doors. Already when submerged to 2-3 meters, excessive pressure from the outside makes it difficult to open doors and knock out glass. When hitting the glass with a hammer from the inside of the car under water, the glass bends, but does not break. Not everyone will have time to lower the glass and jump out through the window in winter clothes, overcoming a powerful oncoming stream of water. If the depth is known and insignificant (10-15 meters), it is recommended to wait for the car interior to fill with water and equalize the pressure, then the doors can be opened. There is enough time to take off the fur boots and collect the essentials documents, matches, a knife. If you manage to get out of the water onto the ice, the danger remains simply to freeze in the frost and wind, while you get to the saving warmth of a distant home. Be sure to have a knife in your pocket to get out on the ice, and a lighter to start a fire on the shore.
More often than not, overconfidence and drunk driving ruins on ice. Even experienced drivers are not immune to treacherous ice traps. In a warm winter, especially at the end of winter, cracks do not freeze, and if they are covered with thin ice and covered with snow, they become extremely dangerous for cars. In cold weather, on the contrary, they freeze almost instantly, but the thickness of the ice in such a place is insufficient to withstand the weight of the machine.
Usually, fishermen, disregarding the danger and prohibitory signs, ride on the ice of Lake Baikal in all conceivable directions. Unjustified self-confidence often ends in tragedy.
How sunken cars are lifted
Both local residents and specially trained brigades of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the Irkutsk diving company "Aqua-Eco" are engaged in lifting the drowned vehicles. You can lift a car from a depth of up to 40-50 m, depths of 60-80 m are the maximum for divers. Divers say that for some reason the cars most often stand on their wheels at the bottom, rarely turning over on the roof. And if the car does not wrinkle too much when lifting, it will remain in great shape. For lifting, divers hook the car at one point, usually at the frame or at the outpost. Then, with the help of an arrow or a self-made construction of three or four logs, frozen vertically in the form of a hut in the ice, at the top of which a block for the cable is installed, the machine is lifted from the bottom and pulled onto the ice.
Sometimes they do without an arrow, as, for example, it was with the village that collapsed opposite. Angosolka with light LUAZ. In that place, there is a shallow bank, and the depths immediately begin at 130 m, the car fell 1.5-2 meters from the edge of the cliff, in this place there is a strong underwater current and springs are beating. The ice was too thin to allow the car to be lifted in the usual way. The rescuers decided to bring a non-inflated rubber boat into the car's interior, which was then pumped through a hose from ice from a compressed air cylinder. This was enough for LUAZ to float to the surface. If the ice is thin and does not allow organizing the lifting of the car, it is taken out of the water in the summer with the help of a boat, which tows the drowned car to the shore. And already there a tractor pulls her ashore.
The Buryats get the car out of the lane using the gate. A hole is made along the diameter of the chock, a gate with a long rope is tied to the chock inserted into the hole. One end clings to the frame or outpost of the vehicle at one point so that the vehicle exits to the surface either forward or backward. At the edge of the lane, an arrow is built from thick logs or a specially welded iron structure up to 6 meters long, usually the length of the machine. The boom is installed on the edge of the ice, at an angle of 45 degrees above the water, and with the help of a winch or a gate, it rises with the machine above the ice to a vertical position, after which it rolls over onto the ice along with the machine, which is accompanied by a strong rumble when the machine stands on its wheels.
If it is warm outside, the car raised from the bottom is towed without draining oil and fuel. If the temperatures are low, it is necessary to prevent the freezing of water that could get into car units. To do this, the engine oil, brake fluid, fuel and axle oil are immediately drained. All filters and candles are replaced.
