Trans-Siberian — Lake Baikal Winter Crossing
83.92 د.ك
The Trans-Siberian Railway passing Lake Baikal in deep winter — the locomotive visible through the frozen lake vapour, the ice cracked and pressure-ridged in the foreground, the Siberian taiga dense on the far shore.
Description
The Trans-Siberian Railway’s 9,289-kilometre journey from Moscow to Vladivostok crosses Lake Baikal — the world’s deepest lake, containing 20% of Earth’s unfrozen surface fresh water — at a critical section near Slyudyanka. In deep winter, when temperatures drop to -40°C and the lake freezes to 1–2 metres depth, the ice surface develops the characteristic pressure ridges and fissures that give Baikal its distinctive winter photography quality. This photograph was made from a position on the frozen lake surface — accessible by hovercraft from Listvyanka — timed to coincide with the scheduled passage of the eastbound Trans-Siberian Express. The locomotive’s exhaust steam freezes instantly in the -35°C air, creating a vapour plume that extends 200 metres behind the train. The ice foreground, with its blue-green pressure ridges and transparent panels, creates a foreground of geological and optical complexity.
