Day: January 25, 2010

I have a new sport – Cross Country Skiing! Love, love, love it! The downhill skiing didn’t even get a look in even given that it was deserted most days. There is nothing like getting out into the forest with just your skis and the knowledge that to get anywhere its gotta be all you (and the occasional pleasure of a downhill section for a free ride).

Basically cross country skis are long, very skinny and have clips in the bindings that snap onto shoes that are similar to running shoes. You have long poles with a hook on the bottom and a foot (looks like an elks hoof) which assists when pushing off with the pole. You can either attempt to forge your own way across the snow or on the cross country tracks they have pre-cut that you follow along in on your skis. It is similar to a train and its tracks. This is classic cross country. There is also skating and telemark where the skis and boots are slightly different and you don’t use the pre-cut tracks. Only the front part of your shoe is attached to the ski so the remainder of your foot/heel is free to lift up and down in order to push off with. The arm opposite to the leg you are pushing off with is then used to push off on the pole to assist in providing forward momentum. Trying to work all this together takes a bit of time but once underway it becomes quite natural. The only thing I haven’t worked out is stopping or turning gracefully. Generally this was done by falling over as using the old snow plough usually saw me end up head first in the snow. I did manage to improve on going up hills and for the really steep hills, improved my herringbone technique.

We booked our skis for four days and did manage to get in some great trips. Day one was a tester around the Akaslompolo lake (currently fully frozen over). It was only a 3 kilometer trip around the lake but by the time we hit the cafe I was sweating bullets and ready to demolish a pizza. The last leg of the course had a bitter wind blowing through which meant significant wind chill and the need to continually stabilize yourself against the gusts.

After having recovered from the afternoon warm-up ski we did another trip that evening. This time heading out via the illuminated night track and into the woods. We were heading for a kota (fire hut) between a couple of the fells (hills). Taking our trusty new headlamps with us it turned out we didn’t really need them. The white snow reflected the fading light brilliantly. Then when it was dark (about 4pm by this time) we just continued following the white snowy path and let the cross country pre-groomed track keep us on course. The headlamps did come in handy when we got to cross roads so we could check the map and ensure we were heading in the right direction.

We ended up just at the tip of the Kesankijarvi lake where we stopped for a quick drink of water and chocolate. The water in Steve’s bag had frozen even with the insulation he had purchased for the tubing. Round trip of about 8 kilometers. I found it more comfortable and easier to control my body temperature skiing through the fell than out on the lake. The fells provided better cover from the wind and gave a consistent temperature so I managed to avoid overheating or sweating too much which thens becomes an issue when you start to cool down once stopped for any reason.

I have come to the thought that learning to ski at night is possibly a good thing. For one, there were some steep parts which I am sure I would have walked down had I seen them in daylight. At night they came up so quickly and appeared quite demure until you were speeding down them. Something has to be said for jumping into things “blind” sometimes.

We have returned from Finland with all our fingers, toes and noses intact. The anticipated -30 degree temperatures alluded us while we were there as did the Aurora Borealis. So what did Finland hold for us? A log cabin in the woods, surrounded by thigh deep snow, a low of -14, incredibly peaceful surroundings and the joy of sharing this all with friends.

We flew into Kittila on Sunday evening to be picked up by a pre-arranged taxi. Our taxi driver (Anne) had taken the liberty of also collecting our cabin key from the local real estate agent as well. Great hospitality.

As I was determined NOT to do a typical British resort week away this meant things were a bit tougher to find out about when you are doing it off your own bat. Traditionally with the resort holidays everything is included, flights, transfers, accommodation and meals. This also means it can be triple, if not more, than what you can do by booking as an individual. More importantly it means you don’t have to be herded into the same town as every other traveler on the flight where the resorts are tailored to tourists.

I booked our log cabin in a town called Akaslompolo, resident population of 400, swelling to 20,000 during the summer time. Of the 12 cabins in our immediate vicinity, when we arrived we were the only ones there. Throughout the week 2 or 3 other groups arrived but they appeared to be Finnish families coming to ski for a few days before heading home again. Our cabin was bliss. Two downstairs twin rooms, a mezzainne floor with room for at least 5 people, fully equipped open plan kitchen/dining and living room with tv/dvd and fireplace. Plenty of storage, 2 toilets, shower, washing machine and an indoor electric sauna. As it was the low season we got a good price on it which, when sharing with mates, really makes for a cheaper time than through a travel company.

Town was about a 20 minute walk which was very pleasant as you are continually surrounded by a winter wonderland. We did hire a car for a day which was a brilliant idea in order to get out of town and see some more of the area. Without a car you are quite isolated and with few public transport options, taxis could become very expensive if you wanted to see more of the area.

Cross country ski tracks are in abundance and the illuminated track for night time skiing was only about 300 meters from us. This is lit until 10pm at night. We made some good use of this track on our ski days/nights.

Shopping was completed at Jounin Kauppa where there is also a pharmacy, dry cleaners, grog shop and cafe. Prices on many items are rather high especially alcohol so bringing duty free in would be the best idea if you are keen on having some tipple over the week. General food items like milk, pasta, sauces, bread, cheese were relatively priced but meat was very costly. Especially reindeer. This was upwards of 40 euro a kilo. You can pick up some fairly cheap sausages for the kota’s (fire huts) but in short expect that as with any country if the food is low cost it will most likely mean high fat or highly processed. I did notice the microwave meals were priced on par with the pound but if you can live for a week on that stuff I feel sorry for you. If we were to add up the cost of food bought while eating out over the week I might have a heart attack so I refuse to go there. To give you an example, one day on a ski trip we were out in the middle of nowhere and decided to cop the charge on 2 rolls, 2 chocolate bars and 2 hot drinks…17 euro! Seriously though, what do you expect when there is nothing else around for miles? This was our fault for not being prepared. The local cafe did do a great special on a pizza and large coke for 10 euro. Steve and I shared the pizza as it was far to big for one person.

Wifi was pretty much non existent in the area. There was an internet cafe (corner Tunturintie and Sivulantie) and wifi available at the cafe in the supermarket centre. 3 euro for an hour at the cafe.

I really want to capture some of the ski trips we did so I will do these individually but in all the trip was incredible with a large number of memories, ideas and impressions that will sit with me for a long time to come. Also, it was incredibly difficult to find out a lot about the place before we arrived so I really want to get some information down here to assist others in future. If you do have any questions please feel free to email me and I will try to help out.

In the meantime, a post would not be the same without a few pictures now would it.