Ice formation on Baikal. Ice regime

If you are suddenly planning to go to Baikal and you don’t have time to read the entire report, scroll to the end of this article - there is a brief summary of useful information.

It's no secret that in winter you can find truly phenomenal ice on Lake Baikal: smooth, like a mirror, black, decorated with marble cracks. This amazing ice stands strong in February and sparkles in the sun until April. They say that when you drive along perfect ice Lake Baikal, you experience completely cosmic feelings...
- Do you want to go to Baikal? - Ksyusha, a seasoned tourist, organizer of hikes and participant in multi-races, once asked Arthur and me. - In a small group, at the very end of February-beginning of March?
This idea quickly took hold of the mind, and, fortunately, all the difficulties with the holidays were successfully resolved. The team was made up of water tourists who, however, were not experienced in winter tourism. Only Ksyusha and Katya went skiing together in the Arkhangelsk region last year; for the rest - me, Arthur, Igor and Olya - Baikal-17 was supposed to be the first winter trip. Everyone’s skating experience was also different: Olya was involved in figure skating, Arthur and I had a lot of roller skating, but, for example, Ksyusha tried ice skating for the first time during training. Therefore, we decided to keep it simple: if possible, spend the night at the bases and travel a relatively short (as it seemed to us) distance - 40 km a day: experienced ones even cover 120 km.
When developing the route, reports from a variety of groups were read, and they all promised: there is little snow around Olkhon and on the western coast from MRS (Sakhyurta) to Listvyanka, and if the vagaries of the weather happen, then soon the harsh Sarma and its brothers-winds Kultuk and Verkhovik will blow away I'll go to the eastern shore. We picked up equipment and organized rides on the courtyard skating rink, Sestroretsky Razliv and Ladoga (). The route they came up with was as follows: go around Olkhon from the MRS in 4 days, and then, after spending the night again at the MRS, walk along the western shore to the south to Buguldeika.

It turned out that on the ice of the skating rink, fishing sleds weighing 60-70 kg go with a bang, even if there are preschoolers in the harness. What can we say about the burly guys with ski poles!

The last pre-departure difficulty was resolved a day before departure and consisted of overcoming baggage restrictions imposed by Aeroflot. Firstly, ski poles can only be carried for free in a bag with skis, otherwise, according to the rules, they are oversized, which costs 5,000 rubles at best. back and forth. Secondly, the luggage itself should not exceed 158 cm in total dimensions. A winter tourist backpack, even tightly tied to a sled with a sling, barely fits into this limitation. In general, we left these problems to the discretion of the airport employees and we were right: 4 poles in a ski bag go well with “ski equipment”, and bulky cargo, if it does not weigh more than 23 kg, is also not subject to an additional fee.
And now behind us is an almost sleepless night, from which the flight eliminated 5 hours of the difference between the time in Irkutsk and St. Petersburg, running around the stores that had just opened in the morning for groceries and the latest equipment, and a transfer to the base in MRS with half the group on a minibus, half - on the base owner's machine. Finally, it happened: the same great Baikal that we had been dreaming about for so long was revealed to our eyes! True, the bay near the base was almost completely covered with snow. But when we climbed the nearest hill, we saw it - that same mirror ice of Lake Baikal! It shone just a kilometer off the eastern shore of Olkhon. In the panorama it can be seen in the central strait between the island and the cape.

But... this was the last mirror ice during our entire trip. Yes, yes, this happens: there is windless snowy weather on Lake Baikal. However, did you know that if you come to Baikal on ideal dates, this can happen? Yeah, we didn't know either. And not only us - we met quite a few such “would-be hunters” for the ice of Lake Baikal during our trip.
Gathering things for the first trek was accompanied by snowfall. It intensified and then stopped, and even the sun, unusually bright for us St. Petersburgers, appeared.

After walking the first kilometers to the road, we change into skates. The procedure is not quick: take off your gaiters (shoe covers), then your boots, pack them in a bag, take out your skates, and replace them with boots... I calculated that at a driving speed of 10 km/h, during this time you can travel 2 km or even further.
Soon we found ourselves in a field of frozen slush, it became impossible to ride, so we dismounted again. As a result, more than half daylight hours we spent walking to Ogoy Island, famous for the Buddhist Stupa of Enlightenment. As is customary, we walked around it 8 times. I thought it would be easy to make a wish, but somehow I was thinking more about chafing knee pads and a fleece poorly tucked into my pants. And those things that I seemed to dream about in the city seemed pale and insignificant here. Even see the ice of Lake Baikal. There is a completely different dimension of things here, the passage of time, the perception of reality. The top of Ogoy Island, where the stupa stands, is perfectly suited for peaceful contemplation without thoughts of mortal things.

Charged with spiritual and material energy, we went down to the drags. We chatted with Muscovites riding in white rented minibuses, and with a Khuzhir aborigine who has lived on the island all his life. It was nice that this man was in love with his small homeland, because this is not at all the case with residents of other beautiful places in our country.
There is a highway along the western coast of Olkhon from Kurkut to Cape Khoboy, and we skated along it from Ogoy. Of course, this surface, scratched by tires, was the sought-after ice of Lake Baikal no more than formally. It had an immediate effect different levels group preparation: the guys and I and Olya took the lead, and Katya and Ksyusha were in the back.
All the way cars rushed past us, thanks to the wind from which there was no snow on the road. Drivers politely passed us, and many waved their hands and honked their horns in greeting. When the sun began to set, it became completely clear that the lagging behind were seriously slowing down the group, and Igor and I took the sleds from them, coupling them with ours onto the train (photo from the second day of running). The situation improved, the speed increased to 8 km/h.

