Road of Bones
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Road of Bones is a notorious road through far Eastern Russia. It connects Magadan and Yakutsk. The road is 2000 kilometres long. It was built in the Stalin era of the USSR by political prisoners, who were often imprisoned in gulags, or concentration camps.
The road is treated by some as a memorial, as the bones of the people who constructed it were incorporated into the road[citation needed]. It is said that every meter of the road cost one life of the construction workers[citation needed].
The area is extremely cold during the winter. Two towns by the highway, Tomtor and Oymyakon (in the Oymyakon region), both claim the coldest inhabited place on earth (often referred to as -71.2°C, but might be -67.7°C) outside of Antarctica. Some believe actual winter temperatures reached in nearby highlands may be in the -80°Cs.
The road is in a state of disrepair and is untraversable by standard road vehicles because of washed-out bridges and sections of road reclaimed by streams. During winter, frozen water actually helps river crossings.
After the fall of the Iron Curtain, the road was first travelled by Western motorcyclists in summer 1995 by the Mondo Enduro expedition. Subsequent traverses include Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman's round-the-world motorcycle journey, made into a television series, book and DVD, all named Long Way Round. It was also cycled in the winter by Alastair Humphreys and Rob Lilwall.
[edit] Books
- Vince, Austin; Bloom, Louis et al (2006) Mondo Enduro. Ripping Yarns.com. ISBN 1-904466-28-1.
- McGregor, Ewan; Boorman, Charley (2005) Long Way Round Time Warner. ISBN 0-7515-3680-6.