Mount Aikuaivenchorr North Slopes - Where is Kyle Miller?

Mount Aikuaivenchorr is the mountain in which Bigwood ski resort is located within the Khibiny Mountains. Being a long ridge with numerous bowls the ski resort only encompasses 1/5 of the terrain off of the Mountain. There are two ways to access the northern bowl which are 1 using the lifts then after hiking drop into the next valley north or 2 park at the base of the North slopes then climb before returning to the car. Since we were ski touring we went with the second option.

Waking up on the fourth day of our trip the weather was turning for the worse. Looking out of our apartment window the sky was filled with clouds and the forecast called for it to get even worse. Only having a week in the area we wanted to make the most out of our day. We would drive 5 kms to the north and ride around until the weather became bad then just ride back down to the car.

Driving down the road we originally focused our attention on Mount Juksporr. With it having numerous chutes starting from the road it would be easy to get in and out.

Driving in the Khibiny Mountains of Russia

Parking on the side of the road we were at the base of one of the couloirs. We would have to go over some train tracks but from then on out it would be steep climbing.

Looking up only the top section of the line was going through a rock band before the open slopes below.

Looking up a south chute on Mount Juksporr

As we made our way up trains would head by loaded with coal and other mining material from the area.

ski touring with a train heading by underneath

Ski touring with the Kirovsk area in the background

While skinning up we started to get concerned with the snowpack. It’s not that it felt unstable but more the consequences if the slope would break under our feet. We decided to start bootpacking up via the side to stay out of the gut and would check the conditions once we got to the rock bands.

Looking at the upper slopes on Mount Juksporr

Climbing to where the snow felt uncomfortable

Making our way up to the rock bands we dug out a small hand pit and the layers didn’t seem to be bonding well. Not wanting to press our luck we decided to head back down to the car and head to another aspect.

Turning around in fear of avalanche danger

Snowboarding down we spotted the open bowls of Mount Aikuaivenchorr which were north facing and only a few minute drive away. Knowing that we were riding powder we felt a bit more comfortable with the terrain across the valley.

Snowboarding down with the Khibiny Mountains in the distance

We jumped into the car while still wearing our snowboard boots before driving a few kilometres to the base of the northern slopes of Mount Aikuaivenchorr. The weather was still good enough to see all the way to the summit ridge.

Looking at the north slopes of Mount Aikuaivenchorr in the Khibiny Mountain of Russia

As we climbed we occasional looked back towards Mount Juksporr. The previous season we had ridden the open eastern bowl via climbing the left section of the middle rock band in the photo below.

Climbing up the north slopes of Mount Aikuaivenchorr

Looking towards Mount Aikuaivenchorr we decided to head up the main bowl all the way to the low notch on the ridge.

A closer look at the north bowl of Mount Aikuaivenchorr

As we climbed the weather started falling apart with the skies becoming more and more grey. While we could still see the terrain around us things were starting to get flat light.

Ski touring up Mount Aikuaivenchorr with the Khibiny Mountains in the distance

Ski touring into the alpine as the weather starts to change

Once we made it to the low col we could see that the clouds were dropping and the wind was starting to come in. Fortunately the low col was protected from the wind and we transitioned to riding mode. Fortunately the car was at the base and we would be back within 20 minutes of starting to ride down.

Climbing up to the high notch on the north bowl of Mount Aikuaivenchorr

Snowboarding down the north bowl of Mount Aikuaivenchorr

Riding to near the bottom of the open bowl we decided to go for another lap. The snow was really good and the weather was still not horrible so we put our boards on our packs and started hiking up another open gully.

With each step it seemed the wind kept getting stronger. The weather was changing fast so we decided to head up as far as it was comfortable before snowboarding down.

Climbing up another gully on Mount Aikuaivenchorr

Making it near the top of gully the winds really started to pick up. We could hear it roaring up the valley and would have to brace for impact only to have another blast of wind coming a few seconds later.

Finding horrible weather while climbing in the Khibiny Mountains of Russia

Snowboarding down we were happy to be riding good snow. Though we couldn’t see much everything was soft underneath us riding back down to the forest where we would bash our way through the trees before ending up at the road.

Snowboarding down a northeast gully on Mount Aikuaivenchorr

Walking back to the car we were now in the middle of a storm with the snow accumulating fast. Only two hours earlier we were able to see the surrounding Khibiny Mountains but it had turned into a sea of clouds. While our first tour had fallen apart we were happy that we made the choice to check out Mount Aikuaivenchorr. While it was good snow we were really excited about how good it would be the next day.