But in the end, the remaining kilometers to Khuzhir were completed in the dark, on stiff legs and in the piercing cold. When the whole group gathered on the pier, among the rusting ships washed ashore, no one had the strength to repack the sleigh and put it on their shoulders, and we dragged them along the whitish main street of Khuzhir in the light of lanterns, welcomingly shining with the lights of the cafes, hotels and shops. But this was, of course, not a city glow, but a completely unique one, in the darkness reminiscent of an intuitive idea of the gold-bearing Klondike.
The next day it turned out that the sled was worn out in places to holes, because the road was not snow-covered at all, but only a slightly powdered primer. A more pleasant discovery was that after yesterday's marathon, my legs could walk and roll.

After admiring the Shamanka rock and taking photographs of the idols, colored flags fluttering in the wind, we moved on to Cape Khoboy for our first cold overnight stay. Somewhere in the middle of the journey we met a tourist from our native St. Petersburg on Finnish skates. She talked about the hummock field in the Buguldeika area, which she and the group had been crossing all day, and that she still managed to see the fabulous ice.

And then photographers from Ulan-Ude in an Audi caught up with us, who, like us, were unsuccessfully hunting for mirror ice, and arranged a real photo shoot for us.

The closer we went to the north, the worse the road became, and we walked the last section of it. Darkness caught the group about 5 km from Cape Khoboy, and we set up camp right on the ice, in a semicircular bay. Ksyusha found a cave and settled down there, warm, with burners and pots.

Igor went to cut the ice with an ax. Well, how did it go - ice is everywhere here.

The surface on which we walk, slabs of hummocks, huge splashes (sokui) on the rocks, stalactites in the cave. Some of this, I won’t say what exactly, soon ended up in the bowlers.

The moon came out and the frost cleared up. I remember how I wanted to add extra for dinner, having finished one bowl, and the pan with pasta was already covered in ice. We didn’t know the air temperature; the thermometer on the clock showed two dashes (colder than -10), but our hands and feet were thoroughly frozen.
In the morning I had dreams accompanied by the purr of Ladoga motorboats. Then it turned out: it was Khuzhir loaves that carried tourists to Khoboy.
Before leaving, we heated water in thermoses for a very long time - for tea and soup with sublimates. For a very long time, because two of the three gas burners refused to work: the cheap Chinese one had a dripping faucet, the other one just barely burned in the cold, although it was an expensive Covea, which, according to recommendations, successfully helped out on mountain routes.

We reached Khoboy already at noon.

And here we are at the place where numerous tourists flock. The hummocks here are higher than a meter, made of the purest, turquoise-tinged ice. They are impressive and terrifying: if it weren’t for the road, how would one even get through here? Our fair half of the team declared a “mutiny on the ship” and invited the stronger part of the team to go around Olkhon without her.

“Usually on my trips I invite people to sit and wait for me,” said Ksyusha, green glasses sparkling in the sun, “but now I’ll wait for you.”
I thought, not without regret, that it would be impossible to drag huge unliftable bales on drags over the hummocks if there was no detour road. Plus ice beyond Olkhon, if there is ice, is only half the distance (yesterday we looked at the satellite), but it is approximately 100 km. No, this is not for two days. Yes, and to be divided... something is wrong in this. And the guys and I decided to return to Khuzhir along the same road we came by. And the girls got into the UAZ and drove to the village to sit in a cafe and try poses (or, in Buryat, buuz), sort of big dumplings.

Along the way, we again found ourselves in the camera lenses of a professional photographer, met Swiss people on bicycles, Korean television, a Korean woman in crampons with a huge sleigh (Baikal 700 project) and more larger number our compatriots, who excitedly asked how the ice was. I had to disappoint.

The hope for ice had not yet melted, but it was already weak. It's time for heavy artillery. Alexey Kostin, the head of the tourist club at our university, who supplied us with some of the equipment, gave us a couple of contacts in Irkutsk before the trip. One of Alexey’s acquaintances, Yuri, turned out to be a keen athlete, one of those who meets black ice on bays and sees off white ice on skis (report on one of his races).
In the evening I texted Yuri and found out that it was a snowy year. During the correspondence, the idea of going to Goloustnoye was born. At the end of January there was a gorgeous mirror there. If there is ice, we will go for a ride, if there is no ice, we will have time to walk the distance to Listvyanka without getting too tired, it is only about 50 km. Everyone liked the idea, and Ksyusha especially - even when planning the route, she was thinking about seeing this section of the coast.

Since there is no road from Khuzhir to Goloustnoye, we decided to return to Irkutsk to spend the night. In the evening we wandered around the city in the dark. The center is beautiful, well-kept, but only one block in size. There is a walking area on the embankment.
...The Istana stopped behind Bolshoi Goloustny, opposite a continuous snow field stretching to the horizon, where, 40 km across the width of Lake Baikal, a snowy ridge glows blue in the haze. No, with pure ice This year we were unlucky, but it’s still so beautiful here!

It's not deserted here either. We crossed paths several times with the same commercial group - pedestrians dressed in ski and city jackets, pulling children's sleds with small bags by the rope.

Then tourists began to come across in serious equipment, snowmobiles, dog sleds, cars.

With two overnight stays at equipped parking lots along the Great Baikal Trail we reached Listvyanka. There Arthur and I hitchhiked to the ice-free source of the Angara and back. Unfortunately, there was not enough time for museums and the seal garden.
“It’s a pity that there was no ice,” Yuri wrote later. - This doesn't happen very often, but sometimes it happens that the entire west coast is covered in snow. Your timing was fine. You just need to choose a specific program depending on the situation. If the ice conditions are good, then roll the ice, of course. The situation is bad - you can go to the mountains for a walk part of the time.
We went to the mountains for the remaining 24 hours, ending the route at the hot springs of the village of Vyshka (Pearl), in the vicinity of the Eastern Sayan.

