The GBT winter project

In 2007 we organised the first GBT winter project. The idea arose due to several previous summer camp participants who desired to experience Lake Baikal also in winter. And now we made their dream come true!

The ones who have taken part in the winter camp came back fascinated and with lots of new impressions (look also report at the end of this article). The winter project takes place in March every year. But please don't be scared of the cold temperatures in Siberia. Our past experiences have shown that the actual problem is not the cold but the heat. It's not warm outside, not at all! For protecting against the cold you just have to wear really warm clothes. It's the heat in the flats, offices and stores that is very nasty!

Between February and April there's more snowfall than usual in Siberia but the air is very dry though. That's why -15°C in Siberia is more pleasant than wet 0°C in Germany or other European countries.

The most important thing is that you have warm and comfortable shoes and thermal clothes of high quality (long-sleeved shirt and long leg trousers). Apart from that, it's enough to bring normal walking trousers and a warm down or fleece jacket. Furthermore, you shouldn't forget to bring a warm hat since you lose a large proportion of your body's heat through your head. Especially wind can be extremely nasty but, first of all, also very dangerous! In order to walk more comfortable on iced Lake Baikal we can supply you with special Vibram spike soles, that you can sole your usual hiking shoes with, when we'll be in Irkutsk. It makes slipping impossible.

What are we doing at Lake Baikal?

At first, we will travel on the Baikal Amur Railway (BAM) from Irkutsk to Severobaikalsk. There, you will meet the other participants coming from Severobaikalsk or other places around. We will also give you a short introduction to the project. Afterwards, we will show you the hostel or the host families where you will stay on the first night.

On the next day we will walk across iced Lake Baikal to the tourist camp 'Ekho' where we will stay for the following days. There you'll have enough time to get to know each other.

On the next days we will, first of all, build and design information boards. We will also help the tourist camp administrators with preparing for the stay of pupils during their winter holidays. So, we will build igloos, cross-country ski routes and so on. Furthermore, we will give you more information about the Great Baikal Trail and future plans concerning the trail.

Furthermore, we will visit some museums, cook a typical Siberian meal and hear stories about Lake Baikal.

Costs: approx. 9900 roubles (approx. 261 euros/£206)
Excludes travel costs to Severobaikalsk. A seat reservation (platskartny) costs about 900 roubles (approx. 24 euros/£19), a coupe reservation costs about 1800 roubles (approx. 48 euros/£38) one way each.

What to bring:
It will be COLD in Siberia, that's for sure! And the temperatures can change every day. During the day it's relatively 'warm' at temperatures between -15°C and 0°C sometimes. But -30°C can be possible, too!

That's why you should bring in any case:

• a warm sleeping bag and a sleeping pad of high quality as well (we won't sleep outside but at night it can get very cold inside the bedroom sometimes).
• warm shoes and warm socks (your shoes shouldn't be tight; otherwise even the warmest socks wouldn't warm you up).
• warm clothes (a windproof jacket, trousers, underpants, cloves), either you wear several layers of clothing or a high-quality down jacket
• a very warm hat (VERY IMPORTANT)
• rucksack, cutlery, dictionary ...
• something typical from your home country, like, for example, culinary delights, funny souvenirs, games, songs ....

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