1–10 March 2025
Route: Levi – Äkäslompolo (Ylläs) – Pallas – Hetta; ~400 km in 9 days
It's no secret that Finland is a paradise for cross-country skiing. The country is threaded by a network of long-distance ski trails, so that it is even possible to ski from border to border continuously (the famous week-long skiing event named "Rajalta rajalle-hiihto"). Moreover, the forests are dotted with a large number of wilderness huts and cabins, which are typically open year-round, free to use, and stocked with firewood. Taken together, this enables multi-day skiing trips with a very lightweight backpack, and that's exactly what I planned for this year's winter season, following a reconnaissance trip to the same region during previous winter. Back then I stayed in airbnbs in several towns and villages, and went for day trips of no more than 4–5 hours (the duration of daylight hours in these latitudes around Christmas time). One thing I learned is that many ski trails are only maintained later in the season: there are three tiers of groomed trails, first one (usually closest to settlements) opens in mid-December, second in mid-January, and the network reaches its maximum extent in mid-February. This also opens the period of skiing vacations (hiihtoloma); each region in the country allocated one of three weeks in late February–early March. Nevertheless, ski trails don't feel crowded, and it is possible to find affordable accommodation if searching sufficiently in advance.
I started my trip in Levi (one of the better-known mountain ski resorts in Lapland), where I stayed for two nights and did a warm-up 50km loop around the Levi fell (or hill). Then I moved to Äkäslompolo (another ski resort at the foot of the Ylläs fell); it turned out to be entirely possible to cover this distance in one day, but I was not sure about it and planned to stay in a wilderness hut halfway through. Then another day trip around Ylläs, and setting off for a four-day trek across the Pallas–Yllästunturi national park, finishing in Hetta (as it turned out, staying there for another day). For the most of the route, ski trails were in excellent conditions, well groomed for both classic and skating styles (I had a normal lightweight classic ski, not the sturdy backcountry gear that is more common for these trips, but it was entirely adequate). The segment between Äkäskero and Rauhala had only a snowmobile track through the forest, and after Hannukuru, the trail goes across an open tundra and may be entirely covered with fresh snowdrift; (un)fortunately, it is marked with regularly spaced poles, so I had almost no chance to practice orienteering skills. This winter apparently was much warmer than usual (scary!), creating a quite firm snow crust even in the forest, covered with a few centimeters of fresh puffy snow; even with my narrow ski, I could go in almost any direction with little effort in trailbreaking. The weather was variable – from pleasantly sunny days (dangerously close to the melting threshold) to an interesting experience of a near-whiteout when crossing the tundra segment (the visibility was fair, but the low clouds and absense of shadows created very unusual light conditions, it was almost impossible to discern the trail or even the slope of the terrain ahead). The coldest night was somewhere around –18o, and it was only slightly below freezing during daytime. But in wilderness cabins, the temperature never dropped below a few degrees (sometimes even +10 or more), so my lightweight sleeping bag was entirely adequate. Interestingly, the locals prefer to travel much more seriously equipped, with long and wide backcountry ski, massive sleds (or pulks), pitch their tents outside the huts and sleep there, since their sleeping bags are too warm for indoors! Part of the reason is that the wilderness etiquette prescribes that whoever comes to the cabin last, has a priority (presumably, they've just had a tough day out), so one should be prepared to move out if necessary; but in all of my stays, there was more than enough room for other visitors (sometimes I was alone, sometimes shared the space with a couple of fellow travellers).
A highlight of the trip was the sauna at Hannukuru. In the summer, one can jump into the nearby lake; there was no ice hole in winter, but jumping into snow was almost as good. And despite its fairly large interior space (easily fits 6-8 persons), it warmed up relatively quickly, and I could invite a few other folks staying at this campsite, so that the heat was well spent. (After finishing the main part of my journey, I stayed for another couple of nights in Pello, at an airbnb place I found last winter, with a very warm-hearted host and an amazing wood-fired sauna, but the one in the wilderness was even more special).
I planned to finish in Hetta (Enontekio) in four days and take an afternoon bus to Kolari, but somehow the bus missed me (to be fair, it looked more like a van with a trailer, rather than a normal intercity bus, so I didn't notice it until it was too late). And because there is only one bus a day, and hitchhiking didn't quite work out, I returned to the nearest hut and stayed in this part of the park for another day, which turned out to be as great as everything else before. The trail took me to a long and narrow lake with beautiful rocky walls, Pahtajärvi, where I soaked in the sunlight at a fireplace (laavu). A young lady passing by at a whizzing pace stopped to share a moment of relaxation; she was a raindeer herder from the native Sámi people inhabiting the north of Scandinavia, and after some leisury conversation, I was treated to a bit of traditional joik singing...