This is how the process of pulling the car out of the ice looks like:
ICE ROADS OF BAIKAL
There is such a profession on Baikal - ice captain. These are real "ice wolves" who know practically everything about winter Baikal, its ice shell, underwater currents and winds. The main task of ice captains is to choose a road on the ice of Lake Baikal so that it is as safe as possible for movement by motor transport in winter. On Lake Baikal there is a so-called "League of Ice Captains", which in the winter season determine the location of winter roads on Lake Baikal and are engaged in driving caravans across the ice of the lake. The basic principles of movement by motor transport on the ice of Lake Baikal were laid by Alexander Yuryevich Burmeister in 1964. Once in a difficult ice situation, he survived himself and led the people out. Since then, he has been systematically studying the ice conditions in the northern and middle parts of Lake Baikal. His observations formed the basis for a unified system of safe passage in the difficult navigational conditions of Lake Baikal. League of Baikal Ice Captains - e-mail: [email protected]
Here are the most popular car routes along the winter roads laid on the ice of Lake Baikal:
1. Expedition on the ice of Lake Baikal "Big Ring"
The route lasts 5 days: Irkutsk - Elantsy - Maloye More - the coast of the Baikal-Lensky reserve - a hitch in the Zavorotnaya bay - Chivyrkuisky bay - Irkutsk. The distance is 1200 km, including 750 km on the ice of Lake Baikal.
The format of this route can be as follows:
First day. 260 km on asphalt, 60 km on a good gravel road, 60 km on the ice of Lake Baikal. Visiting shaman serge and ancient rock paintings. On the way, lunch at the "Buryat Cuisine" cafe. Accommodation at a tourist base in Zama or at a tourist base on Olkhon Island. Russian bath. Festive dinner.
Second day. About 200 km on the ice of Lake Baikal. Olkhon Island: sightseeing on rocks and icy grottoes. Travel on ice to Cape Khoboy and seal caves. Crossing the Small Sea with a guide. A picnic at the sacred Cape Ryty, where powerful, many-meter hummocks are formed every year. Visit to the seal cave at Cape Sagan-Moryan. Overnight at a hut in Zavorotnaya Bay.
Third day... Crossing Baikal. A trip to the hot springs in the Chivyrkuisky Bay in the Zabaikalsky National Park. The famous Ushkany Islands are a favorite rookery of the Baikal seal. In the evening, a Russian bath with brooms and swimming for those who wish in the ice hole.
Fourth day. Fishing for grayling. The hole in the coastal hummocks will be hollowed out in advance with a peshny. The bait is poured - a drill. If you sit quietly and look into the hole, you can see how the grayling swims and how he takes the bait. This is one of the most exciting winter types of fishing. Fresh fish is prepared at the place of ear or splitting.
Fifth day. Early departure and return to Irkutsk.
2. On the ice to the Peschanaya bay
3. To the ice grottoes of the Small Sea
The trip can be carried out in two days with one overnight stay in warm conditions either on Olkhon Island (Bencharov's estate), or at the Yenkhok individual recreation center (Tonky Cape, western coast of the Maloye More). The total mileage is 750-800 km. The trip is interesting by visiting the ice grottoes, which are visible only from the boat in summer. Bicycles or snowmobiles taken with you will serve as an excellent safe additional transport for excursions; they can be safely used outside the winter road, moving near rocks, for example, Cape Khoboy (336 km from Irkutsk), which is quite difficult to drive up close by car due to the large number of cracks and hummocks on ice.
A winter road is laid from the mainland to the island in winter, marked with landmarks and road signs. All winter, cars, including heavy trucks, pass through it.
The road (250 km) from Irkutsk to the coast of the Small Sea takes 3.5 hours. You can refuel in Bayandai and Elantsy. In Elantsy it is necessary to fill at least one can of gasoline into the stock. In the village Elantsy, there is a cozy cafe "Olkhonskiye Vorota" (after the gas station, to the right of the road), where it is advisable to have a snack before going on the ice.
Before reaching the MRS (45 km from the village of Elantsy), you need to turn to the Sakhyurt base to the Kurkut Bay or to the river. Sarma at the "Ice Ferry" sign. Through binoculars, the ice track with ice sticks and road signs is clearly visible. The road is regularly cleared by a grader and is easy to spot. The road is laid annually in approximately the same safe place, 15-20 km long. The hummocky areas in front of Olkhon Island are cut off with a bulldozer, so it is comfortable to drive along the ice road even in passenger cars. In the Olkhon Gate, where the distance to the island is much shorter, the crossing is not made because of the underwater currents in the strait, as a result of which the ice there is heterogeneous in thickness and poses a danger to cars. Near Cape Kobylya Golova, a cracking is also formed annually, starting from a large steaming near the cape itself. Cape Khorin-Irgi is separated from the Kobylya Golova peninsula by a sheer crevice to the very surface of the water and resembles a horse's head from a distance. In winter, this crevice is filled with ice taller than human height. The heavily ice-covered cliffs of the cape attract attention from afar, but it is not recommended to drive close to them, especially closer to spring, when intense ice begins to melt near the steep cliffs. Ice splashes - sokui are formed on the rocks when the lake freezes. Ice splashes due to the frequent autumn wind here at Cape Kobylya Golova are the largest on the Small Sea.
