Kirovsk lies at the foot of the Khibiny Mountains, in the middle of the Kola Peninsula, and it is a mining town with a ski resort on its back doorstep. The Khibiny are a rounded, high plateau of pale rock that rises to about 1,200 metres, with deep glacial valleys, and they are one of the largest mountain ranges in northern Europe. The rocks are rich in apatite, a mineral used to make fertiliser, found in the 1920s, and that find led to the founding of the town in the early 1930s. It is named for Sergey Kirov, a Communist leader, and the nearby city of Apatity takes its name from the mineral.
The mountains around Kirovsk are bare above the treeline, covered in lichen, boulders and snowfields that last well into summer. Lake Imandra, one of the largest lakes in the region, lies to the south, and the Botanical Garden of Kirovsk, the northernmost in Europe, grows hardy plants in the Arctic climate. Skiing is the main winter activity, with the season lasting from November until May, and the northern lights are common on clear nights in winter. In the middle of summer, the sun barely drops below the horizon, and the days are cool and bright.
The ride is atmospheric rather than technical. Roads run through birch forest and open tundra, past lakes and mining sites, with the mountain edge always to one side. The main road from Murmansk and Apatity is generally decent, though the surface can be broken by frost, and trucks carrying ore and chemicals are common. Weather changes quickly, with fog, rain and even snow in July, and in the mountains there is a risk of icy patches in early autumn. The mountain road to the ski area climbs in a few bends to a high pass.
Kirovsk has a petrol station or two and a handful of shops, and Apatity, about twelve kilometres away, is bigger and has more services, so fill the tank there if in doubt. Expect plain Russian food, soup, dumplings and fish, and tea is always on offer. Mosquitoes are bad in July in the lowlands.
Spend a moment looking at the mountains in the evening light, when the pale rock turns pink and the snow fields glow. The place has a certain austere beauty that grows on you.