The resort is a resort, but with a sophisticated rural flavor: the rooms are heated with potbelly stoves, cows and dogs roam along the muddy roads. Cuteness.

Walking along the sunny streets, past the Ice Cream stalls, I somehow forgot that it’s not summer here, but winter. And at sunset we went to the Irkut valley to look at the mountains.

Then there was Irkutsk with the city history museum, a long flight home, analysis of things and the results of the trip.

As a result, we skated about 100 km along the preserved ice of the road along the western coast of Olkhon, and walked the rest of the route - more than 70 km. The sports plan of the hike - to cover 300 km in 8 walking days, of course, was not fulfilled. But kilometers are kilometers, but we received impressions for a long time. It's a pity that this wonderful lake is located so far from home.

Useful information

Irkutsk has a well-developed Maxim taxi network; you can order a minivan to transport the backpacks of the entire group. Much cheaper than bombs at train stations: about 300 rubles.
To order a car in Bolshoye Goloustnoye, they called Ivan, tel. 672-020, cost 5,500 rubles. (regular price, but you have to bargain). To Buguldeika a car usually costs 6,000 rubles. Regular transport was booked through the Avtovokzal-Online website (https://avtovokzal-on-line.ru/): minibuses from Listvyanka to Zhemchug. In Irkutsk, the bus station is arranged in this way: on one side of the road, behind the fence, there is an official one, with shuttle buses, on the other, a less official one, with taxi drivers and “Istans” to Olkhon.
In Khuzhir we stayed in different places, the most expensive of the ones we tried - Diana for 800 rubles per person - pleased us with a shower, a warm toilet and Wi-Fi.
A large selection of tourist equipment in Irkutsk is in the Fan store (Krasnykh Magyar St., 41), products were purchased in the Slata chain.
What would I change now in the route and preparation for it:
1. It is better to spend the first day completely in Irkutsk, buy everything you need without haste, and in the remaining time take a walk along the embankment, eat, and visit museums.
2. The backpack for the sled must be packed so that it can be put on the back for walking along locality or through hummocks. Yuri noted that the weight of his experienced winter personal and bivouac equipment is no more than 10 kg.
3. Hockey skates are an acceptable choice, but not the best. Yuri recommended taking baises (Nordic shoes) with ski bindings and skating boots with ankle support (if you ski, they won’t sit idle after the hike). Nordics can be rented at the sports service

Baikal is one of the few bodies of water for which epithets are suitable in superlatives. The deepest and greatest, the most transparent and the purest, unique repository fresh water... In a word, Baikal has many extraordinary features, one of which is ice.

Baikal ice is a curious phenomenon. Its transparency is amazing: it seems as if you are walking on a huge mirror. Its diversity is impressive: the lake presents the most different types ice - from the usual hummocks to specific hills.

So what is Baikal ice like?

Why does Baikal freeze late?

One of the first features Baikal ice– late freezing of the lake, for which there is an explanation.

It would seem that winter has come, the temperature has dropped below 0°C (and this, as you know, is the freezing point of water), there is snow along the banks, but Baikal will not freeze. Usually ice on the lake appears in the first, or even in the second half of January, that is, only in the middle of winter.

Typically, cooling of reservoirs begins in the fall with the onset of cold weather, when the surface of the water loses heat from contact with cold air. The process itself goes through three stages. The first begins in the fall with a decrease in the temperature of the surface layer of water. As soon as it drops to 4°C, the second stage begins, during which more severe top layer The water begins to sink down, and in its place warmer and lighter layers rise from the depths. This continues until all the water (cold and warm) is evenly “mixed”, dropping to the same temperature of greatest density. Then the third stage begins: the surface layers cool, not sinking until their temperature drops to 0°C. This is when ice begins to form on the pond.

These three standard stages of freezing of reservoirs convincingly show: the deeper the lake (that is, the greater the thickness of the layer that takes part in the annual heating and cooling), the longer it takes for the ice to freeze. Need I say that Baikal is “ahead of the rest” here too?

Famous researcher of Lake Baikal, Soviet geophysicist, director of the Irkutsk Magnetic Meteorological Observatory, professor of Irkutsk state university V.B. Shostakovich in his famous work 1908, dedicated to Baikal ice, he wrote:

“According to rough calculations, it turns out that a mass of water of 3,000 cubic versts is subjected to annual cooling in Baikal. This huge figure explains to some extent the slow cooling of the lake. A significant layer of water under the above-mentioned 200-meter layer has a constant temperature of about 4°C. This heat reserve, despite the insignificant thermal conductivity of water, cannot but have an effect on the surface layers and slows down their cooling.

In any case, by the end of December, the surface layer of water in the lake takes on a temperature close to 0°, and if the lake is generally covered with ice only in the first half of January (new century), then this depends mainly on the fact that the prevailing conditions on Lake Baikal just late autumn constant storms prevent the formation of a continuous ice cover.”

Types of Baikal ice

Freezing of Lake Baikal occurs gradually. First, the surface of the water is covered with a thin crust of ice. However, Baikal is a restless lake, because this thin ice, even with weak waves, crumbles and breaks into ice floes, which the local population calls the word “fat”. But the frost does its job, and gradually ice “banks” - narrow coastal stripes ice that freezes when waves roll onto the shore. On the rocks during storms, ice crusts and hanging icicles-stalactites grow from the freezing spray. A special feature of Baikal is the ice “growths”, which are called “sokui”.