You can stay overnight in the village. Khuzhir in a hotel, private estates or forestry. For help with accommodation, you can contact the information center in Nikita Bencharov's estate, they will always help with accommodation. In winter, there are practically no tourists, and it is easy to find an overnight stay in the village, even without prior arrangement.
In the evening, before sunset, you can walk on ice around the famous Shaman-rock near the village. Khuzhira.
On the southern side of the Shaman Rock, with a certain degree of imagination, you can see the image of a dragon with a head and a tail. In the morning of the next day, you can continue your journey across the ice of Lake Baikal to the northern tip of the island, Cape Khoboy. The exit to the ice is located to the right of Cape Burkhan or immediately from the pier, depending on ice conditions. It can be clearly seen from above. The road to the north is not marked with landmarks. Basically, it is rolled by fishermen, so roads on the ice, like in the Mongolian steppe, sometimes fan out. The principle of movement is the same - to keep rolling and not go without a rut. Cape Sagan-Khushun and Cape Khoboy, which have grottoes, ice splashes on the rocks, and Cape Khoboy, and powerful ice thrusts with large hummocks, will be worthy objects to visit.
To Cape Sagan-Khushun on ice from Khuzhir 35 km, from Sagan-Khushun to Cape Khoboy another 4 km. On the way, you will definitely meet fishing Kamchatka - fishermen's camps with tents and cars. Cape Khoboy is the northernmost cape on Olkhon Island, inaccessible in summer due to a bad dirt road (4-5 hours from the village of Khuzhir), and in winter it will take no more than 40 minutes to travel across the ice of Lake Baikal.
It is sometimes difficult to drive close to Cape Khoboy because of the difficult ice conditions, and the last hundreds of meters you have to walk on foot. From the side of the big Baikal near the rocks, almost every year, large vertical shafts of broken ice form, which are even difficult to climb. There are many large hummocks and fresh cracks. There are two grottoes at the water level on the northern side of the cape. One of them goes 21 m under the rock, and you need a flashlight to visit it. Like all grottoes of Lake Baikal, formed by the wave-breaking process, it has a sufficiently large entrance hole in which you can stand at full height, and a gradually narrowing passage, to the end of which you can only crawl. All along the grotto is overgrown with ice and icicles. The entrance, which has a palisade of ice pillars of different diameters, is especially effective.
In addition to the grottoes of Cape Khoboy and Sagan-Khushun, grottoes are known on the mainland of the Small Sea: on the Kurminsky, Aral, and Khaltygey capes.
From Cape Khoboy the road goes along the ice of Lake Baikal to the mainland Cape Rytom and to the Baikal-Lensky Nature Reserve. From there they go to the Ushkany Islands, Chivyrkuisky Bay, to the north of Lake Baikal.
An extended version of this route is a car ride around Olkhon Island, which can be completed in 4-5 hours, carefully avoiding cracks and ice steams on the northeastern part of the island near Mount Zhima.
THE ICE KINGDOM
Winter Baikal leaves an indelible impression. The exceptional transparency of the ice allows you to see the bottom on the shelf near the coast and look into the blackening mysterious depths of the lake. The thickness of even thick ice is imperceptible and frightening with its uncertainty. Because of the transparency, it is scary to go out onto the ice, although its thickness may exceed a meter. Through the Baikal ice you can read newspapers and shoot portraits of people, as if through glass. Winter travels on Lake Baikal are often associated with extreme conditions: strong winds and frost on the open ice are a serious test for the traveler. There is nowhere to hide from the piercing cold far from the coast, so winter clothes should be as warm as possible and not blown in the wind.
