Mount Juksporr is one of those lines that grabs your attention immediately while driving through the Khibiny Mountains. The road crosses the southern slopes we numerous chutes going from the summit ridge back down to the road. With the ability to park right at the base and with steep slopes from top to bottom this is one of the better steep skiing tours in the Khibiny Mountains.

On our way back to the house the night before we saw a group of five ride down the main couloir. With only around 15 kms of new snow it helped make us feel comfortable with heading out to Mount Juksporr and ride for a few hours.

Finding a spot to park we started putting our crampons and ice axes in our packs for the climb. We had made our way up the previous year but with bad visibility we had decided to ski the less technical east bowl. Our ascent route is on the left side of the middle rock band in the photo below.

 

Climbing up Mount Juksporr

Climbing the ascent route we started in thick trees as we made switchback after switchback. While it was easy to head up it wasn’t the type of terrain we would want to ride.

Once through the dense trees we were at the base of a small avalanche chute. Throwing our boards onto our packs and switching to crampons we started climbing up the steep slope before traversing to the left and onto a flat bench.

From our vantage point we could see the Kirovsk area in the distance and Mount Aikuaivenchorr in the foreground. The previous day we had rode the bowl on the left side of the photo below.

After climbing up the chute we made a small traverse to the west before reaching a flat spot where we could take a break. The area above us was exposed so I took out my ice axes and we got ready for the next 15 minutes of adventure.

Making our way through the Crux

Making our way up Mount Juksporr we could still see bootprints from the climbers the day before. Heading up to the rocks we would be fall line from the chutes on the left side of the photo below with a cliff under our feet.

15 minutes later we were back on a mellow ridge that went all the way to the summit of Mount Juksporr. From here on out it would be a easy climb to the top of the south chutes being able to choose from numerous different lines.

Standing on top of one of the south chutes on Mount Juksporr we decided there was no need to go any further. Knowing that a group of 5 had skied this line the day before there was little fear of a big slab going off.

Our First Run on Mount Juksporr

With 15 cms on top of an already soft base it was great snow from top to bottom. Below us was the large basin of the Kirovsk area in the foreground and the White Sea in the distance.

Heading up for Another Lap

Once at the base of the chute we walked back to our bootpack and rested for 10 minutes. Our previous run had been so good and there was more then enough time for an additional lap.

With our bootpack already put in we just put our heads down and started climbing.

For the second lap we went a bit further up the ridge before the entrance to another chute opened up. It was only around 10 meters away from our original line and joined it 1/3 the way down. We knew the snow was really good so there was no need to go any further.

Our Final Run on the South Chutes of Mount Juksporr

The South chutes of Mount Juksporr is a consistent pitch for 1,500 feet all the way down to the road. Each turn was powder perfection with soft snow on top of a soft base with plumes kicking up with every turn.

Looking up you can see where the two drainage connect

After two laps in great snow the weather started moving in so we decided to call it a day in hopes of better weather in the upcoming days

It was great access to a really cool mountain just 5 minutes off the main road. In this picture you can see our second lap with the first just behind the ridge

Soon we were back in Kirovsk surrounded by super dense apartments made out of concrete. We had made the right choice to go check out Mount Juksporr as this was a line I had wanted to ride the previous past two seasons.

 

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

Check out this link to see more about the area from some locals