Sokui appear in the shallows: here, during the first frosts, the water quickly cools and freezes near the shore. Waves splash water onto the formed ice, which, when frozen, thickens the ice and gives it a peculiar wavy appearance. Sokui grows especially quickly during strong winds and snowstorms - due to the mass of wet snow, which becomes an excellent “building” material for it. As a result, a more or less wide ridge consisting of opaque, porous ice often forms along the coast. It happens that real ice grottoes appear in Sokui, which also disappear with the arrival of spring.

Very often along the sokui on the shallows in the surf zone there are ice formations that are characteristic exclusively of Baikal. They are called “hills”. They were first described by scientists from the Baikal Limnological Station in the 1940s

The hills are regular cone-shaped, hollow inside, hills up to 6 meters high, formed from opaque porous ice. They are often located separately or in whole groups, sometimes even in several rows, and resemble miniature mountain ranges. An interesting geographical feature of the hills is that for east coast they are a common occurrence, while on the west coast they are extremely rare.

In addition to the coastal Sokui and hills on Lake Baikal in large quantities Floating ice is also found. Some of it is carried into the lake by all 336 rivers flowing into the lake during the autumn ice drift, some is formed from fragments of sokui, and some is obtained from bottom ice, which often forms in the area of Bolshoye Goloustnoye and Mysovaya.

Floating ice is called "autumn". It is usually opaque, whitish, and has an uneven surface. As a rule, autumn is considered the most durable ice on Lake Baikal.

In addition to autumn, there is ice called “kolobovnik” (or “myatik”). It consists of small, rounded blocks autumn ice, shackled smooth clear ice. Due to the insignificant thickness of these blocks, their surface becomes convex from the splash of waves.

Cup and plate ice, which also form before the lake completely freezes, are similar in formation to kolobovnik, with the only difference being that the individual pieces that make it up are much larger.

All these forms of ice are very picturesque and beautiful: on dark blue mirror ice white round, opaque spots of autumn ice are scattered everywhere.

Meanwhile, in open water there is an invisible process of ice crystallization. Water does not freeze immediately because it is constantly “mixed” by waves. However, due to a sufficient decrease in temperature and optimal cooling of the water, small lenses and needles of ice a few millimeters in size form in it.

As soon as the ice “sets”, it begins to grow by about 4-5 centimeters per day. Shallow bays freeze first, deep-water areas last. Proval Bay usually freezes in the first half of November, then in early December the Maloe More Strait freezes, by January the northern half of the lake and the Transbaikal side of its southern part are covered with ice, later the eastern shore of the southern part of the lake freezes and, finally, the latest (by mid-January) – open water near Olkhon Island. The average period of Baikal freeze-up is from January 9 to May 4. At this time, the lake freezes entirely. And only the source of the Angara (a section 15-20 kilometers long) never freezes.

And, of course, on Baikal there is a classic of the “ice genre” - hummocks. They represent a chaotic accumulation of ice floes: some stand vertically, others are inclined at different angles... At the base they are “soldered” into the ice, and at the top they are covered with snow. The height of the hummocks ranges from a few centimeters to a meter.

As a rule, in the southern part of the lake the ice lasts for 4-4.5 months, and in the northern part - up to six months.

Ice thickness

The resulting young thin ice begins to thicken. At first it's fast, but then the process slows down. The thickness of the ice usually depends on the severity of the winter, as well as on the amount of snow lying on the ice, which, due to its low thermal conductivity, can significantly moderate the effect of cold.

Throughout the lake, the ice thickness ranges from 70 centimeters to 2 meters. Long-term observations show that the ice is thicker on the eastern coast.

Along the northwestern coast and in the Small Sea, transparent ice free of snow forms, through which you can see the bottom in shallow water.

Ice 50 cm thick usually supports a weight of up to 15 tons, so in winter people drive cars on the ice of Lake Baikal. In 1904, there was even an ice line between the port of Baikal and the Tankhoi station on the eastern shore. railway.

In many areas of Lake Baikal, in the middle of winter, local melting of the ice from below and the formation of so-called “proparins”, the size of which can reach up to hundreds of meters in diameter, are observed. It is believed that steaming occurs due to the action of warm underwater springs. They form close to the coast and pose a serious danger, since the ice is “eaten up” from below and becomes so fragile that it cannot bear even a small weight. Usually, at first one or several small holes form on the ice, which quickly enlarge and merge into one hole. Steam baths appear annually in the same places: at Kadilny, Goloustinsky and Gologo capes, along the entire Selenga delta, at Cape Kobylya Golova and in the Small Sea between Kobylya Golova and Sarma, as well as near the Ushkany Islands and at the Lower Head of the Holy Nose.

By the way, there is a version that steam rooms appear not because of warm underwater currents, but because gas accumulates under the ice and burns with a bright flame. There is a well-known old Baikal trick: if with a quick blow break through the ice and immediately bring a match to the hole, then a fire will burst out of the hole, which will burn as long as a large gas bubble has formed in this place under the ice.

In addition, in the spring of 2009, satellite images of different parts of Lake Baikal appeared, in which dark rings were discovered. According to scientists, these rings arise due to the rise of deep waters and an increase in the temperature of the surface layer of water in the central part of the ring structure. As a result of this process, an anticyclonic (clockwise) current is formed. In the area where the current reaches maximum speeds, vertical water exchange increases, which leads to accelerated destruction of the ice cover.

Another feature of the Baikal ice are cracks, which are called “stanova cracks”. In severe frosts, they literally tear the ice into separate fields. The length of such cracks can be 10-30 kilometers, and the width can be up to 2-3 meters. Ice breaks occur every year, in approximately the same areas of the lake. They are accompanied by a loud crash, reminiscent of thunder or cannon shots. However, thanks to cracks in the ice, the fish on the lake do not die from lack of oxygen. Oxygen is also released by planktonic algae, which rapidly develop under transparent ice due to the penetration of sunlight.

