Finland
Top holiday offers
06/Jan/13 , Manchester
These excellent luxury log cabins are in a scenic wooded location, 200-600m from Levi village centre. All are beautifully appointed with extensive use of Nordic pine,
| Resort | Date | From | Basis | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Levi | 06/Jan/13 | Manchester | SC | £ 494 |
|
| Saariselka | 13/Jan/13 | Birmingham | SC | £ 499 |
|
| Yllas | 20/Jan/13 | Manchester | SC | £ 494 |
|
Finland Introduction
Finland produces some of the best young freestylers in the world. You may ask how such a small country, with a small population, can do this, well the answer must lie in the fact that Finnish resorts offer so little in terms of terrain that the main challenge is the halfpipes. Finlands resorts are small. Max drop of runs is 50-120m (for southern Finland) depending on the resort. There are usually 5-6 runs per resort (although they claim more - if there's a tree on the piste, that makes it 2 runs)
All resorts have ski/snowboard hire and a restaurant. Many also have lessons available in English.
The season seems to be from early December to late March for southern Finland (south of Tampere). Central Finland keeps going until the end of April and northern Finland can be open until early June. At the start of the season, there is generally little natural snow but most resorts have snow cannons and they do a good job. From early March (in southern Finland), the snow starts to melt and the conditions are not particularly reliable. The easy runs tend to be closed first with most resorts only half open by the end of March.
Temperatures vary quite a lot. In the south, -5 to -10 is the typical winter daytime temperature but -15 to -20 is not uncommon.
Travelling: Fuel is actually cheap (around 1 euro/litre or 60p/litre). If you are based in Helsinki, there are buses to most of the local resorts. Language: Although the official languages are Finnish and Swedish, almost everyone speaks very good English. Finns are also friendly and very reserved (except when drunk, which is quite often).
Crowds: The Finns are fair-weather skiers and boarders. If it's a nice sunny afternoon, they flock to the resorts and it gets rather busy (although nowhere near as bad as the Alps). If it's a bit too cold or dull or it's late in the day, some of the places are practically empty.
Resorts are usually open from around 10am to 8 or 9pm. Since it's dark by 4pm in the winter, most runs are floodlit although some places only keep a few runs open, particularly if it's not busy.
Costs do vary a bit but in general 4 hours equipment hire cost 20 euros. A lift pass will set you back 15 euros.
Winter has started across the Alps - Snow Update
Sat 23 October 10Three US resorts likely to open in next24 hours. Ruka opens in Finland, several Norwegian resorts prepare to open after low temps and snow. Heavy snow report in Canada, New England and the Alps. Great skiing right now on the glaciers. Second French resort opens – For One Week Only. Only one southern hemisphere resort open from next week – but its still snowing in New Zealand!
Photo: Forrest Miller
Snowmaking Starts In N.America - world snow update
Tue 12 October 10More northern hemisphere ski areas open than southern hemisphere for the first time in four months. Ruka will be first non-glacier resort to open in Europe and the first in Scandinavia this weekend. Only three areas still open in the southern hemisphere, all in New Zealand. Snowmaking underway in Colorado and Maine
New season gathers pace - world snow update
Wed 29 September 10North America's Ski season starts on Friday, October 1st. More fresh snow in New Zealand as resorts there extend their ski seasons. Engelberg Opening this weekend. Seven Austrian glacier resorts are now open. Season winds down in South America and Australia, but New Zealand promises at least another month.
Useful information
Population:5.2 million
Capital City: Helsinki
Language: Finnish and Swedish
Currency: Euros
Highest Peak: Haltia 1328m
Drugs Information: Cannabis is illegal and frowned upon.
Alcohol Drinking 18
Electricity Supply: 240 Volts AC 2 Pin plugs
Driving: Drive on the right hand side
Speed Limits
d
Motorways-120kph (74mph
Highways-100kph (80mph)
Towns-50kph (31mph)
International Phone Code: 00358
Further Information:
Finnish Snowboard Federation,
Radiokatu 20
00240 Helsinki.
Finland
tel- ++358 400 414 587
www.fsa.fi
Resorts
Join us on Facebook
Image Gallery
WSG Online Shop
OUT NOW! Snow-search Japan - Our award winning guidebook for all those powder hounds thinking of heading to Japan. Covers over 70 resorts, as well as all the travel and cultural information to make sure you make the best of your trip.
“Travel book of the year” Gold Medal winner, 2010 IPPY Awards.
“we can't recommend it enough” Cooler Magazine, Feb 2010
£14.95 BUY NOW!
Free UK P&P, £2 Europe, £5 World
World Snowboard Guide 
- The 11th edition of our critically acclaimed guide book features over 500 resorts across 63 countries
“easy to use and comprehensive” Transworld Snowboarding Magazine
“best snowboard guidebook money can buy” Document Snowboard Magazine
SPECIAL OFFER - was £15.95 and now £9.95 BUY NOW!
Free UK P&P, £2 Europe, £5 World
Partner links
