I first learned about the Kola peninsula via Google Earth. I would scan the closest areas to where I live in Rovaniemi, Finland and as it seemed 5 hours East of us was the Murmansk Region of Russia. Simply put I had to go to Russia to check out this zone and my wife and I planned our Spring trip to and bought Visa’s to head there. After a two hour drive we were at the Sallas Border between Finland and Russia and going through the first check point. After about an hour of doing the paperwork and them checking the car we were through the first check point. After two more check points each about 20km’s after the other we were driving through the isolated arctic stretches to the Tiga before getting our first view of the Khibney Mountains, a massive range that has hundreds of big open peaks.
Soon enough we were in the small mining town Kirovsk which gave us access to two separate ski resorts and an endless amount of ski touring.
The first place we went to was Bigwood Ski resort that had around 6 chairs on both the front side and the backside of this massive basin.
The terrain of the backside was pretty low angle and boring but the runs off the frontside were quite a bit longer.
We had found a cool and unique range in the Northern Arctic. At one time it was a single super volcano but over millions of years it decayed to what it is today and the only place to find certain minerals in the world.
The best part of Big Wood is that you could do an easy bootpack up the ridge and have the top of the mountain only to the people willing to hike for 30 minutes.
After a few laps hiking the ridge we had explored a decent amount of the terrain and called the trip a success. 
It’s a cool area to visit and well worth returning to in the future. 
After a good day of riding the next day we spent walking around Apatity, while only 2 hours away from Finland it was a completely different world and culture.
The next day we took a 30 minute drive to go check out another resort called 25kms and check out some of the other mountains around.
The potential roadside terrain was unreal and well worth returning to.
When we got to the parking lot it was the exact opposite of anything you would see in America. It was surrounded by eroding buildings from decades prior. This was a huge mining area for the U.S.S.R. and there were many pieces of its past.
With 2 T Bars you were up on a massive ridge which gave you access all down the front side and the opposite side if you were willing to skin for an hour to get down to the road. The place had an awesome feel.
From the top of the Tbar you were in huge Wide open alpine slopes in all directions and an endless amount of terrain.
Looking back towards Kirovsk and the terrain off the backside of the ski resort. Bigwood is on the opposite side of the ridge on the upper left.
Throughout the day we would just traverse a little further on each run finding fresh snow along the way. It was an awesome layout and a place I that would be amazing on a powder day!!!
It was a dilapidated area but an awesome resort that was well worth heading into the area. We payed around 20$ for an all day lift ticket.
After 4 days in Kirovsk we went on a road trip North to Murmansk as I was interested in checking out the Northern Capital and gateway into the Arctic for Russia with 300,000 people.
The next two days we walked around the city and were amazed by the massive concrete blocks that were layed as apartments all over the city.
This area will be an important town in the future as the Arctic Melts and Russia lays claims to the north. It was a fascinating place to see but with the language issues a hard place to move around and order food.
The Kola Peninsula was a relic of the former Soviet State and a wild place to visit. Not only were the resorts cool and cheep but we met many kind people along the way and had a fun trip. This would be the first of many years returning to the Kola.
Thank you for reading and If you enjoyed reading this and want to see more ski tours within the Khibiny Mountains check out this link