Usually Baikal begins to open up from ice at the end of April in the area from Cape Bolshoy Kadilny - under the influence of rising currents warm waters underwater sources that are available here. In April, the ice becomes fragile, darkens, and by May Baikal is mostly free, although some ice floes float on the lake until the beginning of summer. Last of all (June 9-14), the ice disappears in the northern part of the lake... And six months later, everything will happen again.

In this article we will look at when Baikal freezes, what time is best to choose to organize a trip, what should be taken into account when traveling to frozen Baikal. Detailed history and photographs of what Baikal looks like in winter can be read in the material. You will find basic tips and recommendations when planning a trip to Baikal in the article.

When does Baikal freeze?

- Very large lake, therefore the process of its complete glaciation (freezing) is quite long. The freeze-up period on Lake Baikal usually begins in December. About a month later, in early January (i.e. after the New Year), Baikal freezes entirely. The section is about 20 km long. It never freezes at the source of the Angara. Thus, by mid-to-late January, Baikal freezes completely and forms a fairly strong layer of ice up to 1 meter thick. By the end of winter, the ice thickness increases and can reach 2 meters in the bays.

However, in recent years The period of complete freezing of Lake Baikal has shifted by 2-3 weeks, which may be due to global climate change. This period continues until the beginning of May. Don't forget that climatic conditions may differ from year to year, so you also need to focus on a specific season before planning your trip.

When is it worth going to frozen Baikal?

If you want to get to frozen Baikal, it is best to plan your visit for early to mid-March. At the beginning of March, the layer of ice cover on Baikal is usually the thickest, so it is quite safe to move around it, and the temperature is not as low as in winter, in January-February. Weather conditions at the end of March and beginning of April they are slightly milder, so many people choose this period. However, it is worth considering that in recent years the tourist flow to Baikal has increased significantly, so in March-April it is quite crowded. If you're not afraid of the harsh winter challenges, perhaps a trip to frozen Baikal should be planned for February.

Do not forget that even in sub-zero temperatures with severe frosts or sudden changes (for example, from -25 ° up to -15 ° ) the ice begins to “walk” and crack. Many people specially go to Baikal at the beginning of spring precisely in order to listen to how the lake awakens from hibernation, comes to life, rumbles. IN last days During our trip, we were lucky enough to join this music of life - this, I tell you, is impossible to forget. Especially if at this moment you are walking somewhere along the lake 😉

Ice ridges on frozen Baikal

Whatever time of trip to Lake Baikal you choose, it will not be a bad idea to use the services of local guides, as they know where you can drive on the ice and where you cannot. Even with all the apparent strength of the ice cover, one should not forget that it can be unsafe. You need to understand the features of ice well and know the right “roads” to minimize the risk, otherwise you may well end up somewhere at the bottom of the ice itself. deep lake in the world! If you're not very impressed, you can search the archives in news reports: cases like this do happen sometimes.

I have long dreamed of visiting Lake Baikal. And it’s necessary - not in the summer, when it’s just a lake, but to plunge into a real winter's tale. Feel the black icy abyss under your feet. See bizarre ice sculptures created by nature. Breathe in the crystal clear and transparent frosty air.

Therefore, when I found out that a photo tour “The Icy Heart of Baikal” was planned for January-February, I didn’t think for a minute and immediately applied to participate.

Some facts:
- This is the deepest lake on Earth. Depth - 1642 meters.
- Baikal is a lake of tectonic origin. Simply put, this is a huge rift in earth's crust.
- The water here is crystal clear, you can safely drink it straight from the lake.
- 336 rivers flow into the lake, but only one flows out - the Angara, on the bank of which Irkutsk stands.
- Baikal contains 19 percent of the world's fresh water reserves. In total there is more than 23 thousand cubic kilometers.
- This is one of the sunniest lakes on the planet. The sun shines here more than 300 days a year.
It also shone during our trip, reflecting every day in the ice crystals and giving stunningly beautiful sunrises and sunsets.

So, green plane S7 via Novosibirsk to Irkutsk. Meeting the group at the airport. Four hours away. In the evening we are on Lake Baikal. The first delight, the first shots.

The temperature is about 20 degrees below zero. It's very cold out of habit. But you don’t notice this - a certain euphoria engulfs you from the opening landscapes.

First sunset.

As for logistics on the lake, it looks like this. The main means of transportation in these places is the UAZ, known as the "Loaf".

Behind the wheel sits not just a driver, but an ice captain. This is what they call people here who know the many subtleties and rules of driving on ice. Trips with an unprepared driver usually end very sadly - at the bottom. At least for the car. People usually manage to get out.

Predawn twilight the next day. We are waiting for the sunrise on the ice near Ogoy Island.

Car brand marketers take note: it is unlikely that anywhere else you can rent a more beautiful car than on the ice of Lake Baikal.

The sky lit up bright colors. Very soon the sun will appear from behind the hills of Olkhon Island and the ice will sparkle with myriads of sparks.

And now this moment has come! The clock says it's about 9 am. I note to myself that a photo tour in winter is much preferable to the same event in summer. After all, it necessarily implies sunset and dawn photography. And here - beauty! Dawn is late, sunset is early, unlike in summer, when it would be impossible to sleep at all;)

The end of January is the most best time to visit Baikal. The ice has just risen (this happens in mid-January), still clean, transparent and not trampled by thousands of tourists. And it didn’t start to thaw like in March.

To walk on ice, crampons are required here. In them - like on asphalt, without them - the risk of injury is extremely high. The ice is incredibly slippery, I tried it once.