At the end of winter, there is a powerful movement of ice; some hummocks can exceed the height of a person. Frozen vertically transparent ice floes attract the attention of photographers with their unusual shape and sparkling chaotic pileup. Mirror Baikal ice and amazing blueness on the ice blocks amaze all visitors. On the smooth ice they travel on skates and gullies, on the snow-covered lake - on skis and on foot.
Splash ice freakishly freezes on the rocks
The coastal cliffs in winter are decorated with multi-meter high ice splashes sparkling in the sun. The thickness of ice on coastal stones reaches several tens of centimeters, and the height of such ice splashes on the rocks from the windward side during a strong autumn storm sometimes exceeds tens of meters. Numerous grottoes are decorated with many large branching icicles and ice columns. These ice sculptures are re-created every winter. Particularly spectacular splashes of ice and sokui are found on the rocks of the Ushkany Islands, on the capes of Olkhon Island - Kobylya Golova, Sagan-Khushun, Khoboy. Every year, powerful ice thrusts form exceptionally beautiful hummocks near Cape Ryty.
Transparent Baikal ice and sparkling hummocks are especially impressive in spring. After a thaw and a strong wind that blows off all the snow, the ice becomes perfectly polished. From the end of February to the beginning of April, most trips on the ice of Lake Baikal are made. This is the ideal time for travel: warm, you can be on the ice in sunny, calm weather in light clothes, without gloves, and even briefly undress to a T-shirt. The sky is blue-blue, the sky is clear, and the snow-capped mountains of the opposite bank are clearly distinguished down to the details, as if they are very close. During this period, ice routes along the coast of North Baikal are interesting - mirror ice and snow-white pointed peaks give a unique flavor to the winter journey.
Ice-floes frozen in hummocks are striking in their exceptional transparency
In March, you can observe a rare phenomenon when, with a powerful movement of ice, a water hammer occurs, individual fragments fly upwards, like from a cannon, and scatter far around along the frozen lake. The silent balance of the hummocks crumbles with the rustle of revived ice. Ice floes are being squeezed out from under the ice right before our eyes. All this is accompanied by a continuous hum, as in an earthquake, the sound comes right from under your feet, frightening with its power. The hummocky seam of the crack noticeably moves, individual ice floes fall and crumble into small pieces. The movement of ice can be figuratively compared to the work of a millstone - as if tightly clenched jaws grind ice into small crumbs. It happens that at such moments water rushes out onto the ice and in a short time covers it by 4–5 cm. After 3–4 minutes, usually everything freezes, and complete silence ensues.
At the end of March, the ice becomes rough, the snow deposits harden, which makes it possible to move around on bicycles with studded tires. Riding on smooth ice is quite difficult, you just need to pedal a little harder, and the bike is guaranteed to slide to one side. The practice of carrying out tourist trips on ice by cars, snowmobiles, the Khivus-10 amphibious hovercraft and dog sleds is quite new for Baikal, such tours have been regularly held only since 2003. On the ice of Baikal it is possible much faster than in summer, get to remote locations on the coast, usually accessible only from the water. For example, to get to the Baikal-Lensky Nature Reserve by boat from Listvyanka, you need to sail continuously for about 2 days, in winter all this is available within 5-7 hours by car from Irkutsk.
Usually they go to the ice early in the morning to catch the moment of the enchanting sunrise. The first rays of the rising sun fill the usually crystal clear ice hummocks with a mysterious golden glow. The desire to see this winter beauty beckons to the ice, away from the winter road paved on the ice to the unusual hummocks or icy rocks. The difference between ice roads is dense snow blows, on which a car bounces like on a springboard. When overcoming frozen cracks and snow-covered hummocks, the suspension of the machine often experiences severe impacts. Only at first glance, from a distance, the ice seems as smooth as a mirror, in practice it is often found that it is impossible to drive straight ahead because of winding cracks, hummocky fields and snow drifts.
The speed of movement depends on the ice conditions, so, according to GPS navigators, in one of the trophy-raids on the ice 1,537 km were covered, the average speed was 45.1 km / h, the maximum speed on smooth snow-covered ice was 102 km / h.
When traveling by car on ice, you need to listen to the weather forecast so as not to fall into a snow trap after a snowstorm. It is sometimes impossible to get out after a heavy snowfall without a beaten track for cars.
