Alborz Mountains

Alborz Mountains (Persian: کوه های البرز) is a map featured in the Battlefield 3: Armored Kill expansion pack. The map is set within the snow-covered Alborz mountain range, located in northern Iran.

Overview
One side of this map features a large forest-lined valley with a partially frozen lake. A bridge across the lake leads to the northeast and out of bounds. Recreational fishers have built cabins along the shore. Several trails and roads lead up to the ridgeline to the south, converging at two main passes.

The other side of the range is covered in snow, with small military outposts supporting a radar installation near one of the passes. The summit lies to the northeast, but is generally not of strategic value due to its harsh slope and distant location. Meanwhile, the grade leading to the southern valley is much more gentle, and much of it can be traversed by ground forces.

So far, this is the only map to feature clouds within reach of air vehicles. Jet fighters can use these as visual cover, and the clouds are high enough to avoid targeting by ground forces. The ridges also provide excellent cover for air vehicles.

Flag layouts
✈ denotes Gunship flag

The American airbase is in the northwest valley, while the Russian airbase is far south.

The Russians generally have a significant distance and altitude advantage to the flag controlling the gunship.

Fishing Huts
Small bungalows set at the edge of the forest. Two piers extend from here

[Conquest] This flag serves as the US Deployment.

Outskirts
A Shed surrounded by logs next to the west side of the frozen lake. A small pier extends into the lake.

Mountain Village
Comprised of two sheds or cabins facing one another on the eastern side of the frozen lake.

Base Camp
A couple of tents on top of the mountainous region in the map. Infantry can ascend the slopes to the west to gain a height advantage on defenders.

[Conquest] This is the furthest flag from either deployment. The team who hold this is given their respective Mobile Artillery.

Radio Outpost
[Conquest] A few small buildings clumped in an area in the centre of the mountain area at the intersection of roads leading to the base camp and the radar station. Radio Outpost gives access to the AC-130.

Radar Station
Features a large radome similar to the one in Damavand Peak as well as a few buildings on the ground.

[Conquest Large] This flag controls access to the AC-130.

Communication Station
A large antenna partway down the southern side of the mountain, with smaller antennas and generator huts. A single road leads from the valley and winds into Radio Outpost, although infantry can trek along a path to the west.

[Conquest] This flag serves as the Russian Deployment.

Cave Outpost
[Conquest Large] An apartment-sized recess in the mountainside, opening towards the Russian (southern) side of the range. It is the westernmost flag.

Rush
The Americans must ascend the mountain to eliminate a Russian radar outpost.

The Americans have access to at least one tank destroyer and two quad bikes, with certain stages offering an extra. They also have their Thunderbolt, AMTRAC, and gunship, as is common on AK Rush maps. The Russians must make do with a single tank and a Frogfoot in all stages.

Stage 1
Attackers deploy from the west end of the bridge to attack a base set up at the Fishing Huts.

M-COM A is on the ridge side of the trail, inside a garage with stacked cars. M-COM B is in the covered dock past the two piers.

Stage 2
Defenders move back to Mountain Village, spawning to its east. With proper positioning, they can cover the entire approach to base.

Objective A is in the small shack by the lake, and B is at the shack with the large fuel tank. Both stations are in the open, and as with Conquest, can be completely stripped of cover.

Stage 3
The attackers must now climb up to (or paradrop onto) Radio Station. The journey is comparable to the first stage of Caspian Border Rush, except with a significant height advantage for the defenders. However, they can make their way towards Base Camp to provide overwatch.

M-COM A is located in one of the crevasses, while B is between two portables.

Stage 4
Attackers assail the Radar Station a short distance away, taking either of two roads from Radio Station. The north (left) road provides some cover from defenders on the radome, but leads into a smaller choke point than the south (right) road.

The defenders have M-COM A by the small structures, and M-COM B high in the room underneath the radome.

The American gunship will not follow the team into this area, staying behind to cover their deployment.

Tank Superiority
The control point is located in the middle of the partially frozen lake, near the water. The Russian spawn is situated within Radar Station, while its American counter-part is located at Base Camp, about 600 meters away. With the three points forming a triangle, combatants may either disrupt base operations along the high pass, push for the flag, or take up defensive positions around the valley.

The lake is not frozen in the middle and most vehicles in this map are not amphibious. Driving off the ice into the water will cause all players in the vehicle to exit.

Team Deathmatch
Team Deathmatch takes place at the Radar Station. The map is encircled by snow covered rocks and buildings. The small peak in this area can be scaled with some difficulty, providing some overwatch at the cost of being flanked from the road. The trails on the opposite side of the map may be monitored from the tent area or the radome.

Squad Deathmatch
This Squad Deathmatch is mostly centered around the rocky, snow-covered terrain of the radar station. While most fighting occurs around the radar station to the north, the map extends to the communication station to the south. The rocky terrain in the center of the map is difficult to       traverse on foot, but it’s preferable to moving along the steep narrow roads. With few trees available for cover and concealment, be ready to       drop prone among the rocks if you come under fire. A single BMP-2M is also placed around the map.

Trivia

 * The map, as implied by its name, is located in the Alborz mountain range, which includes Mount Damavand, where the map Damavand Peak is located.
 * It is the only snow-based map in Battlefield 3.
 * In the gameplay premiere trailer, the minimap of Bandar Desert is displayed. This was a placeholder, as DICE had not yet finished the minimap layout at the time.
 * There is a hidden garden gnomein between the "Radar Station" and "Radio Outpost" (conquest small or console version) flags, and a bit north on the mountain. If you shoot the gnome, it makes an "Ow!" sound. This is most likely a reference to Half-Life 2: Episode 2, where a identically modelled and textured garden gnome can be found hidden in a radio station in early parts of the game.
 * There is a second gnome in a closed shed a few meters to the west-south-west of the "Mountain Village" flag. Throw a grenade at the door to blow it open, or use C4 to destroy it entirely.
 * There's also a T-Rex skull on the US side of the mountains, west of the "Base Camp" flag near the edge of the map boundaries.
 * The snow falling on this map continues to fall even into menus and the end game screen, because the ending screen takes place in a black sheet under the map.
 * There is a no-soldier boundary in the middle of the main hillside between the summit and frozen lake.
 * This map was formerly called "Alborz Mountain". This was incorrect as it implied the Alborz as being a single mountain, rather than a mountain range.