910km to Ust-Nera from Magadan. Why? Because we can!

And so, early one morning in late February of this year, our convoy of several vehicles once again rolled out of the glorious city of Magadan. The plan: get to Ust-Nera, covering 910km of not-exactly-easy road…

The weather wasn’t the sunniest, but our spirits were as high as a kite. Let’s roll!…

Yakutsk (Якутск) was the finish line of our whole road trip, but it was still a seriously long way off: 2000km+ yet to go!…

The snow was starting to pick up – and out here that was the last thing we needed!

Fuel prices were almost as high as our spirits! And that was right next to the regional capital. Farther on they were steeper still.

For roughly the first 160–180km out of Magadan there’s a perfectly decent asphalt road (after that the gravel begins) ->

Asphalt or no – you still hit “waves” on it here and there. That’s permafrost for you…

One time the waves turned almost tsunamic: you absolutely must not go flying into them at 100km/h!

A settlement with the unusual name of Palatka, which means “tent”. But it’s nothing to do with tents: it’s a Russified form of the Yukaghir/Even Palya-atkan (I told the story back in 2021).

Brightly colored apartment blocks are catching on more and more in the Far East. But I think I get it: since the world all around is frigid, harsh, and merciless, you might as well paint the buildings in cheerful colors to lift the mood!…

…And place flowers along the roads while you’re at it (since the real thing won’t grow on permafrost)! ->

This big sign reminds us that the settlement of Palatka is in the Russian Book of Records. For what, you ask?…

…For the number of fountains per capita! How about that?!

Next time we’ll have to make a stop here and tour all the fountains! Though probably best in summer rather than winter. Meanwhile, it was time for us to turn off again:

We were taking the short but not-so-simple route – the Tenkinskaya Highway (aka the 44N-4):

…Not-so-simple, but still oh-so-Kolymic-scenic! ->

Mountain passes again…

By the way, I forgot to mention that the Far East is unique when it comes to watersheds. At this point we were somewhere near the streams (or creeks) named Khakandya and Finish. Here’s the thing: the waters of the Khakandya flow south, into the Sea of Okhotsk – in the Pacific Ocean basin. The Finish, meanwhile, finishes up in the north – in the Arctic Ocean. In other words, this is the very spot where the watershed between the Arctic and Pacific Ocean basins splits. Well I never…

But, wait till you see where…

The watershed between the Arctic and Pacific basins sits practically on Magadan’s doorstep! That’s over a thousand kilometers to the Arctic Ocean! ->

While it’s just around a hundred kilometers to the Pacific! As I keep repeating – how awesome you are, Mother Nature…

We clear yet another mountain pass – and we’re in the Arctic basin!

The road had been cleared so well that in places it looked like freshly groomed ski slopes :)

We passed through Ust-Omchug, and on past the Pavlik and Natalka gold-mining operations:

Our old friend – the Gavryushka pass:

Gorgeous! Especially from above:

And from there we turn onto the long-familiar R-504 Kolyma Highway and barrel on to our next overnight stop – in the settlement of Ust-Nera, right at the northern end of the route, and just about exactly halfway between Magadan and Yakutsk:

Down goes the sun:

The “1111” sign, with a mere 140km of road left to Ust-Nera:

And that was that. We made Ust-Nera for the night. But there were more on-the-(winter)-road adventures coming up the following day!…

The best hi-res photos from our Irkutsk–Yakutsk–Magadan–Yakutsk road-trip are here.