Khibiny. Autumn trek

Khibiny. Autumn trek

I've long wanted to visit the Kola Peninsula in autumn; according to the photos, it's unbearably beautiful at this time. If you're lucky, you'll catch 2–3 weeks of red and gold colors; if not, the snow will cover all the foliage and stay until winter.

We flew to Murmansk by plane and took a transfer to the Khibiny, it cost about 10 000 RUB. The route starts from Kukisvuмchorr, next to the Kukis lift. At the very beginning of the way, the construction of a new Kirovsky mine began. We walked along 50-meter embankments and got to the construction road, where the workers warned us that the guards drive and can fine us, as it is a private territory of the facility. We decided not to turn back and lose time, decided to take a risk and get through the area, everything went well, and we reached the n/k Vortkeuayv pass.

Next time, there's no point in going through the mine at all, it's better to go around, climbing along the Kukis lifts and along the ridge to the end of the mine.

A loving couple of dogs got tied to us and accompanied us for 3 days. They regularly received some food from Diana and cheered us up. At the pass, the snow started to fall, the wind was about 12–14 m/s. It was slippery in some places, but not critical. Then it starts to be a smooth and pleasant descent, with a stream on the left. At 19:00, we started setting up camp in the clearing and preparing dinner. The wind was getting stronger, you could only cook in the vestibule, we lit two Primus Omnifuel multifuel stoves on Kalosha gasoline, chatted, and I went to sleep. In the night, someone's eyes were shining about two hundred meters away, although the dogs were nearby. I couldn't identify it, but the object was completely motionless, and decided that glass or a stone was shining.

We walked with two tents, I was in a one-person Helsport Rindstind, the guys were in a three-person Big Agnes Copper spur Expedition 3. It was the coldest night of the trek, the temperature was about -6 °C, but the wind was strong, about 17 m/s. Despite the half-tent, it was a bit windy inside the cm gap, I put on a jacket over the fleece and fell asleep sweetly in the SIvera Iriy sleeping bag for -2.

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I got out of the tent at 8 am, there was snow around, the tent was covered with snow, the wind was still very strong, but beauty awaits us ahead, we got ready and set off. The lower from the pass, the more vegetation, and the autumn fairy tale began. Wow, autumn in the Khibiny is something! I'm smiling, enjoying, taking photos of the contrast between snowy peaks and colorful colors. We cross the Tul'jok River wading, have to change into Crocs, but the water level in September is below the knee.

Overnight at the most beautiful lake in the Khibiny — Academicheskoe. Surrounded by a vertical wall on three sides, like a circus. An incredibly atmospheric place both in cloudy and sunny weather, definitely worth a visit, or better yet, an overnight stay.

Climbing the northern slope, with cliffs on the right and left, in poor visibility it's better to go down through the n/k South Rischorr pass. We reach the plateau, with strong wind about 17 m/s, snow-covered, walking like on concrete. The plateau is about 200–300 meters wide, curved, no landmarks on the snow, I look at the navigator every 3 minutes to avoid getting too close to the cliffs. Sometimes a gust knocks you down, that's the main danger of getting close to the edge, you can fall due to a gust of wind and roll down the snow to the cliff. But if you stay in the center of the plateau, there are no problems at all. Sunny, cold, beautiful, clouds of bizarre shapes, like alien plates, perfect elongated oval shapes. Can't take photos because of the weather conditions. Approach the descent to the South Rischorr pass from above. At first, it seems like a bad idea, as the slope is covered with firn and gently slopes down, there's a risk of slipping and rolling down. I went on a reconnaissance, saw rocks sticking out on the left, and we descended using them.

At the Beautiful waterfall, we met tourists, the place is breathtaking, like a postcard. We spent about an hour here, admiring the beauty, and went to the KSS base, our dog got beaten by local dogs and additionally got hit by a stick from the Emergencies Ministry, whimpered and hid in the bushes, poor thing.

The Emergencies Ministry provided an accurate forecast for the next few days, described the situation at the base. The bathhouse is working, you can book it for 1 400 rubles for 2 hours. The hotel is already closed, as there are too few people, it's not profitable. Usually, it works until September 10–15. We crossed the bridge and set up camp near one of the lakes. The campsites here are popular, so it's impossible to find firewood, we collected a small bundle just to burn the trash. From that day, the temperature at night became warmer — 0–+5 degrees, I looked out of the tent twice hoping to see the northern lights, but every night the clouds covered the sky.

The next day — crossing the n/k South Chorgorr pass. On the ascent, all the streams dried up, only a small lake remained, so it's better to take water in advance from the streams in the forest area. The ascent to the pass is easy, it starts to snow at the top, the only danger is stepping into a hole and injuring your foot between the rocks, so I choose where to step with each step. On the pass, it's windy, cloudy, an eagle is soaring, beautiful and unsettling atmosphere. The descent is more difficult, the rocks are big, you have to jump from one to another, you need to be careful and distribute the weight with trekking poles.

The lake at the bottom of the pass is partially covered with ice, we broke all that we could, got inner satisfaction, like from an anti-stress bubble wrap, and went further on a flat tundra, the path is convenient, the descent is long and very smooth, it's a pleasure to walk, the speed of movement is high. Below, birch crooked forests begin, then a dense forest.

We crossed Goltsovka on logs, they spring, the height is about a meter above the water, the current is strong. We unfastened our backpack straps so that if we fell, it wouldn't drag us to the bottom, and slowly crossed.

We're heading north, there are wilder places and it's easier to find firewood. The forest is beautiful and pleasant. There are no problems with firewood, and further on there are campsites with a ready-made каркас for a bathhouse. We set up camp, натянули the awning, I took the Helinox zero chair with me on the hike for the first time and was blown away by the level of comfort))) It's an incomparable feeling to sit in a comfortable chair with a back after many years on logs and wherever. Although I'm not demanding of this kind of comfort at all, i.e. I don't have an inner need at all and only took it because the guys are going with them, but it's worth it. Of course, in not the most difficult hikes and with lightweight chairs, mine weighs 610 grams and is very compact.

It's been raining all morning, I don't want to go out, so we're hanging out and starting closer to lunchtime. The trail through the forest is well-trodden, beautiful, and pleasant. An hour later, we turn left from Goltsovka towards Akua-Akua Gorge, the trail goes up and we come out on a tundra hill, from which the incredibly beautiful gorge begins. By 7 p.m. we reach the Emerald Lake and stop for the night. From here we went on radial trips up and to the waterfall. Some people swam) The water in the lake is +3 °C, personally I never swim on a hike, in my head it's an unjustified risk of catching a cold in hiking conditions. There's no firewood here, everything's already been grazed down to twigs, so I brought firewood for cooking.

In the afternoon, we start for the next stop, «zvezdochka», and stand at the fork of the trails, it's easier to find firewood here. We burn a fire, relax, before going to bed we arrange a movie night. At night I monitor the sky, but it's still all covered with clouds. In the morning we pack our backpacks, leave them in the bushes and go to the pass/gorge of Yumiekorr. On the way we met the updated library, the shelves are on the north side of the gorge, near the stone, so that it doesn't get carried away by avalanches in winter. The ascent is simple, especially without backpacks, at the top we admired the views. We called about the transfer in the evening. The satellite phone works well on the pass and didn't work in the forest area below.

On the way back, we quickly flew along the trail and left the Khibiny mountain range, from there the country trail led us to the Nefeline Sands railway station. We waited for the train and got to Kirovsk, where the transfer to Murmansk met us.

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