Recently ago I wrote five good reasons to ski in Finland. Let’s now think about it other way round. I give you five good reasons NOT to ski in Finland. It’s nice to live in here in Finland, and we have pretty good ski resorts here in Finland, but there are also good reasons not to ski in Finland. This northern country is absolutely a nice and beautiful country with lots of wilderness, but Finland is not a wonderland when it comes to skiing. Let’s find out why.
Don’t ski in Finland: Reason 1/5 – Ski Resorts in Finland Are Tiny
The sad fact is that the ski resorts in Finland are tiny and not even comparable to the Alps, Rocky Mountains and the mountains of Norway, for example. Skiing in Finland is done in small hills which are usually 400-600 meters high. For example, my “home hill”, which is just few kilometers away from my house, is 55 meters high. Yes, only 55 meters! Imagine, they sell T-shirts with text “Talma Glacier – 5500 cm“! Because Finnish ski resorts are tiny, enthusiastic skiers like us in Homeboy’s World of Skiing, look for more challenging runs. They go to the bigger mountains, like the Alps and Rocky Mountains. Skiing in Finland is good for newbies, “Sunday skiers” and families. When it comes to racing, backcountry skiing or ski-touring, Finland is not the right playground.
Don’t ski in Finland: Reason 2/5 – Finland is an Expensive Country
Man, this country is really expensive. I live close to Helsinki which is about 1000 kilometers to south from the best Finnish ski resorts. If I would like to go skiing for one week, it is cheaper to go to France than in northern Finland. Sounds amazing? It’s true. Traveling and skiing in Finland is very expensive, and therefore many people go directly to the Alps. Skiing in Finland is expensive because of the high prices of travel tickets, hotel rooms, dining, etc. If you are looking for a budget skiing trip, do not even think about Finland.
Don’t ski in Finland: Reason 3/5 – Finland is Located Far in the North
Although Finland is part of Europe and it belongs to the European Union, the country is located far from Europe and United States. Finland is located far in north, next to Russian border. Finland is a very beautiful country equipped with thousands of lakes, high standard of living, high technology, very good education, great music and even our own Santa Claus, but it is not enough to drag tourists to Finnish ski resorts that are located far from the big cities of Europe. In case we had high mountains, people might get interested to travel to north for skiing.
Don’t ski in Finland: Reason 4/5 – There is No Snow in Finland!
This is unbelievable, but if I just look out my window right now, I see it is raining. Unbelievable! It is already December and people go skiing in United States and in Europe, but here in northern countries we do not even have snow! Just a while ago the Alpine Skiing World Cup race of Levi was cancelled because of lack of snow. Ok, there is a bit better situation in Lapland, but not too good. There is just a little bit of snow, while in Colorado people go skiing powder in the backcountries. I must say this really drives me nuts. I do not wonder why people go skiing in the Alps instead of Finland. We don’t even have snow..
Don’t ski in Finland: Reason 5/5 – Santa Claus Lives in Finland.. You Got To Be Kidding
In my earlier article, five good reasons to ski in Finland, I pointed out that one reason to ski in Finland is that we have the original Santa Claus. Hey, come on! Who believes in Santa Claus and would you really meet him in a ski resort in Finland? Let’s forget Santa Claus. You can find a Santa Claus even in Tokyo..
These were my five good reasons NOT to ski in Finland. Do you agree with me? All in all, I have now provided five good reasons to ski in Finland as well as five good reasons not to ski in Finland. Based on these, you can make your own conclusions. I can only say that Finland is a great country and worth visiting, but when it comes to skiing, there are pros and cons.. The top 10 ski resorts might be more interesting.
6 Responses
Do you cross country ski?
Do you know anyone who has done the border to border in March?
Oh yes, I love it. I was born in Lapland and cross country skiing was my first contact to skiing. Anyhow, I do not ski so much cross country nowadays. Mainly alpine.
Unfortunately I do not know anyone who has done that. Which direction you mean? West-East or South-North?
Hi Frida, cheers Marko!
A good friend of mine did a 2-month millennium trip with his friend (not in March
. You can find his report from their homepage – unfortunately in Finnish, but it contains the route and pictures!
http://koti.kainuu.com/joula/pp/pp.htm
PS. Take into account that the guys did not see the sun much as it does not rise at all for a couple of months in there!
Hi Jouni and thanks for stopping by! Thanks a lot for providing help with Frida’s question.
That really looks a hard route to ski. I have not heard about it before, but I must say I immediately got interested in it. It is very cold up there in winters, so you really must take the weather issues into account.
Frida, was this helpful? Are you planning to ski that route?
If you are planning a skiing trip to Lapland, I recommend you contact those guys; they are providing guidance services as well, and can at least give you excellent advice. (http://koti.kainuu.com/joula/ and email: jel at iki dot fi)
Good advice, Jouni. I hope Frida will come back to read your advices.