In April, intense ice begins to melt. In a matter of days, and sometimes even hours, the car footprint completely disappears, becomes covered with water, and you have to drive through deep puddles at random, in a cloud of spray, like from a speedboat. It happens that after lunch the snow on the ice is so broken up that it is impossible to find even your morning car track.
Local residents and fishermen have long and confidently mastered the ice space for movement by car. There are ice roads between the villages on the coast, and where there are none, in most cases you can carefully drive around the hummocks and cracks. But it is better not to risk it without extreme necessity and not to leave the winter road, and in places where steams and cracks regularly form, move with a guide. Winter months are the most difficult time for travel, the corners of the coast of Northern Baikal far from settlements are completely deserted, there are no tourists or fishermen, only ice and a scorching frosty wind. It is premature to say that in the coming years vacationers will rush to this cold land, there are no warm bases or roads on the coast of North Baikal. A pedestrian crossing from the northern tip of Olkhon to the Ushkany Islands, for example, will require about 2 days, and this will not be a pleasure skating or skiing trip, but an exhausting sports hike through the fields of ice hummocks and deep snow blows with a heavy load of winter equipment and autonomous power supply.
The peculiarity of the March hummocks is that thanks to the spring sun, the snow has already partially melted, the ice pieces have thawed, and the piles of clean broken ice become mobile. Walking through such fields is sheer torment. Shafts of broken ice and hummocks sometimes reach a meter in height, and each step is preceded by preliminary upholstery and clearing of fragments from the places where the foot steps. Going through difficult hummocks without additional support on ski poles is very risky. But even the use of sticks does not protect against falls. Legs constantly slip and manage to get stuck among the ice floes in such ridiculous positions that, in a hurry, you can stretch your ligaments or twist your leg. If you fall unsuccessfully, you can break a ski pole and hurt your elbow on the ice. It sometimes takes more than 40 minutes for a 150-meter crossing through a strip of hummocks. Behind the strip of hummocks, you can find mirror ice, in which the coastal rocks are reflected, on such polished ice you can slide on the soles, like on skates.
FEATURES OF TRAVELING ON THE ICE OF THE LAKE
It is difficult to resist the temptation to ride a car with a breeze on the smooth and thick Baikal ice, so that fluffy snow scatters like a fan from under the wheels. In sunny weather, the frozen lake simply irresistibly beckons to go out onto the ice and drive up close to the sparkling heap of hummocks or to the coastal rocks, intricately decorated in height with splash ice and whirling icicle lambs swirling by the storm wind. Numerous car tracks in all directions create the illusion of safety. However, one should not delude ourselves - no matter how reliable the ice may seem, its cunning is unpredictable. Even the roads marked with landmarks sometimes bring unpleasant surprises.
Ice rules should not be neglected - observing them will make your trip safe. The main ones are: before going to the ice, ask local residents about the peculiarities of the route, do not ride on the ice at night, do not drink alcohol while driving. On the Baikal ice, there are dangerous cracks, powerful ice thrusts and gullies that are dangerous for cars. It is often unknown who paved the road, so not every car track can be reliable. On the ice, traces of newcomers may remain, at the risk of driving into a dangerous place. Living cracks can be blocked by ice, and it is not a fact that the ice plug will withstand the next car. The reliability of broken frozen ice in cracks must be checked using an ice pick or crowbar.
Ice about a meter can support the weight of the helicopter
Baikal freezes every year, and roads are laid on the ice every year. With the onset of cold weather, when the air temperature is below -20 ° C, in the first 3-4 days the ice grows by 4-5 cm per day. At the end of October, shallow bays freeze, January 1-14 - deep-water areas. Usually Maloye More is covered with solid ice in December, the entire Baikal freezes by January 15–20, although there are rare warm winters, when these periods are postponed by a whole month. There are large fluctuations in the freezing time of Lake Baikal over the years. There are known cases of lake freezing in Listvennichnoye Bay, for example, in early February (1899, 1932, 1952, 1959, 2004). In the southern part, Baikal is covered with ice for 4–4.5 months, in the northern part - for 6–6.5 months. In the water area of \u200b\u200bthe lake, the ice thickness varies from 70 to 113 cm, and a regularity has been revealed: the more snow, the thinner the ice. It is believed that ice, broken by a storm when the lake freezes, is less durable than homogeneous and monolithic. But even homogeneous and monolithic ice can suddenly crack. The torn ice moves apart, in the cold the crack freezes very quickly, it is slightly covered with snow, and a dangerous trap for cars with 2-centimeter ice appears on the road with landmarks. Therefore, the crossing over ice from the mainland to Olkhon is open only during daylight hours: from 9 to 18 hours.
