Khibiny Mountains

The Khibiny are a circular massif about forty kilometres across on the Kola Peninsula, rising to 1,200 metres at Yudychvumchorr - not high, but at this latitude the tree line is around four hundred metres, so most of the range is bare rock, snowfield and tundra plateau cut by steep-sided valleys. They are geologically famous: an alkaline intrusion where more than a hundred minerals were first described, and the apatite deposits that Kirovsk was built to mine from the 1930s. A national park was created here in 2018. For visitors the range works two ways. In winter it holds the most reliable snow in European Russia, with ski slopes above Kirovsk running from November into May and freeride terrain beyond them, in a season that includes the polar night in December and aurora on clear nights. In summer there is hiking across the plateaux and passes, with permanent snow patches, weather that turns fast, and no facilities once you leave the road.

Background

In Kildin Sami the range is Umptek. It lies between the lakes Imandra and Umbozero and rises 900 to 1000 m above the surrounding plain in a horseshoe topped by a high plateau and cut by deep canyons; after Yudychvumchorr the second highest peak is Chasnachorr, 1,191 metres. Lake Umbozero separates it from the Lovozero Massif, about 5 km to the east. The rocks are rich in apatite and nepheline ores, 477 minerals have been reported, and the range is seismically active. Apatity and Kirovsk stand at its foot. Thanks to the Gulf Stream, winters average only about five degrees below zero, though nights can drop to thirty below.

Source: Wikipedia, "Khibiny Mountains"

Highlights

• The bare massif - a range mostly above the tree line at four hundred metres.
• The minerals - an alkaline intrusion where over a hundred species were first described.
• The ski season - the most reliable snow in European Russia, November to May.
• The polar night - December darkness, with aurora on clear nights.

When to go

February to April for skiing with returning daylight; July to September for hiking. Three days to a week. December brings the polar night and no daylight at all.

Before you go

Weather changes violently and whiteouts are a real danger - do not go onto the plateau without navigation and experience. Avalanche risk is real. Kirovsk is an industrial mining town, not a resort in the alpine sense. Winter temperatures reach minus thirty.

Nearby

Kirovsk and Apatity are at the foot; the Lovozero tundras and Seydozero are east.

Key facts