Khibiny Mountains pass in Murmansk Region to be named after TASS

KIROVSK /Murmansk Region/, September 16. /TASS/. One of the highest passes of the Khibiny mountain system in the Murmansk region will be named the TASS Agency Pass. Scientists initiated this name to mark the 120th anniversary of Russia’s first state news agency, a TASS correspondent reported from the scene.
Participants in the Clean Arctic – Vostok-77 expedition Oksana Tolstykh, Dmitry Belov and TASS correspondent Nikolay Kochetkov, accompanied by rescuers, climbed the pass to plant the TASS flag there. The site is at 67°42’52.22″ north latitude and 33°41’3.24″ east longitude.
The pass is a route from the Voodyavryok Valley to the Tulyok Valley. It is almost 900 m above sea level. To get to it, tourists need to walk about 4 km through rocky terrain and to climb about 1.5 km of almost steep cliffs.
“The name TASS, proposed by scientists and supported by the region, will be put on the federal catalog of geographical names and will appear on all maps,” the expedition’s head of headquarters Oksana Tolstykh said. “Institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences have done a lot of work, including a scientific conclusion on the role of TASS correspondents who have contributed to defense and peaceful construction in the Kola Arctic.”
The pass, which will be named after TASS, is located in a rapidly developing mountain tourism cluster. Thus, the initiative is devoted to the memory of TASS correspondents and photojournalists who captured the most difficult and dangerous moments in the Arctic’s defense during World War II, as well as heroic episodes in development of the Russian and Soviet Arctic.
Tourists discovered the pass in the early 21st century, when new routes in valleys of the Voodyavryok and the Tulyok were developing actively. The plans include a mountain shelter and rescue infrastructures: trail signs, dangerous areas on maps and on the ground. “Safety at the pass will increase, as avalanches are probable in some locations. By the winter season of 2025-2026, the equipment will be fully functional,” said Dmitry Belov, head of the Clean Arctic – Vostok – 77 expedition.