Hummocks are usually 1.5–3 m high, but some of them can reach 5 m. Ice 10–15 cm thick can withstand the weight of a pedestrian, 50 cm thick can support a truck weight up to 15 tons, 70 cm thick - the weight of a tractor, so in winter winter roads are laid on the ice of Lake Baikal. According to the instructions for the construction of ice crossings, for a car with a total mass of 10 tons to pass, the ice thickness must be at least 30 cm, 15 tons - 35 cm, 20 tons - 40 cm at an average daily air temperature of at least 10 ° C. In warm winters, ice on river crossings can be artificially built up, which makes it possible for cars to cross up to 5 tons. At freezing temperatures, the ice structure changes within 2-3 days, and its carrying capacity decreases by 20%. In shallow waters and on rocky shores, ice melts faster, and gullies can appear at any time.
Official winter crossings, for example from the mainland to Olkhon Island, are marked with landmarks frozen in the ice and are regularly checked for safety by the road service.
Every year, in the same places, there are cracks - a kind of expansion joints in the ice cover. They are formed, as a rule, along the shortest distance between adjacent protruding capes. Extended cracks can reach lengths up to 10-40 km and widths up to 4 m, but most often cracks are 0.5 to 1-2 m wide. 30 ° C. It is estimated that for a 1 ° C change in ambient temperature, the linear expansion of ice reaches 70 mm per 1 km. Many of these cracks do not freeze all winter, periodically narrowing or widening. Their appearance is often accompanied by a strong "artillery" crash, often frightening people on the ice. In the Irkutsk chronicles of "remarkably large breaks in the ice, or the so-called cracks" in 1890 it is reported: "Such long and wide cracks will not be remembered even by old-timers. The breaks were accompanied by a terrible roar, causing panic to the inhabitants of Listvennichny. It seemed that the high mountains surrounding Lake Baikal were about to collapse. "
The danger is cracks and crevices 0.5–2 m wide. Many of them do not freeze all winter, periodically narrowing or widening. Not a single crack, even the simplest one, is crossed on the move. Before each of them, it is necessary to stop and check the condition of the ice with the help of an ice paw - a special forged sharp peak with uneven edges so that it does not stick to the ice. Often there are cracks with thin ice, which can be easily penetrated to the water with ice. Such narrow cracks of a car jump over at speed. To soften the impact of the wheels, the edges are knitted with a pestle. Then a gap with water is clogged with pieces of ice, the car for acceleration drives off 200–500 m, a gate is set up - a guideline for the driver where the car will jump, then a rapid acceleration to 70–80 km per hour - and a jump through the crack.
In addition to the cracks, the danger to cars is posed by the steaming that occurs on the ice in the places where underwater hot springs and gases exit. It is almost impossible to find steamed stews covered with a layer of snow. Open parinas - polynyas are visible on ice from a considerable distance, you just need to look carefully and be able to distinguish them. It is more dangerous when they are hidden by a thin crust of ice, and after a snowfall they are covered with a layer of snow. If the steaming is caused by the release of deep gases, then under the ice, if it is clean and transparent, you can see gas bubbles. The steams formed by underwater springs or the inflow of warm waters of tributaries are more difficult to notice. Therefore, it is better not to leave the winter road marked by the coast, but where steaming and cracks are possible, move with a guide who knows well the features of the ice in the area. Suspicious places must be carefully examined and the thickness of the ice tested with an ice pick or other sharp object.
