Ryabaga: History
It is no surprise that the Ryabaga Camp, which has drawn so much attention and been so popular over the years, has been the most complex of them all to operate. It is also the one, which has enjoyed the most attention and involvement from Frontiers from its inception in 1990 through to present day. To have achieved the coordination of such an operation is remarkable in itself, but to have become the destination with top levels of client satisfaction and repeat profile within a specialist company such as Frontiers, is astonishing given such a demanding location. Perhaps it is just that... the remoteness and complexity of the location, combined with its incredible fishing, which has focused such determination to get it right.
The way the Ponoi is run has been gradually developed and improved throughout the years of its operation. In the early days everything came from the USA and guests travelled through Moscow or St Petersburg. The first big step was using Helsinki as the gateway to Russia. We were the first to take this step, which is now the norm. While not as famous as Moscow or St Petersburg, Helsinki is an equally fascinating city, with a greater convenience and comfort level, and benefiting from the reliability of Finnish carrier, Finnair.
The next element to fall into place was our team in Murmansk. A combination of high calibre staff and ongoing training has evolved into a first class support team. This has enabled us to start to buy more and more high quality food and equipment within Russia, most of it transported by truck from St Petersburg. We consider our two hubs of Murmansk and Helsinki to be every bit as important to our success as the camp itself.
The camp now consists of twenty-eight staff, twenty-two Russians and seven international staff. Our Russian staff has been with us almost since the start and although some have come and gone, we are extremely proud to have a fabulous team. We have five, highly-skilled, mechanics, seven very experienced guides (some of whom guide in Argentina in the winter), four chefs (now highly trained with experience abroad as well as in camp), five long-serving camp staff, our massage expert, as well as our regular flight crews some of whom have become family - literally! Our western staff comprises five guides, manager and manageress.