The coastline of the small islands of the Small Sea, that part of Baikal that is located west of Olkhon, consists of many grottoes and caves. In winter it looks especially unusual, thanks to countless icicles, splashes and other bizarre forms of ice.

At the beginning of winter, when temperatures are already below zero and the lake has not yet frozen, during storms the water splashes onto the rocks and immediately freezes. Baikal begins to freeze in December, and the ice is completely frozen in mid-January.

And it remains until spring in the most unusual states and forms.

I play the role of a cave photographer while a colleague is looking for an unoccupied location.

The purity of the water in Lake Baikal allows you to see the bottom at a depth of up to 40 meters. Stones are often visible under the transparent ice off the coast.

Dima Shatrov, leader and inspirer of our group.

This is Cape Mare's Head, named after the bizarre shape that can be seen on the map.

Despite the fact that Baikal is not a sea, but a lake, there are severe storms. The height of the waves can reach five meters. And it was here, near Kobylya Golova, that the largest disaster on Lake Baikal occurred - on the night of October 14-15, 1901, the Potapov ship was caught in a storm and crashed against the rocks. 176 people died.

The waves leave behind amazingly shaped splashes.

And huge masses of ice hovering half a meter above the surface.

All the ice is covered with cracks, the length of which sometimes reaches 30 kilometers.

Cracks appear constantly, accompanied by a loud crash, reminiscent of thunder or cannon shots. When this happens right under your feet, it becomes scary. Although it’s not dangerous, because we never saw open water during the entire trip. Probably due to the frost.

Small nameless island. Below there are many caves in which the whole group waited for the sunset, catching the rays of light refracted in the ice. And I went upstairs.

For me, this peak became the most vivid and memorable impression of the trip. It was quite warm. Very beautiful evening light. I am alone. Silence. This is probably something personal that cannot be expressed in words...

And then there was football, with a piece of ice as a ball and car wheels as a goal. An amazing evening on the smoothest and most transparent ice of the entire trip. A strange people lying on the right side of the frame - they are simply photographing the ice floe they brought with them against the backdrop of the sunset sky)))

They ended up with similar photos, only better. I just clicked once, not even in focus. I didn't really want to take pictures. I just wanted to enjoy the moment.

Another portion of splashes.

Cows on ice. This is not a figurative expression, they actually make an ice hole for them so they can drink from the lake!

"Warming point." Probably for fishermen - penguins.

The local fleet is waiting for summer.

When the wind blows, using a car driving through coastal snow can create a real snowstorm.

And take a photo of her.

And this is Cape Burkhan and Shamanka rock. According to local beliefs, it is a place of power, because Burkhan, the main deity of Baikal according to Buddhists, lives here in a cave.

And it so happens that Shamanka is the main attraction for Chinese ice selfie lovers. Fortunately, we hardly came across them in other places.

We spent our last night on Lake Baikal at the Uzur weather station, which is located far from civilization in the north of Olkhon.
We played cave gnomes and lit Ilyich’s lamp in the darkness of the dungeon.

And, at the same time, we took pictures of the starry sky.

In the morning I climbed the mountain to watch the sunrise. I met him and it was very nice. But the camera froze at the right moment and there were no photos of the sunrise.

Not far from here, a few kilometers from the shore, is the deepest point of Lake Baikal - a depression of 1642 meters!

You probably have the impression that all of Baikal is an endless expanse of ice. No, that's not true. In many places there are hummocks - different sizes and the thickness of the ice floes squeezed onto the surface.

This is how the trip turned out. Many thanks to the whole group for these extraordinary five days, which I will always remember.
And for everyone who has not yet been to winter Baikal, I recommend stocking up on warm clothes and planning a trip for January 2018. You won't regret it, that's for sure! ;)

In which he tells why domestic tourism is also cool. I went on a winter hike to Lake Baikal to prove to myself that I am not completely at home with a warm office chair and monitor.

I was walking along highway in the direction of Sakhyurta and could hardly believe what was happening. Just yesterday I was sitting at work in front of the monitor, talking with potential buyers, and now my back is weighed down by a brand new 85-liter backpack, ten kilometers separate me from Lake Baikal, and my first hike in my life has started.

The journey began at the Irkutsk airport. Although no. It began long before that, even at the moment when I came across an article with a bright headline: “Baikal is the largest skating rink on the planet.” One phrase settled obsessive thought and predetermined acquaintance with the great lake.

Deepest lake

I had no hiking experience, so at first the idea was scary and seemed unrealizable. But the more I read and looked at photographs, the more confident I became that I would be there. On VKontakte I found a Perm tour group that planned to skate through the most picturesque places of Lake Baikal, contacted the group’s instructor and agreed that I would join them. They promised to rent me special skates, poles and drags, so all I had to do was buy a hiking backpack and warm clothes.

As a result, the journey to the camp site took 22 hours. I reached the shore of the lake after sunset, breathing in the frosty air deeply. At the base I met the guys with whom I had to live side by side for 10 days. The whole evening we sang songs with a guitar and drank hot tea. Getting up early, I went to meet the first Baikal sunrise. It was cold. When the mountains in the distance turned pink and the sun slipped into the sky, thoughts flashed through my head about breakfast and the planned exit for today through the Olkhon Gate to the great expanses of the deepest lake on the planet.

After breakfast we went out to the lake, and I went on skates for the first time in a year. It took some time to get used to the moving technique: the movements here are more like skiing, you have to push off with poles, without which the wind interferes with the ride. Inspired, we rushed along the Olkhon Gate Strait to the main water area of Lake Baikal. On the way we heard the cracking of ice. The sound is loud and muffled. When it was heard in close proximity, it became uneasy. Closer to the tip of the Small Sea, we encountered stripes of hummocks - piles of ice fragments, which on one side overflowed into sun rays like crystal, and on the other hand, they played with all shades blue color. Near the hummocks there were also wide cracks in the ice where there was open water. Slava almost fell into one of these, which scared many people. Every year, about a dozen cars go under the ice of Lake Baikal. Together with failed cars, people also die every year. We have already heard about similar cases, but during the hike we will hear them more than once. When the sun hid behind the high rocky shore, it got colder - it was time to return to base.

