Skiing with a view of the White Sea is the perfect plan.
The southern part of the Kola Peninsula is great for несложных but very picturesque ski trips. There is terrain, low avalanche risk, a good balance of forests, lakes and bogs, and frozen White Sea. This allows you to hike a variety of ski routes. There are many advantages, which is why I went here again.
My plan was to film two videos for Sport-Marathon about how to set up a tent in winter and how not to freeze in a winter hike. And then go on a ski trip.
Let me tell you, filming in winter on the Kola Peninsula is not easy. It's cold, your tongue and cheeks go numb, your diction gets lost, and it's hard for the operator to move around. That's why there are few winter training videos, and they are usually made at the beginning of spring:)) To get two 10-minute videos, a lot of work had to be done before and during the 3 days of filming, and all that in a very tight schedule. One day we filmed for 20 hours:)))
It's easy to get here. From Moscow to Kandalaksha, we take the train with the romantic name 'Arctica'. And then by taxi to the nearest hills.
After filming, we saw the operator off, rested for a day and immediately set off with Anya on a hike. There aren't many permanent residents in the nearby villages. On the outskirts of the village, a lone captain was spotted walking around naked in his house, which was accidentally noticed through the window. Now that's what I call life in old age. A house on the shore of the White Sea surrounded by hills, dense forests and the white captivity of winter.
For the first 3 kilometers there was a snowmobile track, I was already looking forward to the adventure and was waiting for the скорейший подъем на сопку. The climb is quite steep, up to 25 degrees in some places. We go up in a zigzag, choosing the optimal path, with a long camouflage, it's not a problem. I use a mixed camouflage, 65% mohair, 35% synthetics Colltex 60mm wide, trimmed it to the waist of my skis, for the canvases to work, there must be a gap of at least 2mm.
A week before the hike, the temperature dropped to 0C and thanks to this a dense crust of snow formed, which saved us from тропежки. There's a lot of snow, 2-3 meters. Above 300 meters above sea level, the Arctic tundra begins, treeless. The snow here is blown away, dense, the edges sometimes slip.
A fascinating view under the howling of the wind.
Since it was blowing hard, I chose a place for the camp 50 meters below the top, on a relatively flat shelf. We fix the tent's guy line to the backpack and install the arcs without lifting the tent, that's why I love полубочки. Here the snow blows away знатно, the depth is about 20 cm. Yes, you can't stick a ski here)) The experiment with облегчением on pegs was recognized as unsuccessful. Skis and trekking poles, which I planned to use to secure the tent, are not applicable here. Of course, you can bury them horizontally, but it's time-consuming and specifically in this place it's inconvenient.
On the slope, the snow blows away знатно, the depth is about 20 cm, which makes it difficult to fix the pegs. This is despite the fact that in the forest zone it's 2-3 meters. I realized that I had decided to reduce the weight without taking all the pegs in vain, since the skis, which I planned to use to secure the tent, are not applicable here. Of course, you can bury them horizontally, but it's time-consuming and inconvenient.
It's impossible to overestimate the convenience of a large vestibule. It's snowing outside, but inside it's calm and cozy. I start the primus omnifuel on gasoline and melt snow for dinner.
Meanwhile, Anya runs in the darkness near the cliff, waving her frozen legs like a crazy astronaut on another planet.
We ate Adventure food all the time. Boiling water is poured directly inside, very convenient, no need to wash the dishes:) The portions are generous, I was full all the time, and the taste is like in a restaurant. I recommend everyone to try it, even though the price is not very humane, but you can diversify the menu for sure.
At night, the wind was with gusts up to 15 m/s, the temperature was -27C. The Hilleberg Kaitum 2 GT tent is very good for these conditions and provides high comfort. Two entrances and two vents at the ends are a valuable opportunity to adaptively regulate ventilation and greatly reduce condensation inside, unlike, for example, Nallo 2 GT. The width of the inner space in the shoulders is 140 cm, which allows you to lay out all the gear and not touch the snow-covered walls.
It's indecently beautiful around. The sun warms with its rays and creates the feeling that the snow is like butter ice cream that will melt just a little.
In some places there are карнизы, we move along the tops.
When I was riding freeride in Sheregesh on a board, I hated the fields of blown snow. You fly through the forest on a fluffy one, exploding clouds of snowy arrogance, and on the first field you try not to kill yourself on the blown crust. Having switched to tourist skis, I most of all love to move on compacted snow. There's something magical about walking on compressed crystals of water without проваливаясь. That's the paradox.
In general, I've developed a love for snow, as I took an avalanche course at snowsense before the hike. Complete immersion for a week with deep theory and practice.
Going down a compacted slope is a pleasure, you go тормозя a plow, trying not to fall on the застругах. The muscles are under strong tension, so in the morning I обязательно do a good warm-up, right on conscience.
As the sun sets, it gets cold sharply, we warm up and continue to cut long arcs through the coniferous forest.
I still couldn't get used to the Fjallraven softshell, I used Vidda pro pants. They have cool cut, fit, a lot of pockets allow you to conveniently store everything you need in winter. I put a tactical foam in the special pocket in the knee area to keep my knees from freezing when touching the snow. But the lack of elasticity and high hydrophilicity, despite the wax treatment, significantly reduce comfort.
I signed a contract with Garmin and started testing the new models Garmin 66st and 65s. They are of course nicer and faster than my old eTrex 20x.
For the night we found a cozy place near a fallen tree. When setting up the camp, we don't take off the skis, otherwise we'll проваливаться up to our waists and won't be able to move. This requires some skill, as you need to avoid cutting the tent with the edges and use the shovel.
By how the mustache and beard freeze, you can determine the temperature. It's not cold now, about -25C.
In general, a frozen beard is the most difficult thing in a winter hike:)
Someone came down from the hill -
Probably, my dear one is coming.
He's wearing a protective tunic,
It drives me crazy.
100 meters away I saw a hare, he froze hoping that I wouldn't notice him, but while I was getting my phone, he резко стартанул and ran far ahead. Well, okay, we're flying down from the hill at full speed. The forest is sparse, there are no bushes.
We set up camp on the shore of the White Sea. There's about a meter of snow here, and just 10 meters further it's about 20 cm, so there's no point in putting the tent further. After dinner, I threw the leftovers into the snow and buried them a meter deep.
Before going to bed, we decided to watch the movie 'The Hateful Eight'. Remember the first, затяжной shot? The places are somewhat similar, they convey the same spirit. I hear noise, climb out of the tent to check, turn on the 1.400 lumen Fenix spotlight, and a fox is digging in the place where the leftovers were buried. She walked around for half an hour before bedtime, I chased her away so that she wouldn't wander around the vestibule at night.
When moving on ice, be careful, watch what the temperature was before the hike, whether there are inflowing rivers or strong currents in the narrowings, etc. It can be dangerous.
