trip to Yllas Finland

After all my deliberations, I finally decided to take the big plunge and
fly from the SF Bay Area to Finland for a glorious week of skiing in
Yllas...up in Lapland. I am back and missing it already. After arriving in
Helsinki back on 2 Jan (on a flight from SF to Amsterdam and then on to
Helsinki) I walked around central Helsinki in a light snowstorm waiting for
the evening train to Kolari in Lapland. That would be a 14 hour train
trip.....I had booked a sleeper so I considered it a moving hotel. The
train trip was great fun....as it was loaded with skiers...mostly
downhillers going up to Levi or Yllas....lots of singing and good cheer on
the train. Didn't sleep much but awoke to a very snowy scene in
Kolari....lots of deep snow on the ground and not too cold (-7 C). Arrived
in Yllas to a comfortable hotel...right on the trail system. The snow depth
was impressive....around 80cm. I actually skied about 14 km that
afternoon.....the lights on the trail came on about 3PM. I was very
impressed with the trail system.....and daily trail maintenance. I skied
most of the trails on the Yllasjarvi side of the mountain, but didn't get
over to Akasomopolo side. The terrain was flat to rolling.....but not at
all uninteresting. Nearly everyday was overcast, with snow from time to
time.......sun didn't rise at all....but there certainly was enough light to
ski. On a side note the food was terrific.........it's great to sit down to
a hot bowl of cream of morel soup seasoned with dill, after a long day of
skiing! I would say that there were about as many classical as skating
skiers out on the trails. All in all considering that this trip cost only
about $200 more than flying to another North American destination for about
a week of skiing........it was well worth the trip to Finland....a wonderful
country.

Mark

Hope you tried a Finnish sauna.
Edgar

What sort of accomodations did you have and how did the price compare
to North America?

Thanks Mark for your post, I've always wanted to got there.

We have cheap flights to Rovaneimi prior to Xmas but they
are always fully booked early with families visiting Santa and
'the reindeer experience'.
Mike

I stayed at a lovely hotel located right near the main cross country
trails. It was called Yllasrinne........because I came right after the busy
holidays...and the hotel was relatively empty I got a rate of about 35 Euros
per day....that included a fabulous buffet breakfast in typical Scandinavian
style....lots of meats, cheeses, herrings, breads, cereals etc. I stayed
for 6 nights. Nice room with a view out toward the forest and the trails.
Food was a la carte and ran about 20 Euros per night. The food was
delicious. Most of the hotels during the busy season offer a buffet dinner
around 16 Euros. I was very pleased with the whole experience.

Mark
"SkiFit" wrote in message
oups.com...
What sort of accomodations did you have and how did the price compare
to North America?

I'm glad you enjoyed your trip. I came back from Pyhätunturi just two
days ago myself. A friend of mine was in Ylläs at the same time as you
were, and comparing the experiences, Ylläs definitely offered more...
though Pyhä wasn't bad either.

If you ever get a chance, do visit Lapland in spring time, late March
or April, even May. Fabulous, fast skiing on fast, crispy snow. Often
you don't even have to be confined to using the trails since the snow
is strong enough to carry you (because of the warm sunny days and cold
nights). At least for me, Lapland is at its best in the spring.

Tommi

I have been to Finland 3 times and I am off agin in September then I get Christmas over with and I head of to Yllas myself in January for 1 week. I have never been to Finland in the snow so I am making the most of it. I have been there in June, July and September. So I am looking forward to going. I have traveled alot around Finland with my base being in Helsinki I bought a 3 day rail pass on 2 of my visits there. I saw alot of a beautiful country and now it feels like home. I also went to Lapland in September and saw Santa Claus and the village you are not too old to enjoy the experience and a walk across the Arctic Circle line.

Originally Posted by Mark Eastman

After all my deliberations, I finally decided to take the big plunge and
fly from the SF Bay Area to Finland for a glorious week of skiing in
Yllas...up in Lapland. I am back and missing it already. After arriving in
Helsinki back on 2 Jan (on a flight from SF to Amsterdam and then on to
Helsinki) I walked around central Helsinki in a light snowstorm waiting for
the evening train to Kolari in Lapland. That would be a 14 hour train
trip.....I had booked a sleeper so I considered it a moving hotel. The
train trip was great fun....as it was loaded with skiers...mostly
downhillers going up to Levi or Yllas....lots of singing and good cheer on
the train. Didn't sleep much but awoke to a very snowy scene in
Kolari....lots of deep snow on the ground and not too cold (-7 C). Arrived
in Yllas to a comfortable hotel...right on the trail system. The snow depth
was impressive....around 80cm. I actually skied about 14 km that
afternoon.....the lights on the trail came on about 3PM. I was very
impressed with the trail system.....and daily trail maintenance. I skied
most of the trails on the Yllasjarvi side of the mountain, but didn't get
over to Akasomopolo side. The terrain was flat to rolling.....but not at
all uninteresting. Nearly everyday was overcast, with snow from time to
time.......sun didn't rise at all....but there certainly was enough light to
ski. On a side note the food was terrific.........it's great to sit down to
a hot bowl of cream of morel soup seasoned with dill, after a long day of
skiing! I would say that there were about as many classical as skating
skiers out on the trails. All in all considering that this trip cost only
about $200 more than flying to another North American destination for about
a week of skiing........it was well worth the trip to Finland....a wonderful
country.

Mark