The thickness of the ice is also influenced by underwater currents, which reduce its strength. For example, in the Olkhonskiye Vorota Strait, for this reason, no ice crossing is made. In different years, the crossing is arranged either from the Kurkut Bay, or from the mainland after the Sarma River delta. A pointer with an arrow "Ice crossing" will help you get onto the ice in the right place. The official crossing to Olkhon is marked with frozen landmarks, regularly cleared with a grader and the thickness of the ice is checked. It has signs: "Permissible carrying capacity of machines 5 t", "Distance between machines 200 m", "Stop prohibited", "Recommended speed 10 km / h". Most of the other winter roads are laid by fishermen and do not have any warning signs. Experienced drivers always prefer to keep the trail in the right direction, and if they are going straight, they try to avoid cracks and suspicious places, which differ in a grayer color and are visible from afar. Even with a guide you cannot be 100% reliable on ice roads. There are several known cases when cars fell through on permanent winter roads between the villages of Listvyanka and Koty. Significantly more often cars go under the ice, moving at their own peril and risk. In 2002, the Ministry of Emergency Situations expedition carried out a special search for sunken objects in the summer, and only in the water area of \u200b\u200bthe Maloye Sea registered 15 vehicles that were not lifted. According to local residents, there are from 25 to 50 cars at the bottom of the Small Sea.
At the end of March, when the sun begins to warm up, it becomes dangerous to drive close to the rocks, near which the ice is melting more rapidly than in the open water area of \u200b\u200bthe lake. You should also be aware that, despite the frost and thickness, if a lot of snow fell and it melted quickly, due to the absorption of melt water and changes in its structure, the ice becomes less reliable and homogeneous than ice on which there was no snow.
Usually on South Baikal the road is laid on the ice of the lake from the village. Kultuk to Baikalsk and to the village. Marituya. There are fewer roads on Middle Baikal. Most often they drive on the ice from the village. Listvyanka in the village. Cats (18 km), from the village. Bolshoye Goloustnoye to Peschanaya Bay. Sometimes local residents, if the winter was cold, make a winter road across Lake Baikal - from Cape Krestovsky to the eastern coast. The official ferry, equipped with landmarks and signs, is organized annually between the mainland and Olkhon Island. Most of the roads are on the ice of the Maloye More, these are mainly fishing roads to places of ice fishing, but there are also permanent ones - from the village. Khuzhir, along the island and in the village. Onguren, to the cordon of the Baikal-Lensky Nature Reserve at Cape Solnechny and further to Zavorotnaya Bay. Every year a winter road is laid on ice in the northern part of Lake Baikal between the city of Severobaikalsk and the village. Ust-Barguzin across the Chivyrkuisky Bay.
Ice cracking begins at the end of April from Cape Bolshoy Kadilniy, opposite which melting occurs under the influence of ascending streams of warm waters of underwater springs. Last of all (June 9-14) the northern part of the lake is freed from ice. In early summer, in June, clusters of dazzling white ice floes float on the blue surface of the lake in the northern part of Lake Baikal, on which seals like to bask in the sun.
STAND SLIT.Through cracks on the ice of Lake Baikal are formed annually in the same places and persist throughout the winter. With daily fluctuations in air temperature, ice expands or contracts. The width of the slit can vary significantly during the day. They most often have a width of 0.5 to 1–2 m and a length of up to 10–30 km. They are most often found in the middle part of Lake Baikal between Olkhon Island, the Ushkany Islands and the Svyatoy Nos Peninsula. Dangerous for vehicles. Overcome them with thick boards or jump over at speed.
JUICE. This is one of the types of ice on Lake Baikal, formed along the shores during the initial phase of freezing of the lake in the form of a thin ice edge - the banks, as well as ice formed in the fall from the burst of waves on rocks and stones. The thickness of ice on the rocks sometimes reaches several tens of centimeters. During a strong storm, windward rocks can be covered with splash ice up to a height of 10 m. Spectacular sokuis are found on the rocks of the Ushkany Islands, the Kobylya Golova and Kurminsky capes in the Small Sea and on the rocks of the northern tip of Olkhon Island. The ice shell binds the stones and decorates the branches of trees and bushes close to the water with bizarre icicles.
SLIDING ICE.In March, the ice movement, enhanced by the wind, can squeeze the ice to the shore at a distance of 20–30 m and rise 15–16 m in height. The ice thrusts on the shore remain unmelted until the end of May, when the entire lake is already free of ice. In 1933, ice thrusts blocked the railway near st. Tankhoy and pushed the freight train off the rails along with the steam locomotive.