“On the way we heard the cracking of ice. The sound is loud and muffled. When it was heard in close proximity, you felt uneasy.”

I didn’t sleep well due to the experiences of the previous day. It was snowing outside the window. We went out to the lake with backpacks, provisions and drags: the transition to new base. At first I was skating, but the carabiner to which I attached the drag was tugging at my shoulders, and the crust was slowing down my movement. It turned out to be much more comfortable to travel on foot. Soon our group rounded the Udan-Khad peninsula, and mountains loomed on the horizon. It felt like it was a 15-20 minute walk to get there, but with your head you realized that it was at least 5 kilometers to walk.

Further our course ran between the rocky islands of Big and Small Toynak. We decided to climb the first one and appreciate the views. One tree and a couple of shrubs grow on the island, there are textured rock outcrops and man-made “pyramids”. The names of the islands come from the Buryat “toinog”, which means “kneecap”. Indeed, they protrude above the surface of the lake, like two kneecaps - this will be clearly visible from the shore. As soon as we resumed our journey, the wind picked up and snow began to fall. When the outlines of the tourist base became clearly visible, the mountains rushed upward and began to grow at an amazing speed. We went ashore and slowly walked up the slope.

One of the girls had a fever, many were tired, and the general mood deteriorated along with the weather. It was cold in the house and there was a draft. The forecast promised that the snow would persist for several days.

The place where the most powerful wind of Lake Baikal is born

In the evening the sky cleared up, although recently the mountain tops were buried in clouds. The night was starry, but dark. We sang with the guitar again until three o'clock, and it was hard to wake up the next morning. On this day we went to explore the valley of the Sarma River - the place where the most powerful wind of Lake Baikal is born. We crossed the Khuzhir-Nugai Bay along the river delta into the Sarma Gorge. Birds sang there, and the rays of the sun played on the snow - the arrival of spring was clearly felt. I imagined how soon the streams would gurgle in the valley, how the first greenery would burst into flames, and my soul felt light from the thought that nature was waking up. The gorge itself is tightly squeezed by mountains and hides in the shadows, and the frozen river forms an icy trough, along which it is difficult to move on skates - overcoming numerous faults and ice holes. I have long noticed that about halfway through a trip there comes a moment when you feel particularly homesick. For some, this moment has come, and on the way back the guys talk about their children.

There had been snow overnight, and it continued to fall in large flakes while we were getting ready to go. Due to the snowfall, Baikal was not visible from the height of the base. Closer to noon we went down to the lake and headed along the shore towards the village of Kurma. This time the drag became a problem: it no longer slipped, as during the first transition, and it had to be dragged along with force through the snow, which in some places formed snowdrifts. The wind increased. We walked almost without stopping, and those stops that were there became very short - after just a minute without moving you freeze. For hours the landscape did not change: you walk with eyes closed, you open it - in front of you is a solid white veil - snowfall. And so on until sunset. Already at dusk we moved into a small two-story house. There are 20 kilometers of road behind. Everyone is tired and upset. The weather forecast is not good.

“The landscape didn’t change for hours: you walk with your eyes closed, and when you open them, there’s a solid white veil in front of you—snowfall. And so on until sunset"

At night the wind howled. I woke up several times because I was dreaming about something disturbing. After breakfast we went out to the lake and were happy: in some places the ice was clear of snow and it became possible to skate. The sun often peeked out from behind the clouds and burned mercilessly. So, I got to Oltrek Island in a sweatshirt, and to Ogoy in just a T-shirt. Ogoy is the largest island in the Small Sea of Baikal, and some come to the lake specifically for it, considering Ogoy a place of power. We climbed up the crevice to the island, and in front, at its highest point, a Buddhist stupa loomed like a white spot - the Stupa of Enlightenment. We took a break, drank tea and good mood climbed the slope. There were stunning views from the top. The girls began to meditate. In such places you feel unity with everything around you and you want to take this feeling with you.

From the stupa we descended onto the lake along a gentle slope, circled the island from the south and reached the famous Cape Dragon - its western tip. The sharp cape protrudes sharply forward and looks impressive. The rock is so popular among photographers that people with cameras come here individually and in groups, and meters away from it there is a parking lot of cars - taking a photo without people is problematic. From the cape we moved to Oltrek. This is a small rocky island where, according to legend, shamans used to be buried. Due to its elongated, reptile-like shape, it has been compared to a crocodile swimming in a lake. There we climbed to the top, rising 30 meters above Lake Baikal, and watched the glow of the sunset flaring up behind the mountains. During the descent, we found a through grotto, overgrown with icicles, and crawled in it on our stomachs. We returned to base already in the dark. It began to get colder, and the ice crackled underfoot, making sounds like gunshots.

