Lake Baikal

It is impossible to describe my days at Lake Baikal in one word, so bear with me, I’m going to use a lot of words (and pictures). Everything started before dawn on the 15th of February, after quite a short night. That morning, I met the girl who would take the tour with me: double luck for me, because that meant the tour was cheaper, and she was good company. Our tour guide was Jack Sheremetoff, head of the Baikaler Hostels. We left before sunrise in a 8-seat minivan, driving through Irkutsk and all the way to lake Baikal, through the open plains and hills. According to Jack, the first part after we would leave the city was the boring part. I didn’t believe that for one second. We had a wide view on the surrounding landscape – wave after wave of snow covered ground, herds of horses, the horizon lined with dark wooded hills, or mountains I’d almost say. Sometimes there’d be a foot crossing and a bus stop, right in the middle of nowhere. Glittering snow covered slopes and rocks and roofs of occasional houses like frosting. The wind would blow slivers of snow across the road, which was at times mostly covered with ice. The real ice road had yet to come, though.

It was all well and good from within the car, of course. Whenever we got out, the cold would bite: -11 degrees, with a chilling wind. We stopped to admire an eagle statue and the first Shaman site we’d see that day: multiple wooden poles with colourful ribbons tied around them, the ground littered with coins and even empty bottles of vodka.

After that first stop, we drove on to a viewing point, where we could see the lake in all its frozen glory. Jack told us he could see within a glance if the lake was frozen. In summer, the water had a color he’d call Bakail-blue. The lighter blue we saw now was without doubt ice. After that first glimpse, we didn’t waste any time; within minutes we were there, crossing the border between land and ice. It was an experience like no other – close your eyes and it might be just any bumpy road, but the views were so stunning I hardly wanted to blink.

That first step from the car onto the ice was scary and exhilarating at the same time. The ice was hard and clear as glass, 70 cm thick. When lying down on your belly, you could see through it and see the rocks on the bottom. It was surreal to hear the sounds the lake made, like a huge belly churning, enormous bubbles shifting, the sound muffled like it was all happening far away and not right where we stood. That great expanse of ice, the mountains surrounding us, sky misty, the blinding light of the sun – just the idea that these things were just there to look at, free to marvel at, and yet we were the only ones there.

Later, we stopped again to explore the ice closer to the island, discovering tiny ice caves with countless icicles. Then we drove to Ogoy island, both a Shaman site and housing a Buddhist stupa. We climbed the hill towards the stupa and there the views almost got to me. Everything seemed to come together – piercing blue skies, giant mountains, bright white stupa and the colored ribbons everywhere, warming sunlight and ice-cold wind. Cruel beauty, as Jack described it, and that it was. The name Baikal is just an honorary name to address the lake and I’d understand why one would respect such raw nature.

Down on the lake, the car seemed as tiny as a toy, but it still managed to get us to the main village on Olkhon island. There we could rest for a while in our room, store our luggage and warm up with a cup of tea. Afterwards, we did a walking tour through the village. Jack knows a lot about the people, the culture and the history of the place. He showed us the most sacred spot of the island, a huge rock sticking out into the lake, and took us to an old abandoned fish factory. We witnessed a beautiful sundown, but as soon as the sun was gone, it became colder. After everything that day, I was cold, tired and hungry, and more than happy to return to the hostel on the island for dinner. There was fish, mashed potatoes, salad and pie, and we also got offered huge bottles of beer. Tired but satisfied we headed to our room, where we finally managed to get warm again.