Fell Skiing in Sarek National Park
If you like the sun in a blue sky, a quiet ski hike and stylish telemark curves, this is for you
Jotunheim is my new interest. I’ve been there a couple of times in the summer, but I’m interested in the spring winter, and especially getting to know Norway’s skiing culture. On Friday, the family packs their lunches in a backpack and on Saturday they ski up the mountain in the morning, take a lunch break, and descend home in the afternoon. Still have to try it.
Of the traditional two-week ski hikes in Sarek and having skied numerous (10 – 20) times in Kilpisjärvi and Pallas, I recommend both, as well as the Luosto-Pyhä-Soutajatunturi trips. On a downhill ski hike, you ski with downhill skis, which are more flexible and easier to ski than Rando skis, but stiffer than cross-country skis. Downhill skis have a steel rim, which is important on icy, wind-hardened fells. On a longer downhill skiing hike, you will be hauling a truck with a tunnel tent, warm sleeping bags and a kitchen with all the goodies.
If I’m honest, one of the best trips is going to the Kilpisjärvi fells in April for a fell skiing trip. Many first-timers describe it as skiing in heaven, with white gently rolling fells everywhere and the sun shining from a blue sky. In northernmost Lapland, on the coast of the Arctic Ocean, which also includes Kilpisjärvi and the Finnish arm region, winter in March is still as cold as January in southern Finland. April and early May are the best time for a ski hike. There are also the fondest memories of May Day, when there are balloons and streamers in the tent, and enjoyed mead and shortbread in the sunshine while the hair dries on the soles of the skis.
See Sarek’s fell skiing trek as an example
On the Sarek page, you can find an example program of a long downhill skiing hike in the arctic and beautiful wilderness. A 7-10-day downhill skiing hike takes two weeks including car trips and 1-2 weeks of preparations in the evenings. We can apply the same program to ski trips to Norway’s Jotunheimen or Finland’s Kilpisjärvi. It is not a good idea to go on short ski hikes within 1-2 days by car from southern Finland.
An alternative to the 10-day tent hike is to come to Kilpisjärvi and downhill ski in the direction of Halti from the wilderness camp to the next one. Hiking to Halti without a tent and downhill skis requires a ski guide, snowmobile maintenance or a lot of experience and choosing the right route.
An alternative to a 10-day ski hike is to come to Pallas and from there make day trips to the seven fells of Pallas for 3-4 days. This trip can be combined, for example, with a holiday trip to Ylläs or Levi in March.
If a downhill ski hike sounds good to you, contact us and we will plan the next ski hike together. In the meantime, you can view pictures and videos from the Kilpisjärvi ski hike.