Snowfall

It snowed all night. He walked in the morning, while we were having breakfast, and walked when we went out to the lake. It walked when we walked, and subsequently did not stop all day. Four of our group did not go on this trek - they found a car in a neighboring village and drove it. We took the heaviest things with us, which made the journey much easier for everyone. Soon after leaving, Zamoga appeared behind the snow cover, like a mirage in the desert - mysterious island, where leprosy patients once lived out their last days. The sight of the goal ahead spurred me on, which helped me cover the first 9 kilometers without stopping and at a brisk pace. The guys took a break on the hummocks near the island, and I went up. The climb up the lifeless and snow-covered island took about five minutes. A cross towered on the mountain, the motif of the Nautilus song could not leave my head, and only the wind could drown it out. It intensified on the next section of the path and was already piercing through. My hands were freezing, my knee was aching. Because of the snowfall, it became difficult to navigate and the feeling that we were making a detour did not go away. In addition, the island behind us seemed to be crawling behind us, like the stones in Death Valley, not wanting to decrease in size. When we approached Olkhon, cars loomed - a winter road runs parallel to the island. We rested in a windless place, refreshed ourselves with sandwiches and set off on a forced march to Khuzhir. We entered the village at sunset. There are 30 kilometers left behind and 8 hours on the road. The only desire left was the desire to lie down and not get up.

“The island behind us seemed to be crawling behind us, like the stones in Death Valley, not wanting to shrink in size.”

The sun was shining in the morning. Icicles were falling from the roof - drops. And this despite the frost. The snow crunched deliciously underfoot. We walked around the village. We also reached Cape Burkhan - the high shore of the cape with the Shamanka rock is considered a symbol of Baikal. Meanwhile, less and less appeared in my head internal dialogues on abstract topics and more and more thoughts about what is happening here and now.

In the evening, when they sang with a guitar, I felt a strong desire to stop time, to capture the moment in my memory, so that I could sometimes return to the house in Khuzhir to these guys, to these songs and the feeling of a shared adventure.

The new morning began with an early rise. It was not even seven when a small group of us made our way through the forest towards a new day. The frost was such that it chilled me to the bones. We planned to watch the sunrise on a mountain 666 meters high, which offers a panoramic view of the island and the village. When we got there, the sky was already on fire. During the climb, it seemed impossible to reach the top before the sun appeared - it was so light, but this turned out to be a mistake. I had to freeze for a long time; even two pairs of socks couldn’t save me. The sky slowly shimmered from coral to yellow, from yellow to white, and only then, filling everything around with blinding light, the sun appeared and sharply rushed upward. A new day has arrived.

That day we rented bicycles and set off to ride around Lake Baikal. Driving on ice turned out to be even more comfortable than on asphalt; the speed picked up quickly, and the cold air burned my face. In a couple of hours we managed to go to the island of Kharantsy, ride around it and come back - pure fun! At sunset we came to Cape Burkhan, where dozens of tourists gather to spend the next day. When the sun disappeared behind a chain of mountains on the horizon, and people began to disperse, the sky turned orange, and the landscapes with lonely trees against its background seemed to be transported to distant Africa.

Listen to the ice of Lake Baikal

Shortly before midnight we went to listen to the ice of Lake Baikal. The road to the lake was illuminated with headlamps. The moon shone brightly, outlining abandoned ships near the village in the darkness of the night. The dull crackling sound - the breath of the lake - and the endless starry sky above inspired superstitious awe. From the ships, despite the frost, I went alone to Shamanka to photograph the night landscapes. The majestic rocky cape was clearly visible and grew out of the ice, like the horn of an ancient lizard. The view from above was even more wonderful - it’s difficult to describe this beauty in words. I stood, breathed in the cold air, listened to the silence and watched. And then lights began to move across Lake Baikal. Their light swayed on the lake, like a ship on the waves, which soon miraculously floated ashore and slowly moved upward - it was Yura, Vlada and Inna who were walking, illuminating their way. Magical moment. Our meeting at the shamanic pillars gave us a joint road to the base, without flashlights, under the light of the stars and the moon. The night ended with songs.

“The rocky cape grew out of the ice, like the horn of an ancient lizard.”

In the morning we rode on Bukhanka to Cape Khoboy, the northern tip of Olkhon Island. Nastya joined the group - a brave girl from Vladivostok, traveling around Lake Baikal alone. Along the way we met dozens, if not hundreds of tourists from Asia. They settle in Khuzhir and in large groups explore the surroundings. They especially like the beautiful ice grottoes scattered along the Olkhon shore. Nastya said that there were ten Chinese in each cave here and she was not far from the truth. The closer we approached Khoboy, the larger the hummocks became, and at the very cape, directed upward in the shape of a fang, there were ice floes the size of a passenger car. Getting through them turned out to be a difficult ordeal. Immediately behind the cape, the waters of the Small Sea end and the endless expanses of Lake Baikal begin. From this place the lake stretches another 300 km to the northeast (what a scale!), and I visited here. 300 km. These distances surprise foreigners, but are so familiar to us, who have been accustomed since childhood to long flights and train trips lasting several days with a rarely changing landscape outside the window.

To catch the setting sun we went to Cape Burkhan, where, like yesterday, dozens of people gathered. The cape forms a natural amphitheater, spectators take better places to admire the mesmerizing spectacle, and there is definitely an ancient, pagan power in this action.

On the way to the base, a boy with a stick and skates on his shoulder stopped me and asked if he could walk with me. We started talking. The guy's name, tired after training, is Oleg, he is in first grade. On the ice of Lake Baikal he plays hockey and plays for the Opponents team. On his eighth birthday, his parents promised to give him a smartphone if he studied well. That's where we parted ways.

In the evening there was the last camp dinner, a concert of local amateur performances with cosmic music reminiscent of the sounds of Baikal ice, and conversations about Milky Way, Tien Shan and Elbrus. We slept for three hours before heading to Irkutsk. When we saw off the guys on the train to Perm, hugged and wished each other all the best, I felt how the whole journey was becoming just another memory, a set of images, ceasing to be reality - to be here and now. Thus ended the first hike in my life and ended an independent story full of impressions, difficulties, joys, kilometers of travel, music and mutual assistance. With the hope of meeting again, the time has come to say goodbye to Baikal. And say thank you.