In reply to Dave:
> (In reply to ronniemarshall)
>
> Go to Norway ior Greenland instead if you want somewhere Arctic...
In reply to ronniemarshall: If you have a burning desire to go mountaineering in russia, both the Urals and northeastern (think really north and even more east) Siberia both have quite a lot of peaks...
However, the russian interior is actually a very hostile place due to the sheer remoteness and weather; not to mention the logistical issues that stem from a lack of both roads and english speakers and the somewhat chaotic bueraucracy in the wild east.
That said, I think that a, lot got done out there in the soviet era, often on a shoestring; so there should be information available albeit probably in one of the cyrillic languages.
From my ongoing (and constantly stalling) efforts to organise a paddling trip in russia, I can honestly say it would be a hell of a lot easier to go to another country...