Kola Peninsula – Russia March - 1998
Text and photos by Sarah Ferguson

The Kola Peninsula juts out into the Barents Sea east of Murmansk and the Finnish and Norwegian borders, do check the map. Covered by over a 100,000 lakes and many salmon filled rivers it is a Mecca for fly fishermen. The Khibiny Mountain range is a fascinating geological formation of huge cirques, canyons and granite outcrops. Formed by Ice Age glaciers, the area is a pristine wilderness close to one of the most polluted places in the Arctic. It is also one of the most populated after the discovery in the 1920’s of apatite ore, a mineral used in fertiliser production.

We flew to St. Petersberg and met Nikolai Shustrov, a mountain guide who runs Top Sport Travel. The group was an international mix of free heel and alpine skiers led by Australian John Falkiner. We took the 24hr sleeper train journey north through an endless, flat, monochromic landscape of birch and bog to the mining town of Apatiti. After a short drive in an extraordinary six wheeled mountain rescue vehicle we were in the snowy ski town of Kirovsk. You couldn’t exactly call it a resort but it was open house at the Mountain Rescue Station, and time to change into ski gear. Fully equipped for groups (dorms and sauna) we were to stay there on our last night.

We were driven a couple of miles along the range, away from the small ski area, where we met a tracked vehicle piled high with supplies and our heavy packs. Thanks to this modern pack horse the 18 km skin over the Kukiswumchorr pass and down to the ‘valley of the geologists’ was a pleasure after the confinement of the train. Smoke was rising from the chimneys of a cluster of huts, our base, which we affectionately named the Kola Hilton – after all, it had a 5* sauna and icy plunge pool.

The following ten days were filled with a variety of ski tours, some short, some long, but all memorable. The further we got from the Hilton the more interesting the scenery became. Canyon slots through granite cliffs leading down to ancient juniper and pine forests. It was unusual to be skinning at such a low altitude, virtually from sea level. Although the highest mountain, Chasnachorr, is only 1191m the horizontal distances increase the challenge - as does the weather in an Arctic, maritime climate. Winter might last for 7 months in this region but after 22 March there are 12 hours of daylight and the best time for ski touring is between mid February and mid May.

We had mixed weather conditions and managed to get out most days but the Kola Hilton Sauna, with its gallons of hot water, was a tempting alternative and a wonderful welcome after spending a night camping out. Nikolai’s assistants, Alexei and Roman were sent ahead to set up. It meant we could go further away, spend more time skiing and only carry sleeping bags and mats. They did a great job, the yurt style rip stop centrally heated tent and spicy hot fruit drink were ready when we arrived. Yes, the Centrally Heated Tent – a tin box stove and chimney going up through the roof of the tent was very Russian in style - ingenious albeit scary, especially after all that vodka.

We returned to the Kola Hilton, to find that the guardian had been tending the fire all day to heat gallons of water. The sauna was ready with branches of birch and juniper for flagellation Russian style and dips in the icy plunge pool. No wonder they drink vodka. If the whole trip hadn’t made us glow, that experience certainly did.